Dr. Emma Duerden, PhD
Associate Professor and Tier 2 CIHR CRC in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders - Applied Psychology
BA, Psychology (McGill University); MSc, Neuroscience (McGill University); PhD, Neuroscience (University of Montreal)
Dr. Emma Duerden, PhD
Associate Professor and Tier 2 CIHR CRC in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders - Applied Psychology
BA, Psychology (McGill University); MSc, Neuroscience (McGill University); PhD, Neuroscience (University of Montreal)
I’m an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and a supervisor for graduate students in the School and Applied Child Psychology program and the Counselling Psychology Program. My research program focuses on the impact of early adversity on cognitive ability starting early in fetal life as well as infants and school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder or who are born very preterm. The goal of my research program is to identify risk factors for early adversity as well as factors that promote resilience to early life stress, healthy brain development and academic achievement in children.
In The News
US Surgeon General calls for warnings on social media like labels on tobacco products “CBC Newsroom” with Andrew Nichols, June 17, 2024
“Dumbphones' are helping young people break the toxic cycle of social media addiction” Arfa Rana, June 17, 2024
Tackling Teen Tech Addiction, The Catalyst, Conversations on Mental Health, by Christine Sismondo, June 2024
“Excessive screen time less common for rural youth: study” Canadian Affairs, by Nick Naylor June 12, 2024
“Has the time come to ban social media for kids?”, 630 CHED, with Courtney Theriault, Edmonton, May 30th, 2024
“Social media lawsuit: Why school boards are raising red flags over use” Global News TV National with Eric Stober, May 29th, 2024
“Social Media Battle” CTV News National with Heather Wright, May 29th 2024
Mental Health Month, Tuffs City Radio, Tofino https://soundcloud.com/cameron-dennison
CTV National News, “Concern over dangerous trend” Interviewed by Tony Grace, April 21, 2024
CTV News (online and broadcast),“Social media can alter children's brains and impact mental health: neuroscientist” March 29, 2024
CBC The National, “TikTok, Snapchat respond to Ontario school boards' social media lawsuit” Interviewed by Thomas Daigle, March 30, 2024
CBC Toronto (online and broadcast) “Young brains are especially vulnerable to social media: experts” March 29, 2024
CBC Radio-Canada International(English and French), “Schools say kids are compulsively using social media. But experts say they learned from the best”
CBC’s The Early Edition with Stephen Quinn, April 1, 2024
Global News Radio - Kelly Cutrara Show on Global News Radio, March 28, 2024
CBC’s The Current with Matt Galloway, April 4, 2024
CBC’s London Morning with Andrew Brown, April 3, 2024
CBC’s Ontario Today with Amanda Pfeffer, April 9, 2024
Globe & Mail by Brain Canada CEO Dr. Viviane Poupon, April 10, 2024
Placenta’s Role in Brain Development Linked to Child Cognition, Neuroscience News, February 27, 2024
MRI reveals placental oxygenation levels may be linked to fetal brain development, Health Imaging, February 24, 2024
Revolutionary Study Links Placental Oxygenation to Fetal Brain Development and Childhood Cognition, Medriva, February 28, 2024
Newstalk 580 CFRA, Ottawa, Kristy Cameron, January 26, 2024
Global news Radio, Toronto, Ben Mulroney, November 19, 2023
CBC News “Social media gets teens hooked while feeding aggression and impulsivity, and researchers think they know why”. November 16, 2023
iHeart radio Ottawa “Teens are addicted to Social Media and it's hurting their mental health” November 16, 2023
Global news Radio Ben OHara-Byrne, A little more conversation, November 16, 2023
CBC News - Metro Morning Toronto, Jill Dempsey, November 17, 2023
Global news Live Radio - Kelly Cutrara, November 17, 2023
CTV News, ON Akshay Tandon - live national television November 17, 2023
CTV news, NFLD “New Canadian research points to link between scrolling and anxiety, depression in children”, November 17, 2023
CP24 Toronto (live television) “Canadian study links scrolling and anxiety in kids”, Nov 17, 2023
CTV Montreal, “Challenge invites children to go offline for a day”
CTV News Weekend, MediaView (tveyes.com), November 18, 2023
The National (CBC News): What social media scrolling is doing to kids’ brains
CBC News : Is too much screen time harming children? Western study finds link to anxiety, depression, August 13, 2023
CBC London Radio: Screen time and children’s mental health. Interview by Allison Devereaux, August 8, 2023
Alex Pierson Show (radio): Screen time and children’s mental health. August 15, 2023
London Free Press: More screen time, higher depression levels for kids: Western study, August 10, 2023
Western News: Two Western research projects among four recipients of Canada Brain Research Fund grants
London Free Press: Western University researchers get $2.5M to study brain health
CBC London: Western researchers land nearly $2.8M in funding to boost brain health research
Blackburn News: Two Western brain research projects receive over $2.5M in grants
CTV London: Two Western University research projects receive Canada Brain Research Fund grants
Spectrum News: Anxiety drives amygdala differences in autistic youth, July 27, 2022
Western News: Neuroscience experts unlock mystery of autism-related anxiety, March 31, 2022
News Medical Life Sciences: “Study examines relationship between prenatal and postnatal stress, depression, and infant motor development during COVID”, February 2022
Spectrum News: “Amygdala development diverges in autism-specific anxiety”, February 2022
Global News (Radio) “Study finds majority of children under five are getting too much screen time”, February 2022
Global News: (National Television) “Children’s screen time doubles during pandemic”, January 2022
CTV News: (Local Television) Parents grappling with decision to send kids back to school or keep them home”, January 2022
CBC radio: Ontario syndication run, London, Windsor, Peterborough, Sudbury, January 10, 2022
CBC radio: National syndication run, live radio interviews in all 10 provinces and 2 territories.
Global News Radio - The cost of keeping kids out of class, January 7, 2022
CTV News (Live National Television) “Too much screen time for kids during the pandemic”, October 2021
“Kids' screen time shot up during the pandemic. But few thought it was this bad”, London Free Press, October 2021
Pandemic linked to significant jump in screen time for kids | CTV News, October 2021
CTV News (Live national television) “Eastern Ontario Schools to Reopen”, January 2021
CBC News “How worried should I be about my kids spending so much time online during the pandemic?”, January 2021
Globe and Mail “All that excess screen time parents were told not to worry about at the start of COVID-19? It’s time to worry”, October 29, 2020
Recent Publications
Tang L, Kebaya LMN, Altamimi T, Kowalczyk A, Musabi M, Roychaudhuri S, Vahidi H, Meyerink P, de Ribaupierre S, Bhattacharya S, de Moraes LTAR, St Lawrence K, Duerden EG. Altered resting-state functional connectivity in newborns with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy assessed using high-density functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 7;14(1):3176. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-53256-0. PMID: 38326455; PMCID: PMC10850364.
Adil D, Duerden E, Eagleson R, De Ribaupierre S. Assessing the impact of infantile hydrocephalus on visuomotor integration through behavioural and neuroimaging studies. Child Neuropsychol. 2024 Feb 14:1-28. doi: 10.1080/09297049.2024.2307662. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38353096.
Hennessy A, Nichols E.S, Al-Saoud, S., Brossard-Racine, M., Duerden, E.G. Identifying Cognitive Profiles in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders using Online Cognitive Testing. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry.2024 Jan 28:13591045241228889. doi: 10.1177/13591045241228889. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38282296
Nichols ES, Al-Saoud S, de Vrijer B, McKenzie CA, Eagleson R, de Ribaupierre S, Duerden EG. T2* Mapping of Placental Oxygenation to Estimate Fetal Cortical and Subcortical Maturation. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Feb 5;7(2):e240456. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0456. PMID: 38411965; PMCID: PMC10900962.
Adil D, Duerden EG, Eagleson R, de Ribaupierre S. Structural Alterations of the Corpus Callosum in Children With Infantile Hydrocephalus. J Child Neurol. 2024 Feb 22:8830738241231343. doi: 10.1177/08830738241231343. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38387869.
Sriya Roychaudhuri, Tajveer Uhbi, Alexandra Kowalczyk, Jan Vanesh, Laura Lyons, Soume Bhattachayra, Emma G. Duerden. Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and implications on pain assessment in the newborn: a scoping review. Global Pediatrics. Volume 7, March 2024, 100093
Gal Almog, Saeid Alavi Naeini, Yu Hu, Emma G. Duerden, Yalda Mohsenzadeh. Memoir Dataset: Investigating Image Memorability Across Developmental Stages. PLOS ONE.PLoS One. 2023 Dec 20;18(12):e0295940. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295940. eCollection 2023.PMID: 38117776
Nichols ES, Grace M, Correa S, de Vrijer B, Eagleson R, McKenzie CA, de Ribaupierre S, Duerden EG. Sex- and age-based differences in fetal and early childhood hippocampus maturation: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Cereb Cortex. 2023 Nov 9:bhad421. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad421. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37950876.
Eun Jung Choi, Gabrielle King, Emma G. Duerden. Global increase of screen time use in infants, toddlers, children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analytic review of data from 37 countries. Global Pediatrics.Volume 6, December 2023, 10008
Duerden EG, Guo T, Chau C, Chau V, Synnes A, Grunau RE, Miller SP. Association of neonatal midazolam exposure with hippocampal growth and working memory performance in children born preterm. Neurology. 2023;101:1-2. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000207817
Hmidan A, Seguin D, Duerden EG. Children’s screen time use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Psychology. 2023 Jul 10;11(1):202. doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01240-0. PMID: 37430372
Nichols, E.S., Blumenthal, A., Kuenzel, E., Skinner, J., Duerden, E.G. Hippocampus long-axis specialization throughout development: a meta-analysis. Human Brain Mapping. 023 Aug 1;44(11):4211-4224. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26340. Epub 2023 May 20. PMID: 37209288
Kebaya, L.M.N., Kapoor, B., Mayorga, P.C., Meyerink, P., Altamimi, T., Nichols, E.S., de Ribaupierre, S., Bhattacharya, S., Tristao, L., Jurkiewicz, M. T., Duerden, E.G. Subcortical brain volumes in neonatal hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy. Pediatric Research. 2023 Jun 23. doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02695-y. PMID: 37353661
Correa, S., Nichols, E.S. Mueller, M.E., de Vrijer, B., Eagelson, R., McKenzie, C., de Ribaupierre, S., Duerden, E. G. Default-mode network functional connectivity strength in utero and the association with fetal subcortical development. Cerebral Cortex. 2023 Jul 5;33(14):9144-9153. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad190. PMID: 37259175
Nichols ES, de Ribaupierre, Duerden EG, Khan A. Funcmasker-flex: an automated BIDS-App for brain segmentation of fetal functional MRI data. Neuroinformatics. 2023 Mar 31. doi: 10.1007/s12021-023-09629-3. PMID: 37000360
Kyle M. Gilbert, Emily S. Nichols, Joseph S. Gati, Emma G. Duerden. A radiofrequency coil for children aged three months to three years. NMR in Biomedicine, 2023 Aug;36(8):e4928. doi: 10.1002/nbm.4928. PMID: 36939270
Kebaya, L.N. Stubbs, K., Lo, M., Abu Al-Saoud, S., Karat, B., St Lawrence, K., de Ribaupierre, S., Duerden, E. G. Use of three-dimensional cranial ultrasound and functional near infrared spectroscopy to guide the timing of intervention in infants with posthemorrhagic ventricular dilatation. Scientific Reports. 2023 Mar 6;13(1):3730.doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-30743-4. PMID: 36878952
Bezanson, S., Nichols, E.S., Duerden, E.G. Postnatal Maternal Distress, Infant Subcortical Brain Macrostructure and Emotional Regulation. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2023 Jan;328:111577. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2022.111577. Epub 2022 Dec 5.PMID: 36512951
Lizbeth J. Ayoub, Junhao Zhu, Steven Lee, Nancy Mugisha, Kyle Patel, Emma G. Duerden, Jennifer Stinson, Suellen Walker, Madeleine Verriotis, Melanie Noel, Dehan Kong, Massieh Moayedi, Mary Pat McAndrews. Anterior and posterior hippocampal volume trajectories during development: a model classification approach. Hippocampus.Hippocampus. 2023 Jan;33(1):37-46. doi: 10.1002/hipo.23487. Epub 2022 Dec 15.PMID: 36519826
Jianan Wang, Emily S. Nichols, Megan Mueller, Barbra de Vrijer, Roy Eagleson, Charles A. Mckenzie, Sandrine de Ribaupierre, Emma G. Duerden. Semi-automatic segmentation of the fetal brain from magnetic resonance imaging. Frontiers in Neuroscience: Brain Imaging Methods. Special Issue Imaging the Developing Connectome of Perinatal Brain. 2022 Nov 11;16:1027084. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1027084. eCollection 2022. PMID: 36440277
Noha Gomaa, Chaini Konwar, Nicole Gladish, Stephanie H. Au-Young, Ting Guo, Min Sheng, Sarah Merrill, Edmond Kelly, Vann Chau, Helen Branson, Linh Ly, Emma G. Duerden, Ruth Grunau, Michael S. Kobor, Steven P. Miller. The Epigenetic Clock, Brain Growth and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Neonates. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Nov 1;5(11):e2239796. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.39796. PMID: 36322087
Hennessy A, Seguin D, Correa S, Wang J, Nicolson R, Martinez-Trujillo J, Duerden, EG. Anxiety in Children with ASD and the Association with the Maturation of the Amygdala Subnuclei. Autism. 2022 Oct 22;13623613221127512. doi: 10.1177/13623613221127512. PMID: 36278283
Nichols ES, Pathak HS, Bgeginski R, Giroux I, Mottola MF, Van Lieshout RJ, Mohsenzadeh Y, Duerden EG. Machine learning-based predictive modeling of resilience to COVID-19 related stressors in pregnant women. PLoS One. 2022 Aug 11;17(8):e0272862. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272862. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35951588
Papadopoulos A, Nichols ES, Mohsenzadeh Y, Giroux I, Mottola MF, Van Lieshout RJ, Duerden EG. Prenatal and postpartum maternal mental health and neonatal motor outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Affect Disord Rep. 2022 Dec;10:100387. doi: 10.1016/j.jadr.2022.100387. Epub 2022 Jul 20. PMID: 35873090
Montenegro J., Seguin D., Duerden, E.G. Joint Attention in Infants at High Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder and the association with Thalamic and Hippocampal Macrostructure. Cereb Cortex Commun. 2022 Jul 22;3(3):tgac029. doi: 10.1093/texcom/tgac029. eCollection 2022. PMID: 36072708
Megan Mueller, MA, Benjamin Thompson, PhD, Tanya Poppe, PhD; Jane Alsweiler FRACP, PhD, Greg Gamble, MSc, Yannan Jiang PhD, Myra Leung PhD, Anna C. Tottman, PhD, Trecia Wouldes, PhD, Jane E. Harding, FRACP, DPhil, Emma G. Duerden, PhD. Amygdala Subnuclei Volumes, Functional Connectivity and Social-Emotional Outcomes in Children Born Very Preterm. Cereb Cortex Commun. 2022 Jul 22;3(3):tgac028. doi: 10.1093/texcom/tgac028. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35990310
Seguin D, Khan AR, Duerden EG. Three-Dimensional Atlas of the Human Amygdala Subnuclei Constructed Using Immunohistochemical and Ultrahigh-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data. Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2515:227-236. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2409-8_14. PMID: 35776355
Seguin D, Pac S, Wang J, Nicolson R, Martinez-Trujillo J, Anagnostou E, Schachar R, Crosbie J, Lerch JP, Hammill C, Kelley E, Ayub M, Liu X, Brian J, Georgiades, S. Duerden, EG. Amygdala subnuclei volumes predict anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Human Brain Mapping. 2022 Jul 12. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26005. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35819018
Duerden EG, Grunau RE, Guo T, Chau C, Chau V, Synnes A, Miller SP. Neonatal pain and early thalamic development predict altered sensory processing and attention at 4.5 years in children born extremely preterm. Early Hum Dev. 2022 Jul;170:105617. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2022.105617. Epub 2022 Jun 22. PMID: 35760006
Kuenzel E, Seguin D. Nicolson, R, Duerden EG. Familial adversity in children with autism spectrum disorder: role of positive parenting. Autism Research 2021 Autism Res. 2021 Dec;14(12):2654-2662. doi: 10.1002/aur.2613. Epub 2021 Sep 22.PMID: 34549545
Papadopoulos A, Nichols ES, Mohsenzadeh Y, Giroux I, Mottola MF, Van Lieshout RJ, Duerden EG. Depression in pregnant women with and without COVID-19. British Journal of Psychiatry: Open 2021 Sep 21;7(5):e173. PMID: 34635872
Seguin D, Kuenzel E, Morton JB, Duerden EG. School’s out: parenting stress and screen time use in school-age children during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Affect Disord Rep. 2021 Dec;6:100217. doi: 10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100217. Epub 2021 Sep 8. PMID: 34514458
Papadopoulos A, Seguin D, Correa S, Duerden EG. Social adversity and the association with hippocampal development and cognitive ability in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 12;11(1):16411. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95582-7. PMID: 34385508
Seguin D, Pac S, Wang J, Nicolson R, Martinez-Trujillo J, Duerden, EG. Longitudinal development of the amygdala subnuclei in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and the association with symptomatology. Brain Behav. 2021 Aug;11(8):e2299. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2299. Epub 2021 Aug 1. PMID: 34333868
Truffyn EE, Moayedi M, Brown S, Ruskin D, Duerden EG. Sensory function and psychological factors in children with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1. Journal of Child Neurology. Apr PMID: 33882728.
Duerden EG, Thompson B, Poppe T, Alsweiler J, Gamble G, Jiang Y, Leung M, Tottman AC, Wouldes T, Miller SP, Harding JE; PIANO study group. Early protein intake predicts functional connectivity and neurocognition in preterm born children. Scientific Reports. 2021 Feb 18;11(1):4085. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83125-z. PMID: 33602973
Duerden EG,Grunau RE, Chau V, Groenendaal F, Guo T, Chakravarty MM, Benders MJ, Wagenaar N, Eijsermans RJC, Koopman C, Synnes A, de Vries LS, Miller SP. Early skin breaks and neonatal thalamic maturation: A modifiable risk? Neurology Oct 2020 Dec 15;95(24):e3420-e3427. PMID:33087497
Duerden, E.G., Miller, S.P. Pain in the Newborn Brain: a neural signature. The Lancet (Digital Health) 2020 Sept 2(9); E442-E443 PMID: 33328109
Duerden, E.G., Thompson, D.K. Can you see what I see? Assessing atypical brain maturation & injury in preterm and term neonates. Brain 2020 Feb 1;143(2):383-386.doi: 10.1093/brain/awz421 PMID: 320405508
Duerden, E.G., Chakravarty, M.M., Lerch, J. Taylor, M. J. Sex-based differences in cortical and subcortical development in 436 individuals aged 4 to 54 years. Cerebral Cortex 2020 May 14;30(5):2854-2866. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhz279. PMID: 31814003
Urbain C, Sato J, Hammill C, Duerden EG, Taylor, MJ. Converging function, structure and behavioural features of emotion regulation in preterm children. Human Brain Mapping. 2020 Aug 1;40(11):3385-3397. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24604. Epub 2019 May 6. PMID: 31056820
Duerden EG, Halani S, Ng K, Guo T, Foong J, Glass T, Chau V, Branson HB, Sled JG, Whyte HE, Kelly E, Miller SP. White matter injury predicts disrupted functional connectivity and microstructure in very preterm born neonates. NeuroImage: Clinical 2019 Nov 13. pii: S2213-1582(18)30344-9. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.11.006. PMID: 30458986
Guo T, Chau V, Peyvandi S, Latal B, McQuillen PS, Knirsch W, Synnes A, Feldmann M, Naef N, Chakravarty MM, De Petrillo A, Duerden EG, Barkovich J, Miller SP. White Matter Injury in Term Neonates with Congenital Heart Diseases: Topology & Comparison with Preterm Newborns. NeuroImage Jun 15. pii: S1053-8119(18)30511-1. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.004. PMID: 29890324
Glass TJA, Chau V, Grunau RE, Synnes A, Guo T, Duerden EG, Foong J, Poskitt KJ, Miller SP. Multiple post-natal infections in preterm newborns predicts delayed maturation of motor pathways and poorer motor outcomes at 3 years. Journal of Pediatrics 2018 May;196:91-97. pii: S0022-3476(17)31736-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.12.041. PMID: 29398063
Duerden EG, Grunau RE, Guo T, Chau V, Synnes A, Miller SP. Early procedural pain is associated with regionally-specific alterations in thalamic development in preterm neonates. Journal of Neuroscience 2018 Jan 24;38(4):878-886. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0867-17.2017. PMID: 29255007
Schneider J, Duerden EG, Guo T, Ng K, Hagmann P, Graz MB, Grunau RE, Chakravarty MM, Huppi P, Truttmann A, Miller SP. Procedural pain and oral glucose in neonates: brain development and sex-specific effects. Pain. 2018 Mar;159(3):515-525. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001123.PMID: 29200180
Schneider J, Beauport L, Duerden EG, Guo T, Foong J, Bickle Graz M, Hagmann P, Chakravarty MM, Huppi P, Fischer Fumeaux CJ, Miller SP, Truttmann A. Nutrient intake in the first 2 weeks of life predicts brain macro- and microstructural growth in preterm neonates. Pediatrics 2018 pii: e20172169. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-2169. PMID:29940205
Teaching and Supervision
2019-2020 - Psychosocial aspects of schooling (MA, School Psych, Year 1) Course number: 9801A-001
2019-2023 – Mind, Brain and Education (PhD, School Psych, Year 1) Course number: 9802A-001
2020–2024 - Advance Quantitative Research Methods (MA, School Psych, Year 1) Course number: 97052A-001
