Dr. Jed Meltzer
Neurorehabilitation scientist
Difference in
the Details
Assessing language function
in patients with neurological
conditions has traditionally
been done by conducting
behavioural tests. These tests,
however, don't capture the
subtle variability in language
use – especially those
associated with milder forms
of impairment as in patients
with dementia or traumatic
brain injury.
Dr. Jed Meltzer and his
colleagues are exploring the
use of new computational
linguistics tools to improve
diagnosis and treatment of
cognitive impairment. His
research focuses on how
language is processed in
the brain, with emphasis
on how undamaged neural
pathways can be used
to recover cognitive and
linguistic abilities. Employing
brain-mapping tools such as
magnetoencephalography
(MEG), Dr. Meltzer and his
team can view and measure
the involvement of specific
pathways and how they change
over time – knowledge that
offers the potential for future
behavioural intervention and
stroke rehabilitation strategies
tailored to individual patients.
