Cognitive Neuroscience

Our research concerns the fundamental mechanisms underlying a range of cognitive and perceptual processes. Research on cognition includes learning, memory, attention, decision making and spatial and social cognition. We also research fundamental mechanisms of vision and auditory perception and how these interact with cognitive and motor processes such as attention, working memory, action control, social cognition & eye movements.

We also work on applications to our research, including cutting edge research developing compensatory treatments for people with congenital or neurological visual impairments.

As well as our laboratories within the Department, we use the Durham Centre for Imaging (DCI) at the James Cook University Hospital and the Life Sciences Support Unit (LSSU) for our research. We are also actively involved in a number of research centres, including the Centre for Vision and Visual Cognition, the Learning and Memory Processes Centre, and the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing.

Projects

• Colour perception
• The perception of the material properties of objects
• The perception of faces, emotions and biological motion
• Face processing, recognition and person categorization
• Social cognition
• Links between visual working memory and attentional control
• Interactions between eye-movements, spatial attention and visuospatial working memory
• The relationship between visual attention and visual consciousness
• Clinical neuropsychology of vision and spatial attention
• Neural mechanisms of visual search
• Brain-machine interfaces
• Human echolocation and auditory perception
• A biopsychosocial approach to cognitive sex differences

Members

Education and Research Track Staff

• Professor Anthony Atkinson
• Dr Ulrik Beierholm
• Dr Marco Bocchio
• Dr Mike Burt
• Dr Soazig Casteau
• Professor Alexander Easton
• Professor Amanda Ellison
• Professor Charles Fernyhough
• Dr Anna Grubert
• Professor Markus Hausmann
• Professor Bob Kentridge
• Dr Alison Lane
• Professor Colin Lever
• Professor Anthony McGregor
• Dr Liam Norman
• Dr Steven Poulter
• Professor David Sanderson
• Dr Meike Scheller
• Professor Daniel T. Smith
• Dr Sara Spotorno
• Dr Jasmin Strickland
• Dr Lore Thaler
• Dr Kathleen Vancleef
• Professor Holger Wiese

Research Track Staff

• Dr Amna Aurooj
• Dr Alexis Cheviet
• Mrs Kate Cowen
• Dr Mikel Jimenez

Education Track Staff

• Dr Yan Birch
• Dr Hayley Dewe
• Dr Nazire Duran
• Dr Sophie Hodgetts

Research Student

• Mr Joshua Podmore

Research Grants

• Control of Attention by the Motor System: A Motor Bias Theory of Attention
• Using Echolocation To Study The Development Of Cue Combination
• Human echolocation: Basic mechanisms and neuroplasticity
• Perception & Action in Complex Environments