Coffey Lab focuses on neuroplasticity associated with complex tasks, using musicianship (and its interaction with language) as a model. Our lab uses a variety of neuroimaging tools (i.e. MEG, EEG, fMRI, DWI, VBM) to study the neural bases of auditory processing, hearing-in-noise, and musician advantages, and their relation to training. We are also combining these areas with new techniques that can causally influence sleep-dependent memory consolidation, such as closed-loop auditory stimulation. Ultimately, our goals are to understand how training and sleep interventions can maintain auditory and language function, and improve learning and quality of life throughout the lifespan.

We are part of Concordia University, and are affiliated with the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM), the International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research (BRAMS), the PERFORM Centre, the Centre for Research on Aging (engAGE), and the Quebec Bio-Imaging Network (RBIQ).

We work closely with Dr. Robert Zatorre’s lab at McGill University on musical and auditory training, Dr. Sylvain Baillet’s Neurospeed lab on brain oscillations, and Dr. Giovanni Beltrame’s MIST Lab at Polytechnique Montréal on engineering-neuroscience collaborations.