Other PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

In order that the brain can function normally, it is essential that blood flow within the brain is well matched to neuronal metabolic demand. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Howarth

Weight stigma and health behaviours

Supervisors: Dr N Buckland, Dr C Wood

Obesity is one of society’s greatest challenges with 2/3rds of UK adults being overweight or obese. Weight stigma (anti-fat attitudes, weight-based prejudice and discrimination) is experienced by 54% of adults and deters individuals from engaging in healthy behaviours targeted in obesity interventions (e.g. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Using pharmacological agents to investigate the mechanisms of the neuronal vascular coupling

The changes in cerebral blood flow, volume and oxygenation that accompany increases in neural activity form the basis of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which allow human brain mapping. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Understanding the neural basis of ADHD

Supervisor: Prof P Overton

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder, however the neural changes that underlie the disorder are poorly understood. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Understanding neurovascular coupling and its importance in the interpretation of modern neuroimaging techniques

During the past two decades, blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become the scientific technique of choice for investigating human brain function in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Understanding how therapy works for the eating disorders

Supervisor: Prof G Waller

Clinicians and researchers have suggested a number of factors that influence the outcome of psychological treatment for the eating disorders. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

The neurophysiological basis of spontaneous fluctuations in neuroimaging signals

Supervisors: Dr M Jones, Dr J Berwick

A technique called blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can determine levels of different activity in parts of the living human brain and how malfunctions can occur in disease. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

The development of flexible cognition in children and adults

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

The ability to switch flexibly between different rules is a crucial skill that emerges gradually during the preschool and early school years, and underpins many more complex behaviours. Read more

Supervisor: Dr D Carroll

The breakdown of neurovascular coupling in the diseased state specifically Epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease

Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in the UK, affecting 1 – 2 % of the population. Epilepsies often involve only a small area of the brain - the epileptic focus – and the abnormal activity can propagate out from there. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Simultaneous measures of brain and blood oxygenation: Revealing the function behind ‘functional’ brain mapping signals

Supervisors: Dr M Jones, Dr J Berwick

A technique called blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can determine levels of different activity in parts of the living human brain and how malfunctions can occur in disease. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Sensory processing in Autism Spectrum Conditions and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Supervisors: Prof P Overton, Dr T Stafford

Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are prevalent. neurodevelopmental conditions. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Online discussion; augmenting argumentation with chatbots

Supervisor: Dr T Stafford

Argumentation - the systematic exchange of reasoning supporting or undermining an idea - enhances communication between individuals. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Neurotransmitters, brain blood flow and functional brain imaging signals.r

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

The function of modulatory neurotransmitter systems such as serotonin, dopamine or acetylcholine are implicated in a wide range of brain diseases and are targeted by a wide range of therapeutic drugs. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Martin

Identifying the neural processes underlying skilled anticipation in sport

Supervisors: Prof R Rowe, Prof E Milne

A large body of evidence indicates that skilled sports players can anticipate the actions of their opponents more accurately than novices, for example in sports such as tennis. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

How do deaf babies learn to communicate? A comparison of parent-infant interaction in Deaf and hearing families

Supervisor: Dr D Matthews

Good early communication skills from an important foundation for children’s later education and social interactions. Infant deafness often creates significant barriers in learning these skills. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Function Brain imaging in disease: what are the activation maps really telling us?

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Functional brain imaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have already revolutionized how we can study the processes and functioning of the healthy human brain and are making an increasing impact on our understanding on what goes wrong in disease of the brain. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Martin

Efficient coding in touch: Exploring cortical feature tuning in the somatosensory system through the lens of efficient coding

Supervisors: Dr H Saal, Dr SP Wilson

Efficient coding models can successfully explain the emergence of different features detectors along the visual pathway, such as center-surround receptive fields, simple and complex cells, and even higher-level visual neurons. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Computational modelling of the emergence of somatosensory cortical maps

Supervisors: Dr H Saal, Dr SP Wilson

The aim of this project is to to build a computational model of the development of cortical somatotopy in humans, focusing specifically on the representation of the hand. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Body image treatment: The role of mirror exposure in reducing eating pathology

Supervisor: Prof G Waller

The most effective treatment for negative body image is mirror exposure, reducing avoidance and providing accurate feedback on appearance. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Assessing the hemodynamic signal sources of fMRI based spontaneous connectivity maps and how neuronal plasticity such as increased spatial working memory can change these networks

Many psychiatric (e.g. schizophrenia) and neurological diseases are characterised by a disturbance of the connections between different parts of the brain that need to communicate with one another. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Analysing Big Data to Understand Learning

Supervisor: Dr T Stafford

I have access to large existing data sets which contain the potential to show skill development on real-world tasks for large numbers of people (i.e. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

How can we support early mathematical skills in children?

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Maths skills at school entry predict a child’s academic success across a range of domains both concurrently and years later. Furthermore, there is an achievement gap between children from lower socioeconomic homes compared to children from higher socioeconomic homes. Read more

Supervisor: Dr E Blakey

Individual differences in early executive functions

Supervisors: Dr E Blakey, Dr D Carroll

Executive functions are the set of high-level goal-directed thinking skills that develop rapidly during early childhood. Read more

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Understanding the societal barriers experienced by autistic adults

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Research demonstrates that the mental and physical health of autistic adults is significantly poorer. than for non-autistic adults (Bishop-Fitzpatrick & Rubenstein, 2019; Cage, 2018). Read more

Supervisor: Dr M Freeth

Deep phenotyping of genetic syndromes associated with autism

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Autism is an extremely heterogeneous condition. Some of this variability results from genetic heterogeneity. Some rare genetic conditions appear to have an increased prevalence of autism. Read more

Supervisor: Dr M Freeth

Anglia Ruskin University ARU School of Psychology and Sport Science

Using interpersonal touch as a means to improve carer and patient relationship

Research Group: Centre for Societies and Groups

Research Group. Centre for Societies and Groups. Proposed supervisory team. Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd. Dr Debora Antoniotti de Vasconcelos e Sa. Read more

Supervisors: Dr C Jansson-Boyd, Dr D Antoniotti de Vasconcelos e Sa, Dr J Aspell

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Anglia Ruskin University ARU School of Psychology and Sport Science

Investigating how tactile cues can influence people’s perception of healthy food.

Research Group: Centre for Societies and Groups

Research Group. Centre for Societies and Groups. Proposed supervisory team. Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd. Theme. Consumer Psychology. Read more

Supervisor: Dr C Jansson-Boyd

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Anglia Ruskin University ARU School of Psychology and Sport Science

What can pregnancy tell us about maternal behaviour? A neurohormonal investigation

Research Group: Centre for Mind and Behaviour

Research Group. Centre for Mind and Behaviour. Proposed supervisory team. Dr Jane Aspell. Dr Flavia Cardini. Theme. Body and Self. Read more

Supervisors: Dr J Aspell, Dr F Cardini

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Anglia Ruskin University ARU School of Psychology and Sport Science

Construction and attentional control of complex thought and behaviour

Research Group: Centre for Mind and Behaviour

Research Group. Centre for Mind and Behaviour. Proposed supervisory team. Prof Peter Bright (Psychology). Dr Mike Pake. Dr Ian van der Linde (Computing & Information Science). Read more

Supervisors: Prof P Bright, Dr M Pake, Dr I van der Linde

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Anglia Ruskin University ARU School of Psychology and Sport Science

Assessment of premorbid cognitive ability

Research Group: Centre for Mind and Behaviour

Research Group. Centre for Mind and Behaviour. Proposed supervisory team. Prof Peter Bright (Psychology). Dr Ian van der Linde (Computing & Information Science). Read more

Supervisors: Prof P Bright, Dr I van der Linde

Year round applications PhD Research Project Self-Funded PhD Students Only