General news

fMRI research on eating disorders – the role of the insula?

Timothy Hodgson General news, Impact

This week I will be visiting the Regional Eating Disorders Service at Ulleval Hospital University of Oslo:

Clinical psychologist and current PhD student Ian Frampton has been carrying out research based at the unit using fMRI to determine if individuals with anorexia nervosa have abnormal patterns of activity in the insula cortex of the brain. He is examining patterns of activity in patients and controls while they perform cognitive tasks that tax working memory, executive control and attention, some of which are specially modified to use materials which might activate body image or food reward processing systems.

Historically, the insula cortex was known to play an important role in advanced processing neural signals coming from the gut (some people have even called it the “hippocampus of the gut”), but more recently it is perhaps more widely known for its involvement in emotion and socio-economic decision making  (see earlier post  on our coordination game fMRI study).  Ians research spans  the two fields, so I am really pleased to be involved with it and very much looking forward seeing his latest imaging results!

The research has the promise to provide better techniques for assessing and diagnosing eating disorders, as well as better fundamental understanding of the neural, cognitive and emotional mechanisms involved in anorexia and related conditions.

PhD Research Opportunities

Timothy Hodgson General news, jobs

A fully funded studentship is available in the School of Psychology, University of Lincoln. 

Applicants are encouraged from all areas of psychology, but please contact me in particular if you are interested in eye movement control and cognition in Parkinsons disease and focal brain damage.  Another potential project for a PhD researcher would be the development of saccadic orienting to socio-biological cues in children (see https://hodgson.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2012/04/10/giving-people-the-eye-and-showing-them-the).

The School of Psychology is well equiped for Cognitive Neuroscience research with a full EEG / ERP recording system, Tobii and soon to arrive Eyelink 1000 Eyetracker as well  a Transcranial Magentic Stimulation system. Opportunities for carrying out fMRI based research also exist via several close by research centres.

A link to the School website including research groups, staff interests and lab pages is here: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/psychology/research.htm

Further particulars of the PhD studentship opportunities in the College of Social Sciences including details of how to apply are available via:  http://jobs.lincoln.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=PHDSS

Understanding and Improving Functional Vision in Specialist Education

Timothy Hodgson Conferences, Eyelander, General news, Impact

On 25th April I will be speaking at the West of England School and College (WESC) conference on understanding and improving functional vision. I will be giving an overview of my research on the brain systems underlying eye movement control and how they are affected in cases of neurological damage entitled Eye movements, visual attention and the brain. http://www.westengland.ac.uk/

WESC is a visual impairment specialist school and further education provider in Exeter with an outstanding reputation for excellence and innovation. We are developing an exciting new collaboration to embed visual neuroscience expertise and knowledge in specialist education where to date the emphasis has been upon the role of the eye itself in vision rather than the brain.

Giving people the eye and showing them the finger

Timothy Hodgson General news, Publications

Nicola Gregory (my former PhD student) and I have just published a paper in Perception examining how eye gaze, arrow and finger pointing cues affect how quickly we direct attention (via saccadic eye movements) . Even when these directional cues arent relevant to what you’re doing we find that they tend to effect your eye movements.

A link to the abstract is available here http://www.perceptionweb.com/abstract.cgi?id=p7085

Interestingly, more realistic biological cues such as a pointing finger were generally better than abstract cues such as arrows for directing attention. We slightly cheekily suggest in the paper that road and other directional signage should revert back to the old fashioned “finger post” form seen only in the remote country lanes of devon and other such places.

Nicola Gregory will also be presenting some of her work at the EPS conference in Hull this week.