Sue Becker obtained her BSc in Psychology and MSc in Computer Science from Queen’s University, her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto before joining McMaster where she has been a faculty member since 1993.
Dr. Becker’s research focuses on the neural bases of learning and memory. Her lab employs a variety of methodologies including computational modelling, behavioural and neuroimaging studies to investigate questions such as how the hippocampus codes episodic and spatial memories, the role of neurogenesis in memory and mood regulation, how stress, binge drinking, exercise and neurofeedback affect hippocampal memory functions and intrinsic brain networks, and how the auditory cortex re-organizes after hearing loss. Applications of this research include the development of novel algorithms for EEG-based neurofeedback and brain-computer-interfaces. Dr. Becker has authored over 70 peer-reviewed papers and abstracts, and holds a joint patent for her invention of the Neurocompensator, a novel algorithm for intelligent hearing aids that is currently being marketed and sold by Vitasound Audio Inc. Dr. Becker received an Innovator of Distinction Award from McMaster and a Hamilton Halton Projects of the year award for the design of the Neurocompensator hearing aid.
Expandable List
Psychology Building, Room 312, McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Email: beckers@mcmaster.ca
Office Phone: (905) 525-9140 x23020
Professor Emerita, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
Faculty Affiliate, The Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence
Adjunct Scientist, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital
Chaposhloo, M., Nicholson, A.A., Becker, S., McKinnon, M.C., Lanius, R,. & Shaw, S. (2023). Altered Resting-State functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior hippocampus in Post-traumatic stress disorder: The central role of the anterior hippocampus. NeuroImage: Clinical, 38, 1-18.
Khaled, M., Kuber, J., Ferber, M., Sritharan, P., Levy, Y, Becker, S., Fahnestock, M., Griffing, M., Madden, K., Shanthanna, H. and Marcucci, M. (2023). Rationale, Methods, and Progress of the ArthroCaP Study: A Prospective Cohort Study Exploring the Associations between Chronic Postsurgical Pain and Postoperative Cognitive. Canadian Journal of Pain, 8 (4), 1-12.
Singh, S., Becker, S., Trappenberg, T. & Nunes, A. (2023). Granule cells perform frequency-dependent pattern separation in a computational model of the dentate gyrus. Hippocampus, 34(1), 14-28.
Kinley, I., Amlung, M. and Becker, S. (2022). Pathologies of Precision: A Bayesian account of goals, habits and episodic foresight in addiction. Brain and Cognition 158 (April 2022).
Shaw, S.B., Levy, Y., Mizzi, A., McKinnon, M.C., Heisz, J. and Becker, S. (2022). Com- bined aerobic exercise and neurofeedback lead to improved task-relevant intrinsic network syn- chrony. Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience, 16 (June 2022).
Nunes, A., Singh, S., Allman, J., Becker, S., Ortiz, A., Trappenberg, T. and Alda, M. (2022). A critical evaluation of dynamical systems models of bipolar disorder. Translational Psychiatry 12 (416).
Mizzi, A., McKinnon, M.C. and Becker, S. (2022). The impact of aerobic exercise on depressive symptoms in trauma-exposed young adults. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 16 (May 2022).
Kinley, I., Porteous, M., Levy, Y. and Becker, S. (2021). Visual perspective as a two-dimensional construct in episodic future thought. Consciousness and Cognition 93 (August 2021).
Shaw, S.B., McKinnon, M.C., Heisz, J. and Becker, S. (2021). Dynamic task-linked switching between brain networks – A Tri-Network perspective. Brain and Cognition, 151 (July 2021).
Han X.,Wu Y., Zhong Y., and Becker, S. (2020) Recovery of high interference memory in spite of lingering cognitive deficits in a longitudinal pilot study of hospitalized depressed patients. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 24 (July 2020)
Smail, L.C., Dhindsa, K., Braga, L.H., Becker, S. and Sonnadara, R.R. (2020). Using Deep Learning Algorithms to Grade Hydronephrosis Severity: Towards a Clinical Adjunct. Frontiers in Pediatrics 8 (January 2020).
Shaw, S.B., Dhindsa, K., Reilly, J.P., Becker, S. (2019). Capturing the Forest but Missing the Trees: Microstates Inadequate for Characterizing Shorter-Scale EEG Dynamics. Neural computation, 31 (11), 2177-2211.
Keating, L.E., Becker, S., McCabe, K., Whattam, J., Garrick, L., Frey, B.N. et al. (2019). Impact of a structured, group-based running programme on clinical, cognitive and social function in youth and adults with complex mood disorders: a 12-week pilot study. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 5(1), e000521
Dhindsa, K., Gauder, K., Marszalek, K., Terpou, B., & Becker, S. (2018). Progressive Thresholding: Incorporating Shaping in Automated Neurofeedback Training. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 26(12), 2297-2305.
Hutton, C., Lemon, J., Sakic, B., Rollo, C., Boreham, D., Fahnestock, M., … Becker, S. (2018). Early intervention with a multi-ingredient dietary supplement improves mood and spatial memory in a triple transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 64(3):835-857
Keating, L. E., Becker, S., McCabe, K., Whattam, J., Garrick, L., Sassi, R. B., … McKinnon, M. C. (2018). Effects of a 12-week running programme in youth and adults with complex mood disorders. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, 4(1), 1–7.
Becker, S. (2017). Neurogenesis and pattern separation: time for a divorce. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 8(3), 1–15.
Dhindsa, K., Carcone, D., & Becker, S. (2017). Toward an Open-Ended BCI: A User-Centered Coadaptive Design. Neural Computation, 29(10), 2742–2768.
Goldstein, A., Dery, N., Pilgrim, M., & Becker, S. (2016). Stress and binge drinking: A toxic combination for the teenage brain. Neuropsychologia, 90, 251–260.
Finnegan, R., & Becker, S. (2015). Neurogenesis paradoxically decreases both pattern separation and memory interference. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 9(October), 1–12.
Hutton, C., Dery, N., Rosa, E., Lemon, J., Rollo, C., Boreham, D., … Becker, S. (2015). Synergistic effects of diet and exercise on hippocampal function in chronically stressed mice. Neuroscience, 308, 180–193.
Dhindsa, K., Drobinin, V., King, J., Hall, G. B., Burgess, N., & Becker, S. (2014). Examining the role of the temporo-parietal network in memory, imagery, and viewpoint transformations. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8(September), 1–13.
Déry, N., Pilgrim, M., Gibala, M., Gillen, J., Martin Wojtowicz, J., MacQueen, G., & Becker, S. (2013). Adult hippocampal neurogenesis reduces memory interference in humans: Opposing effects of aerobic exercise and depression. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 7(7 APR), 1–15.
Becker, S., & Wojtowicz, J. (2007). A model of hippocampal neurogenesis in memory and mood disorders. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(2), 70–76.
Byrne, P., Becker, S., & Burgess, N. (2007). Remembering the past and imagining the future: A neural model of spatial memory and imagery. Psychological Review, 114(2), 340–375.
Becker, S. (2005). A computational principle for hippocampal learning and neurogenesis. Hippocampus, 15(6), 722–738.
Chen, Z., Becker, S., Bondy, J., Bruce, I., & Haykin, S. (2005). A Novel Model-Based Hearing Compensation Design Using a Gradient-Free Optimization Method. Neural Computation, 17(12), 2648–2671.
Becker, S., Moscovitch, M., Behrmann, M., & Joordens, S. (1997). Long-term semantic priming: A computational account and empirical evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23(5), 1059–1082.
Becker, S., & Hinton, G. E. (1992). Self-organizing neural network that discovers surfaces in random-dot stereograms. Nature, 355, 161–163.
- Mohammad Chaposhloo, PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
- Yarden Levy, PhD Student (Co-supervision), Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
- Selena Singh, PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University
- Nadia Wong, PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University