Christopher J. Fox BSc PhD

Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory

Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC  Canada

 


Research         Awards        Publications       Contact

 


RESEARCH

 

     I am currently involved in the study of facial perception in both healthy and damaged brains. Most of us are able to recognize the faces of hundreds of different individuals, and are able to interpret very subtle emotional cues in rapidly changing facial expressions. However, this ability to perceive facial identity or facial expression can be disrupted following selective brain damage. What are the neural mechanisms and brain regions that underlie accurate perceptions of facial identity and facial expression and are there independent mechanisms or regions for these two perceptual processes?  I have recently examined the neural mechanisms underlying identity and expression perception using a visual adaptation paradigm. In addition, I am examining the functional contribution of various brain regions involved in face perception using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

     I am also working with a number of patients who either suffer from prosopagnosia (an inability to recognize faces following brain damage) or who have had strokes that affect the brain regions involved in face perception but do not exhibit the extreme disability of prosopagnosia. To assess their residual abilities I have designed more sensitive tests of both identity and expression perception. I am also using fMRI to correlate the site of damage with perceptual deficits.

     The intent is that this study of the various mechanisms and regions involved in face perception will lead to new routes for successful rehabilitation.

 

 


 AWARDS

 

  2007  Senior Graduate Studentship, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

 

 


  2006 Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research

 

  2005  Junior Graduate Studentship, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

 

 


  2004  Gold Medal in Psychology, British Columbia Psychological Association

 

  CIHR Strategic Training Program in Neurobiology and Behaviour, University of      British Columbia

 

  CIHR Summer Studentship, University of British Columbia

 

  2003  CIHR Summer Studentship, University of British Columbia

 

 


PUBLICATIONS

 

FACE PERCEPTION

 

Fox C.J. and Barton J.J. (2007). What is adapted in face adaptation? The neural representations of expression in the human visual system. Brain Research, 1127(1): 80-89. [PubMed]

 

Fox C.J., Oruc I., and Barton J.J.S. It doesn’t matter how you feel. The facial identity aftereffect is invariant to changes in facial expression.J Vision 2008; 8(3):11. 1-13.

 

Butler A., Oruc I., Fox C.J., and Barton J.J.S. Factors contributing to the adaptation aftereffects of facial expression. Brain Res 2008; 1191,116-26.

 

Butler A., Oruc I., Fox C.J., Iaria G., and Barton J.J.S. Defining the face-processing network: optimization of the functional localizer in fMRI. Human Brain Mapping epub.

 

Iaria G.*, Fox, C.J.*, Waite, C.T., Hefter R.L., Itzhak, A. Barton J.J.S. Facial attraction: beauty, prosopagnosia, and the fusiform gyrus. Neuroscience, 155: 409-22.

 

 

LEARNING & MEMORY - ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY

 

Fox C.J., Russel K., Titterness A.K., Wang Y.T., and Christie B.R. (2007). Tyrosine phosphorylation of the GluR2 subunit is required for long-term depression of synaptic efficacy in young animals in vivo. Hippocampus, 17: 600-605. [PubMed]

 

Fox C.J.*, Russell K.I.*, Wang Y.T., and Christie B.R. (2006). Contribution of NR2A and NR2B NMDA subunits to bidirectional synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus in vivo. Hippocampus, 16(11): 907-915. [PubMed]

 

Christie B.R., Swann S.E., Fox C.J., Froc D., Lieblich S.E, Redila V. and Webber A. (2005).Voluntary exercise rescues deficits in spatial memory and long-term potentiation in prenatal ethanol-exposed male rats. European Journal of Neuroscience, 21: 1719-1726. [PubMed]

 

Hill M.N., Froc D.J., Fox C.J., Gorzalka B.B., and Christie B.R. (2004). Prolonged cannabinoid treatment results in spatial working memory deficits and impaired long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in vivo. European Journal of Neuroscience. 20: 859-863. [PubMed].

 

TOPOGRAPHICAL ORIENTATION

 

Iaria, G., Fox, C.J., Chen, J.K., Petrides, M., Barton, J. (2008).Detection of unexpected events during spatial navigation in humans: Bottom-up attentional system and neural mechanisms. Eur J Neurosci 7: 1017-25.

 

Iaria, G., Lanyon, L., Fox, C.J., Giaschi, D., Barton, J. (2008).Navigational skills correlate with hippocampal fractional anisotropy in human.Hippocampus 18: 335-339.

 

Iaria, G., Bogod, N., Fox, C.J., Barton, J. (2008). Congenital topographical disorientation: a case study.Neuropsychologia epub

 

 


  CONTACT

  2550 Willow St.                                                          

  Eye Care Centre                                                          Phone: (604) 875-4111 x.62929

  Ophthalmology Research, 3rd Floor                                  Fax:     (604) 875-4302

  Vancouver, BC   V5Z 3N9                                              Email:  cjfox@interchange.ubc.ca

  Canada