Ali Tafakkor

About Me

I am a prospective Ph.D. student and currently work as a Research Technician in the CoNCH Lab at the Centre for Brain and Mind, Western University, London, Ontario. I also serve as support staff for the Computational Core at the Centre for Brain and Mind. I hold an M.Sc. in Neuroscience and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering.

Research Interests

• Cognitive Neuroscience: Examining neural mechanisms behind cognitive processes, with a focus on naturalistic stimuli related to hearing and speech.
• Computational Neuroscience: Utilizing computational methods to model auditory and speech processing in the brain.
• Neuroimaging: Employing neuroimaging techniques to investigate the neural basis of auditory and speech functions, with clinical applications in mind.

Featured

poster number 2023: Feasibility of Localizing Epileptogenic Tissue with Naturalistic Stimulation in fMRI

Authors: Ali Tafakkor, Hana Abbas, Caroline Chadwick, Ali Khan, Ingrid Johnsrude

Imagine a crowded theater where everyone is watching a movie together. For most people, their brains are in sync, reacting similarly to the exciting or emotional scenes on the screen. This shared experience is much like what happens in our brains when we watch a movie: specific areas light up in harmony, a phenomenon detectable through a brain imaging technique called fMRI.

Now, consider that one in 300 people in this theater may suffer from medication-resistant epilepsy. For these individuals, pinpointing the brain areas causing seizures is crucial. Surgery can help, but it often requires risky and expensive procedures.

We’re exploring if these synchronized brain patterns during movie watching can help locate epileptic tissue safely and cost-effectively. By comparing the brain activity of people with epilepsy to healthy individuals, we hope to detect differences and identify problem areas. This innovative approach could make epilepsy treatment safer and more accessible.

News

• [October 2024] Started my role as a Computational Core support staff at Center for Brain and Mind.
• [June 2024] Presented a poster on “Feasibility of Localizing Epileptogenic Tissue with Naturalistic Stimulation in fMRI” at the Organization of Human Brain Mapping 2024 annual meeting.
• [April 2024] Presented a poster on “Dynamics of the Multiple Demand Network Connectivity Under Varied Speech to Noise Ratios” at the Cognititve Neuroscience Society 2024 annual meeting.
• [September 2023] Began my role as a Research Technician at the CoNCH lab.
• [August 2023] Graduated with a Master’s in Neuroscience from Western University.
• [August 2023] Published my Master’s thesis in Western University’s Electronic Theses and Dissertations. View Thesis.
• [August 2023] Successfully defended my Master’s thesis.
• [July 2023] Presented a poster on “Temporal Dynamics of Neural Sound Categorization” at the Organization of Human Brain Mapping 2023 annual meeting.