Our lab focuses on structural and functional changes in the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning and memory. The lab uses a variety of animal models of disorders including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, prenatal cannabis exposure, and fragile-X to study its effects on hippocampal structure and function. The response of the brain to repeated mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) is also being investigated using a novel model developed in the lab that induces brain injury in juvenile rats.
Dr. Christie also supervises the UVic Concussion Lab, which employs established physical and cognitive assessments, as well as a computer-based three-dimensional multiple object tracking program called NeuroTracker to investigate mild traumatic brain injury in athletes and children. The efficacy of NeuroTracker as a cognitive intervention tool for adults with histories of traumatic brain injury is also being explored in partnership with the Victoria Brain Injury Society.
Current research projects in the Christie Lab include:
