Welcome to the Memory and Decision Processes Lab!

About Us

The Memory & Decision Processes (MAD) Lab is housed in the Department of Psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University in downtown Toronto, and is directed by Dr. Julia Spaniol. Research in the MAD Lab uses behavioural and neuroscience techniques to study how motivation and emotion affect cognitive processes in younger and older adults.

Recent News

February 2024: Lindsay is the 2024 winner of the McCall MacBain 10min Research Talk competition at McMaster University. Congratulations Lindsay!

February 2024: Julia is named an APS Fellow.

November 2023: Aalim, Shadini, and Julia present MAD Lab research at Psychonomics in San Francisco.

November 2023: New MAD Lab study in press at Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

October 2023: Congratulations to Aalim Makani on graduating from the MA program and starting his PhD, and to Dr. Liyana Swirsky on receiving her PhD and starting her postgraduate career!

September 2023: Congratulations to MAD Lab students on their new scholarships: Shadini Dematagoda (NSERC Vanier), Megan Vaziri (NSERC CGS-M), Aalim Makani (OGS), Brandy Murovec (TMGS)!

September 2023: Welcome to new MAD Lab students Megan Vaziri (MA Clinical) and Santhiya Purohit (undergraduate thesis student)!

August 2023: Congratulations to Aalim Makani on his successful MA defense, and to Liyana Swirsky on her successful PhD defense!

August 2023: New collaborative study in press at Experimental Brain Research.

August 2023: Welcome to new MAD Lab postdoc Lindsay Santacroce!

August 2023: Julia Spaniol presents MAD Lab research at SARMAC in Nagoya, Japan.

July 2023: New MAD lab study in press at Experimental Aging Research.

July 2023: Mane Kara-Yakoubian and Shadini Dematagoda present MAD Lab research at CSBBCS in Guelph.

May 2023: Liyana Swirsky presents MAD Lab research at the Toronto Area Memory Group Meeting.

April 2023: Congratulations to MAD Lab students Aalim Makani, Kieryn Carlse, and Sarah Shahrour! Aalim received a Student Section Research Grant from the Canadian Psychological Association; Sarah received a Diversity Summer Award from the Scientific Research Network on Decision Neuroscience and Aging; and Kieryn received an NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award

March 2023: New MAD lab study in press at The Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. (“Editor’s Choice” article.)

February 2023: Julia Spaniol presents at the LOVE Conference in Niagara Falls.

Research Focus

Affect and decision making

Motivational influences on attention and memory