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Wolfson Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience

Wolfson Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience

The Wolfson Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience was established through a grant from the Wolfson Foundation. The Centre combines interdisciplinary efforts to understand the biological basis of the human mind. Research activity within the Centre investigates the cognitive and neural bases of human perception, conscious awareness, visual attention, goal-directed behaviour, language and emotion. The clinical neuroscience research covers a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including stroke, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, schizophrenia, depression and substance abuse. The Centre focuses on the brain mechanisms underlying perceptual, cognitive, emotional and motor disturbances in these disorders, and on both medical and psychological approaches to their remediation.

An integrated programme of research has been developed which benefits from a convergence of disciplines including cognitive science, vision science, computational neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry and neuropsychology. A set of shared research interests in brain and behaviour are investigated from a variety of converging techniques, including chronometric analysis, computer simulation, behavioural and anatomical analysis of neurological and psychiatric patients, behavioural genetics, and functional brain mapping using event related potentials (ERP), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). To this end, the Centre is equipped with a range of specialist laboratories. These allow for the following: computer-controlled reaction time experiments; the online measurement of human eye, limb, and hand movements; studies of performance in virtual reality environments; computer simulation; ERP measurements of neural electrical activity; deactivation studies with TMS; and, with our recently acquired 3T fMRI scanner, localisation and characterisation of neural systems in healthy populations. Furthermore, neurological and psychiatric patient research panels have been developed in collaboration with the National Health Service (NHS). Characterization of the patterns of deficits and preserved performance in these groups informs our understanding of both normal and disrupted brain function. The Centre is equipped with dedicated patient testing facilities and has full disabled access.

This research activity has been supported by the Wales Assembly Government through the Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, research councils including the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), charities, including the Wellcome Trust and the Alzheimer’s Society, and industry.

The Wolfson Centre has the following sub-units:

• BIU
  
• EEG laboratories
• TMS laboratory
  
• Behavioural laboratories
  
• Clinical research
  

Peter J. Higson BA PhD DipClinPsy CPsychol Wales AFBPsS

Marie-Josephe Tainturier BSc MSc PhD Montr.

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