Dr. Kim Cornish – Cornish Research Team, McGill University

Julie Hanck, B.Sc.

I am currently working on my doctoral degree at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University. My focus is on fragile X syndrome (FXS), a disorder that encapsulates a constellation of different strengths and weaknesses. My study is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and focuses on understanding the unique differences found in individuals with FXS in two cognitive domains; attention and vision. However, I do not only want to pinpoint the various strengths and weaknesses found within this disorder but more importantly I would like to understand how they are developing over time. The focal point of my research is to comprehend how different aspects of vision and attention are developing throughout childhood in FXS. The first step in doing this is to create a database that incorporates the development of these skills in typically developing children. This important information will provide a baseline that is currently unavailable in the literature that will be used to understand the development of these skills among individuals with FXS. In understanding the development of these different strengths and weaknesses it is our goal to ameliorate existing educational interventions in an effort to enhance the quality of life for children with special needs and their families. Specifically, it is critical that we provide alternate methods of learning and understanding to children with Fragile X Syndrome at the appropriate period in their development.

Special request for summer volunteers.

The summer is a great time to volunteer at the lab; it is our busiest testing time. I am interested in training volunteers to test both children with Fragile X Syndrome and typical development on my tasks assessing both visual and attention skills. These tasks are on the computer and are easy and fun to administer. I can be reached at julie_hanck@hotmail.com or call her on 514-398-2126

Publications

Bertone, A., Hanck, J., Cornish, K., & Faubert, J. (2007). Development of static and dynamic perception for luminance- and texture-defined information. Neuroreport, In press

Submitted Refereed Papers

Bertone, A., Cornish, K., Kogan, C., & Hanck, J. (2007). Perceptual signatures in neurodevelopmental disorders: convergent or divergent etiologies. Developmental Science, submitted.

Presentations as Guest Speaker:

Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH) Child Development Research Conference, Montreal, Canada (January 2007). Understanding the unique ‘signature’ of attention and visual perceptual deficits in Fragile X Syndrome.

The Society for the Study of Behavioral Phenotypes (SSBP), Sacramento, CA (October 2007).

  • The developmental attentional signatures in Fragile X syndrome
  • Tracing the visual perceptual deficits in Fragile X boys

Published Abstracts:

Hanck, J., Cornish, K., & Scerif, G. (September, 2007). The developmental attentional signatures in Fragile X syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 51(9): 654.

Hanck, J., Bertone, A., Kogan, C., Chaudhuri, A., & Cornish, K. (September, 2007). Tracing the visual perceptual deficits in Fragile X boys. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 51(9): 655.

Hanck, J., Cornish, K., Rochester, L., Chau, A., Yumang, M., & Lavigne, T. Typical Trajectory of Attentional Functioning: Differential Profiles for Selective, Sustained, Divided and Inhibitory Attention. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, April, 2006.

Cornish, K., Daniel, K., Hanck, J., Nesbitt, R., et al. Linking the neurosciences and educational practice to developmental disabilities: an interdisciplinary approach. Poster presentation at the American Education Research Association annual conference, New York, March 24-26, 2008.

Conferences:

Bertone, A., Hanck, J., Faubert, J., & Cornish, K. (June 2007). Reisinger, L., & Cornish, K. (March, 2007). Ventral and dorsal visual stream development as a function of information complexity. Poster presentation at TENNET: A biennal meeting of theorectical and experimental Neuropsychology, Montreal, Canada.

Hanck, J. & Cornish, K. (June 2007) The Development of attentional and visual pathways unique to Fragile X syndrome. Poster presentation at the Canadian Psychology Association, Ottawa, Canada.

Hanck, J., Cornish, K, & Banks, M. (April, 2007). The Typical Trajectory of Attentional Functioning: Differential Profiles for Divided, Focused, Sustained and Inhibitory Attention. Poster presentation at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Boston, USA.

Hanck, J., & Cornish, K. (July 2006) Atypical trajectory of attentional and visual functioning in Fragile X Syndrome. Poster presented at the National Fragile X Foundation's 10th International Fragile X Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Hanck, J., Cornish, K., Rochester, L., Chau, A., Yumang, M., & Lavigne T. (April 2006). Typical trajectory of attentional functioning: Differential profiles for selective, sustained, divided and inhibitory attention. Poster presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, San Francisco, USA.