Associate Professor and Department Chair

Dr. Michael Cannizzaro investigates brain and behavior relationships in typical and brain-injured populations. His research considers the role of the prefrontal cortex during complex communication and tasks that involve executive functions, and involves the study of discourse processing using behavioral and linguistic metrics to study communication in conjunction with neuroimaging to monitor task-related hemodynamics in the brain.

Dr. Cannizzaro’s lab uses modulated cortical activity (i.e., fNIRS & EEG) as a means of interfacing with computers for communication and environmental control. This “Brain Computer Interface” project is a joint undertaking between the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the Department of Computer Science, and the undergraduate neuroscience program. The work is sponsored in part through UVM’s Trans-disciplinary Neuroscience, Behavior and Health Initiative.

Dr. Cannizzaro has worked clinically as a speech-language pathologist and is experienced in the assessment and treatment of adults with acquired speech, language and cognitive deficits resulting from stroke, brain-injury, progressive neurodegenerative disorders, and psychiatric illness.

Publications

Cannizzaro, M. S., Stephens, S. R. (2019). Discourse formulation and neurovascular activation in four genres. Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders, 4(1), 10-20.*

Hutchins, T. L., & Cannizzaro, M.S. (2018). Review of the Test of Early Language Development, Revised. In J. F. Carlson, K. F. Geisinger, & R. A. Spies (Eds.), The Twentieth mental measurements yearbook.  Lincoln, NE: The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

Cannizzaro, M. S., Stephens, S. R., Breidenstein, M., & Crovo, C. (2016). Prefrontal cortical activity during discourse processing: An observational fNIRS study. Topics in Language Disorders, 36(1), 65-79. *

Hutchins, T. L., & Cannizzaro, M.S. (2015). Review of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition (CELF-5). In J. F. Carlson, K. F. Geisinger, & R. A. Spies (Eds.), The Twentieth mental measurements yearbook.  Lincoln, NE: The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

Hutchins, T. L., & Cannizzaro, M.S. (2014). Review of the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts? Bilingual Spanish-English version (SALT-SE). In J. F. Carlson, K. F. Geisinger, & R. A. Spies (Eds.), The nineteenth mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

Mike Cannizzaro

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Analysis of prefrontal cortical function as measured by functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), task-related processing load during discourse / complex communication, comparison of discourse performance in brain injured and typical adults, cognitive-motor interference in neurodegenerative disorders (Multiple Sclerosis) - co-PI with Susan Kasser from Rehabilitation and Movement Science

Education

  • Post-doctoral training with Pfizer Global Research & Development: The Neuropsychology of Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • Ph.D., Communication Sciences and Disorders; University of Connecticut
  • M.S., Communication Disorders; University of New Hampshire
  • B.S., Speech Pathology; Nazareth College of Rochester

Contact

Email:

Michael.Cannizzaro@med.uvm.edu

Phone:
  • 802-656-9725
Office Location:

401 Pomeroy Hall