Frank Russo, Toronto Metropolitan University

Research

cognitive neuroscience Listening effort auditory EEG fNIRS music neurovascular coupling perception

Latest papers

Age-related increased frontal activation in sentence comprehension reflects inefficiency, not compensation.
Neurobiology of aging · 2025 · senior author
Music-based interventions in community settings: Navigating the tension between rigor and ecological validity.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2022
Examining potential effects of arousal, valence, and likability of music on visually induced motion sickness.
Experimental brain research · 2020

All 6 publications

Latest funding

Translating Sex in the Hebrew Bible
SSHRC · 2025 · Co-investigator
$53,318
The behavioural and neural effect of hearing loss and hearing aids during speech emotion perception in older adults
CIHR · 2025 · Supervisor
$1,500
Reducing the impacts of emotion recognition bias on Canadians
SSHRC · 2024 · Co-investigator
$44,238

All 21 grants and awards

6 publications.

01

Age-related increased frontal activation in sentence comprehension reflects inefficiency, not compensation.

Perron M, Shatzer H, Zara M, Russo F

Neurobiology of aging2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.07.014 PMID: 40749564

02

Music-based interventions in community settings: Navigating the tension between rigor and ecological validity.

Habibi A, Kreutz G, Russo F, Tervaniemi M

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences2022

DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14908 PMID: 36200590

03

Examining potential effects of arousal, valence, and likability of music on visually induced motion sickness.

Peck K, Russo F, Campos JL, Keshavarz B

Experimental brain research2020

DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-05871-2 PMID: 32757060

04

Absolute Pitch and Musical Expertise Modulate Neuro-Electric and Behavioral Responses in an Auditory Stroop Paradigm.

Sharma VV, Thaut M, Russo F, Alain C

Frontiers in neuroscience2019

DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00932 PMID: 31551690

05

The Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire (EMO-CHeQ): Development and Evaluation.

Singh G, Liskovoi L, Launer S, Russo F

Ear and hearing2019Senior author

DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000000611 PMID: 29894380

06

Hearing, Emotion, Amplification, Research, and Training Workshop: Current Understanding of Hearing Loss and Emotion Perception and Priorities for Future Research.

Picou EM, Singh G, Goy H, Russo F, Hickson L, Oxenham AJ, Buono GH, Ricketts TA, Launer S

Trends in hearing2018

DOI: 10.1177/2331216518803215 PMID: 30270810

Translating Sex in the Hebrew Bible

Co-investigatorSSHRC2025Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Milstein, Sara

Keywords: translation of the Bible; history of sex and sexuality; Biblical Hebrew; study of emotions; history of language; Septuagint

$53,318

The behavioural and neural effect of hearing loss and hearing aids during speech emotion perception in older adults

SupervisorCIHR2025Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Dang, Carmen

Keywords: Ics Travel Awards

$1,500

Reducing the impacts of emotion recognition bias on Canadians

Co-investigatorSSHRC2024Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Livingstone, Steven R.

Keywords: emotion; algorithmic bias; emotion recognition bias; survey; emotion dataset; human ai assistance; emotional decision making; diversity; harm reduction; skin tone; speech accent

$44,238

Enhancing Speech-in-Noise Perception in Older Adults with Hearing Loss: The Synergistic Role of Hearing Aids and Choral Singing

SupervisorCIHR2024CIHR Fellowship

Principal investigators: Perron, Maxime

Keywords: Aging; Choral Singing; Connectivity; Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy; Hearing Aids; Hearing Loss; Speech Perception

$210,000

Self-Compassion in Sport Intervention Sensitive to Identity

Co-investigatorSSHRC2024Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Kowalski, Kent C.

Keywords: Self-compassion; sport intervention; social identities; intersectionality

$49,217

Extending the neurocognitive understanding of listening effort with concurrent fNIRS-EEG and neurostimulation

Principal investigatorNSERC2023Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Russo, Frank

Keywords: listening effort; speech; music; perception; fnirs; eeg; tes; auditory; cognitive neuroscience; neurovascular coupling

$78,000

Canadian Stress Research Summit: Stress Across the Lifespan: From risk to management

Co-investigatorCIHR2019Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Fiocco, Alexandra J

Keywords: Biomarkers; Clinical Applications; Diversity; Lifespan Approach; Mental Health; Neuroscience; Prevention; Risk And Resilience; Stress; Stress-Related Disorders

$18,000

NSERC/ Industrial Research Chair in NSERC/Sonova IRC in Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience

Principal investigatorNSERC2018Industrial Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Russo, Frank A

Keywords: audiology; brain imaging; cognitive neuroscience; emotion-in-speech; functional near-IR spectroscopy; hearing instruments; hearing science; listening effort; psychology

$948,880

Engagement of the motor system in the perception and cognition of music

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Russo, Frank

$288,000

Understanding group singing in older adults from a psychosocial perspective

Principal investigatorSSHRC2017Partnership Development Grants

Principal investigators: Russo, Frank A.

Keywords: singing; social wellbeing; connectedness; social identity; stigma; asset model; older adults; community

$199,371

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Psychology
KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Insitute
Other

Co-authors at Toronto Metropolitan University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Behrang Keshavarz

KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Insitute

1 shared papers, latest 2020

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: cognitive neuroscience Dear Professor Russo, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Age-related increased frontal activation in sentence comprehension reflects inefficiency, not compensation." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Extending the neurocognitive understanding of listening effort with concurrent fNIRS-EEG and neurostimulation" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Frank Russo