About
Title of PhD: The functional and neural basis of adult Theory of Mind
Supervisors: Professor Ian Apperly; Dr Peter Hansen
I have a broad interest in the cognitive neuroscience of social behaviour, particularly in terms of how executive processes contribute to Theory of Mind (ToM), and the neural basis of these functional processes.
I am currently using structural and functional neuroimaging techniques, including DTI and fMRI, in combination with interference techniques, such as TMS, to conduct a detailed analysis of how mental state reasoning is represented in, and beyond, the ‘social brain’.
To attempt to delineate any executive processes that may support mental state reasoning, my research also involves the evaluation of psychometric data alongside behavioural and brain data.
Qualifications
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BSc Hons. Psychology
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MRes Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience
Biography
I obtained a First Class Hns degree in Psychology at the University of Worcester. For two years, I worked in Outreach with people who have physical and mental-health disabilities. I also worked for one year for Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership Trust (WMHPT) in Psychology Services for People with Learning Disabilities. Here, I was responsible for project managing a service development within WMHPT, which involved research with people who have learning disabilities.
I am now in the final year of a 1+3 Open Studentship funded by the ESRC at the University of Birmingham, where I work with Ian Apperly and Peter Hansen using various neuroimaging techniques to examine ToM in typical adults.
Research
Other activities
University of Birmingham Teaching Assistant
Undergraduate modules:
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Research Methods (Lead TA)
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Statistics, Design and Analysis
Postgraduate modules:
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Introduction to programming in Matlab (Lead TA)
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Introduction to FSL (Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience)
Publications
Easter, C., Apperly, I.A, Hansen, P.C. (2010). Activation within the Right Temporoparietal Junction is Modulated by Specific Belief & Desire States. Poster presentation, Organization for Human Brain Mapping, 16th Annual Meeting
Hartwright, C. E., Apperly, I. A., Hansen, P.C. (in press). Multiple roles for executive control in belief-desire reasoning: Distinct neural networks are recruited for self perspective inhibition and complexity of reasoning. Neuroimage.
Hartwright, C. E., Hansen, P. C., Apperly, I. A. Inhibition of self knowledge in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, in prep