Professor Ali Mazaheri PhD

Professor Ali Mazaheri

School of Psychology
Professor of Translational Neuroscience
Programme lead for BSc Psychology

Contact details

Email
a.mazaheri@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Psychology
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Mazaheri's research primarily focuses on elderly patients diagnosed with cancer and undergoing major surgery.  His research aims to investigate, from a neurobiological perspective, why certain individuals are more vulnerable than others to developing disorders such as postoperative delirium, chronic pain, long-term opioid dependence following surgery, and dementia. 

Qualifications

  • MSc University of Toronto, Toronto Canada
  • PhD  Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Biography

Dr Mazaheri completed his B.Sc and M.Sc degree in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto, Canada.  He obtained his PhD degree at the Donders Institute for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.  After a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Davis, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the AMC-University of Amsterdam. He joined the School in 2015.

Teaching

Neurobiology of Mental Illness – 3rd year Module
Year-2 Tutor

Postgraduate supervision

  • Tara Van Viegen - PhD Candidate
  • Daniel Elport - PhD Candidate
  • Rosanne Van Diepen - PhD candidate (University of Amsterdam)
  • Katrin Bangel - PhD candidate (University of Amsterdam)
  • Rachel Marchant (University of Birmingham) 
  • Chun Yuen Fong (University of Birmingham)
  • Emma Staley (University of Birmingham) 
  • Katrin Bangel (University of Amsterdam)
  • Sophie Hardy(University of Birmingham)
  • Eszter Toth (University of Birmingham)
  • Charlotte Poulisse (University of Birmingham)
  • Leonie Balter (University of Birmingham)

Research

The aim of Dr Mazaheri's research is to investigate what insight electrophysiological activity measured at the scalp using EEG and MEG can provide on how the brain processes information from the outside world. He is also particularly interested in why certain individuals are more vulnerable than others to developing neurodegenerative disorders.

Research ID:
0000-0001-5732-7555

Website:
www.alimazaheri.com

Publications

Recent publications

Article

RAGA Study Investigators, Li, T, Li, J, Jiang, C, Yuan, L, Wu, J, Mazaheri, A, Wang, M, Jin, S, Myles, PS, Yao, Y, Wu, J, Chen, J & Smith, FG 2025, 'Incidence of 12-month postoperative cognitive decline following regional vs. general anaesthesia in older patients undergoing hip fracture surgery: follow-up of the RAGA trial', Anaesthesia. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.16545

Storey, F, Prokhorenko, M, Keaser, ML, Skippen, P, Seminowicz, D, Furman, AJ & Mazaheri, A 2025, 'Individual differences in cognitive performance under pain linked to region-specific alpha power modulations', Neuorbiology of Pain, vol. 18, 100196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynpai.2025.100196

Welch, C, Acharjee, A, Birch, R, Lourenco Rocha De Magalhaes, JP, Duggal, NA, Hainsworth, A, R. Hombrebueno, J, Jones, SW, Lewis, J, Mazaheri, A, McGettrick, HM, Nicholson, T, Partridge, J, Pinkney, T, Steves, CJ, Tomkova, K, Wilson, D & Jackson, TA 2025, 'Protocol for the REBOUND study: a cohort study to uncover fundamental mechanisms of accelerated ageing and impaired resilience following cancer surgery and treatment', BMC Geriatrics, vol. 25, 502. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06109-y

Markiewicz, R, Mazaheri, A & Segaert, K 2024, 'Brain-to-brain coupling forecasts future joint action outcome', iScience, vol. 27, no. 9, 110802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110802

DeLuca, V, Voits, T, Ni, J, Carter, F, Foyzul, R, Mazaheri, A, Krott, A & Segaert, K 2024, 'Mapping individual aspects of bilingual experience to adaptations in brain structure', Cerebral Cortex, vol. 34, no. 2, bhae029. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae029

Carter, F, DeLuca, V, Segaert, K, Mazaheri, A & Krott, A 2023, 'Functional neural architecture of cognitive control mediates the relationship between individual differences in bilingual experience and behaviour', NeuroImage, vol. 273, 120085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120085

Markiewicz, R, Rahman, F, Apperly, I, Mazaheri, A & Segaert, K 2023, 'It is not all about you: Communicative cooperation is determined by your partner's theory of mind abilities as well as your own', Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001268

Fong, CY, Law, WHC, Fahrenfort, JJ, Braithwaite, JJ & Mazaheri, A 2022, 'Attenuated alpha oscillation and hyperresponsiveness reveals impaired perceptual learning in migraineurs', The Journal of Headache and Pain, vol. 23, no. 1, 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-022-01410-2

Markiewicz, R, Mazaheri, A & Krott, A 2022, 'Bilingualism can cause enhanced conflict monitoring and occasional delayed responses in a flanker task', European Journal of Neuroscience, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15863

Hardy, SM, Jensen, O, Wheeldon, L, Mazaheri, A & Segaert, K 2022, 'Modulation in alpha band activity reflects syntax composition: an MEG study of minimal syntactic binding', Cerebral Cortex. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac080

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Mazaheri, A 2022, The relationship between evoked and induced EEG/MEG changes: going beyond labels. in P Gable, M Miller & E Bernat (eds), The Oxford Handbook of EEG Frequency. Oxford Library of Psychology, Oxford University Press.

Letter

Millard, SK, Furman, AJ, kerr, A, Seminowicz, D, Naidu, B, Gao Smith, F & Mazaheri, A 2022, 'Predicting post-operative pain in lung cancer patients using pre-operative peak alpha frequency', British Journal of Anaesthesia, vol. 128, no. 6, pp. e346-e348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2022.03.006

Preprint

Millard, SK, Chiang, AKI, Humburg, P, Chowdhury, N, Rehan, R, Furman, AJ, Mazaheri, A, Schabrun, SM & Seminowicz, DA 2023 'Effects of nicotine compared to placebo gum on sensitivity to pain and mediating effects of peak alpha frequency' eLife, eLife Sciences Publications. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.91933.1

Review article

UK mTBI Predict Consortium, Sassani, M, Ghafari, T, Arachchige, PRW, Idrees, I, Gao, Y, Waitt, A, Weaver, SRC, Mazaheri, A, Lyons, HS, Grech, O, Thaller, M, Witton, C, Bagshaw, AP, Wilson, M, Park, H, Brookes, M, Novak, J, Mollan, SP, Hill, LJ, Lucas, SJE, Mitchell, JL, Sinclair, AJ, Mullinger, K & Fernandez-Espejo, D 2025, 'Current and prospective roles of magnetic resonance imaging in mild traumatic brain injury', Brain Communications. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf120

Millard, SK, Speis, DB, Skippen, P, Chiang, AKI, Chang, WJ, Lin, AJ, Furman, AJ, Mazaheri, A, Seminowicz, DA & Schabrun, SM 2024, 'Can non‐invasive brain stimulation modulate peak alpha frequency in the human brain? A systematic review and meta‐analysis', European Journal of Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16424

View all publications in research portal