Biography

Dr. Schweizer’s area of interest is in Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, focusing on understanding the neural bases for human cognitive and real-world functioning using experimental cognitive paradigms, neuroimaging and neuropsychology. A better understanding of the complex neural systems supporting various cognitive and real-world functions and their breakdown after brain damage (e.g. Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Alzheimer’s Disease) is essential in educating physicians, patients and families and critical in designing effective treatment strategies. Dr. Schweizer and his team have developed a novel and fully immersive driving simulator and touch tablet placed in a 3.0 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) system. The MRI compatible equipment can capture brain activity during real world tasks. Dr. Schweizer and his group are also investigating novel approaches to image processing and data analysis in functional neuroimaging, in order to improve the reliability and interpretability of fMRI findings, particularly in clinical and aging populations. Dr. Schweizer is an Ontario Early Researcher Award holder and is supported by a New Investigator Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and research awards from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario and other National peer-reviewed funding agencies including Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Recent Publications

  1. Baltazar, VA, Demchenko, I, Tassone, VK, Sousa-Ho, RL, Schweizer, TA, Bhat, V et al.. Brain-based correlates of depression and traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Front Neuroimaging. 2024;3 :1465612. doi: 10.3389/fnimg.2024.1465612. PubMed PMID:39563730 PubMed Central PMC11573519.
  2. Khoury, MA, Valcic, M, Churchill, NW, Di Battista, A, De Luca, V, Fornazzari, LR et al.. Sex Differences in Cortical Thickness and Neuropsychiatric Symptom Burden Based on APOE4 Homozygosity in Alzheimer's Disease. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2024; :e33008. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.33008. PubMed PMID:39350506 .
  3. Demchenko, I, Rampersad, S, Datta, A, Horn, A, Churchill, NW, Kennedy, SH et al.. Target engagement of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex with transcranial temporal interference stimulation in major depressive disorder: a protocol for a randomized sham-controlled trial. Front Neurosci. 2024;18 :1390250. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1390250. PubMed PMID:39268031 PubMed Central PMC11390435.
  4. Churchill, NW, Roudaia, E, Chen, JJ, Sekuler, A, Gao, F, Masellis, M et al.. Effects of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome on cerebral white matter and emotional health among non-hospitalized individuals. Front Neurol. 2024;15 :1432450. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1432450. PubMed PMID:39165270 PubMed Central PMC11333225.
  5. Churchill, NW, Roudaia, E, Chen, JJ, Sekuler, A, Gao, F, Masellis, M et al.. Persistent fatigue in post-acute COVID syndrome is associated with altered T1 MRI texture in subcortical structures: a preliminary investigation. Behav Brain Res. 2024;469 :115045. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115045. PubMed PMID:38734034 .
  6. Khoury, MA, Churchill, NW, Di Battista, A, Graham, SJ, Symons, S, Troyer, AK et al.. History of traumatic brain injury is associated with increased grey-matter loss in patients with mild cognitive impairment. J Neurol. 2024;271 (7):4540-4550. doi: 10.1007/s00415-024-12369-2. PubMed PMID:38717612 .
  7. Guan, DX, Churchill, NW, Fischer, CE, Graham, SJ, Schweizer, TA. Neuroanatomical correlates of distracted straight driving performance: a driving simulator MRI study across the lifespan. Front Aging Neurosci. 2024;16 :1369179. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1369179. PubMed PMID:38706457 PubMed Central PMC11066182.
  8. Rashidi-Ranjbar, N, Churchill, NW, Black, SE, Kumar, S, Tartaglia, MC, Freedman, M et al.. Neuropsychiatric symptoms and brain morphology in patients with mild cognitive impairment, cerebrovascular disease and Parkinson disease: A cross sectional and longitudinal study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2024;39 (3):e6074. doi: 10.1002/gps.6074. PubMed PMID:38491809 .
  9. D'Souza, GM, Churchill, NW, Guan, DX, Khoury, MA, Graham, SJ, Kumar, S et al.. Interaction of Alzheimer Disease and Traumatic Brain Injury on Cortical Thickness. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. ;38 (1):14-21. doi: 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000607. PubMed PMID:38285961 .
  10. Churchill, NW, Roudaia, E, Jean Chen, J, Gilboa, A, Sekuler, A, Ji, X et al.. Persistent post-COVID headache is associated with suppression of scale-free functional brain dynamics in non-hospitalized individuals. Brain Behav. 2023;13 (11):e3212. doi: 10.1002/brb3.3212. PubMed PMID:37872889 PubMed Central PMC10636408.
Search PubMed

Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Scientist, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine (Neurosurgery), University of Toronto
  • Associate Professor, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), University of Toronto