The Neuropsychology Laboratory
A specialist Brain Research & Imaging Centre (BRIC) laboratory that will enhance our understanding of the relationship between brain and behaviour
The Neuropsychology Laboratory in the
Brain Research & Imaging Centre (BRIC)
brings together science and clinical practice to explore how the brain gives rise to human thought, emotion, and behaviour.
Our work spans three interconnected branches of neuropsychology: theoretical neuropsychology, neuropsychological assessment, and applied clinical neuropsychology.
For enquiries or further information please contact: bric@plymouth.ac.uk
Theoretical neuropsychology
Theoretical neuropsychology explores how the brain gives rise to our thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. Researchers in this field aim to uncover how different brain systems work together to support memory, attention, language, and other abilities that shape everyday life – and how these processes change as we age or when the brain is affected by illness.
Neuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological assessments are specially designed tasks and games that help us understand how different parts of the brain are working. They can reveal how well someone can pay attention, process information quickly, use and understand language, make sense of visual information, learn new things, remember details, and manage complex tasks that require planning, organisation, or decision-making. These assessments are vital tools for healthcare professionals, helping to diagnose conditions like dementia and to understand how neurological problems such as brain injury, stroke, or tumours affect every day thinking and functioning.
Applied clinical neuropsychology – intervention
The intervention branch of our research focuses on developing and testing methods to reduce the cognitive and emotional difficulties that accompany neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. We are currently designing clinical trials that target neuropsychological symptoms such as emotional regulation, attention, and executive functioning using novel approaches including brain stimulation, cognitive training, and psychotherapeutic integration.
These projects are carried out in close collaboration with NHS partners and clinical services, ensuring that discoveries made in the laboratory can translate directly into improvements in patient care and service delivery.
Theoretical neuropsychology spotlight
Neurocognitive predictors of exploratory impairment in older adults
Alastair Smith (University of Plymouth), Matt Roser (University of Plymouth), Sarah Salo (University of Bristol)
Difficulties with navigation represent an early behavioural marker for dementia. This project examines search behaviour in immersive virtual reality, relating exploratory patterns to underlying cognitive profiles and neural connectivity to understand the functional relationship between changes in the brain and search decisions.
Foraging strategies in Down syndrome
Alastair Smith (University of Plymouth), Deanna Gallichan (University of Plymouth), Sarah Salo (University of Bristol)
People with Down syndrome are at elevated risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease beyond the age of 40 years. This project aims to synthesise clinical screening services with empirical explorations of differences in spatial foraging strategies, revealed through activities in immersive virtual reality.
Spotlight on Alzheimer’s disease:
The Computerised Cognitive Assessment for Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease (CoCoA-PAD)
Donnchadh Murphy, Nicolas Farina, Alastair Smith, Matt Roser and Stephen Hall (all University of Plymouth)
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, and research shows that subtle brain changes can begin more than a decade before memory problems appear. Around the world, scientists are working to detect these early changes so that treatment can start as early as possible, which is when they are most likely to be effective. The Computerised Cognitive Assessment for Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease (CoCoA-PAD) project is developing a new digital test designed to identify the earliest cognitive signs of Alzheimer’s disease. The aim is to make this kind of assessment available in the NHS, helping to improve early diagnosis and access to emerging treatments.
The Odd One Out test is a measure of perceptual discrimination, where participants are asked to select the shape that is the odd one out as quickly as possible. We think that tasks like this may be useful at detecting early visual changes in Alzheimer’s disease.
Enhancing research through BRIC
The Neuropsychology Laboratory benefits from BRIC’s world-class research infrastructure, which includes immersive virtual reality, advanced brain imaging, brain stimulation and computational modelling facilities. These technologies allow researchers to connect what happens in the brain with how people think, feel, and behave.
Our work exemplifies the translational mission of BRIC: moving from theoretical models of brain function to applied clinical tools, and ultimately to real-world interventions that improve the lives of people living with neurological conditions.
Research expertise
Lab lead:
Dr Donnchadh Murphy
, Doctoral Clinical Practitioner and Academic Fellow
Other research in this lab is carried out by:
NHS collaborators:
- Professor Rohit Shankar,
CIDER – Cornwall Intellectual Disability Equitable Research - Dr Rupert Noad, Consultant Neuropsychologist, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
- Dr Lizzy Atkins, Consultant Neuropsychologist, Livewell Southwest
- Dr Jon Scott, Clinical Psychologist, Livewell Southwest
- Dr Thomas Davis, Clinical Psychologist, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Key publications
Buckley MG, Haselgrove M & Smith AD 2015 'The developmental trajectory of intramaze and extramaze landmark biases in spatial navigation: An unexpected journey' Developmental Psychology, 51, (6), 771-791.
Smith AD 2015 'Spatial navigation in autism spectrum disorders: a critical review' Frontiers in Psychology, 6.
Buckley MG & Smith AD 2013 'Evidence for spatial navigational impairments in hydrocephalus patients without spina bifida' Brain and Cognition 83, (1) 132-141
Pellicano E, Smith AD, Cristino F, Hood BM, Briscoe J & Gilchrist ID 2010 'Children with autism are neither systematic nor optimal foragers' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, (1) 421-426
Smith AD, Gilchrist ID, Hood B, Tassabehji M & Karmiloff-Smith A 2009 'Inefficient Search of Large-Scale Space in Williams Syndrome: Further Insights on the Role of LIMK1 Deletion in Deficits of Spatial Cognition' Perception 38, (5) 694-701
Smith AD, Gilchrist ID, Cater K, Ikram N, Nott K & Hood BM 2008 'Reorientation in the real world: The development of landmark use and integration in a natural environment' Cognition 107, (3) 1102-1111.
Amick, M. M., Schendan, H. E., Ganis, G., & Cronin-Golomb, A. (2006). Frontostriatal circuits are necessary for visuomotor transformation: mental rotation in Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychologia, 44(3), 339-349.
Andrade, J., May, J., Deeprose, C., Baugh, S. J., & Ganis, G. (2014). Assessing vividness of mental imagery: The Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire. Br J Psychol, 105(4), 547-563.
Borst, G., Ganis, G., Thompson, W. L., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2012). Representations in mental imagery and working memory: evidence from different types of visual masks. Mem Cognit, 40(2), 204-217.
Briazu, R. A., Walsh, C. R., Deeprose, C., & Ganis, G. (2017). Undoing the past in order to lie in the present: Counterfactual thinking and deceptive communication. Cognition, 161, 66-73.
Casco, C., & Ganis, G. (1999). Parallel search for conjunctions with stimuli in apparent motion. Perception, 28(1), 89-108.
Francis, K. B., Gummerum, M., Ganis, G., Howard, I. S., & Terbeck, S. (2018). Virtual morality in the helping professions: Simulated action and resilience. Br J Psychol, 109(3), 442-465.
Francis, K. B., Gummerum, M., Ganis, G., Howard, I. S., & Terbeck, S. (2019). Alcohol, empathy, and morality: acute effects of alcohol consumption on affective empathy and moral decision-making. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 236(12), 3477-3496.
Francis, K. B., Howard, C., Howard, I. S., Gummerum, M., Ganis, G., Anderson, G., & Terbeck, S. (2016). Virtual Morality: Transitioning from Moral Judgment to Moral Action? PLoS One, 11(10), e0164374.
Francis, K. B., Terbeck, S., Briazu, R. A., Haines, A., Gummerum, M., Ganis, G., & Howard, I. S. (2017). Simulating Moral Actions: An Investigation of Personal Force in Virtual Moral Dilemmas. Sci Rep, 7(1), 13954.
Ganis, G., & Patnaik, P. (2009). Detecting concealed knowledge using a novel attentional blink paradigm. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback, 34(3), 189-196.
Ganis, G., & Schendan, H. E. (2011). Visual imagery. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci, 2(3), 239-252.
Ganis, G., Thompson, W. L., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2004). Brain areas underlying visual mental imagery and visual perception: an fMRI study. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res, 20(2), 226-241.
Hsu, C. W., Begliomini, C., Dall'Acqua, T., & Ganis, G. (2019). The effect of mental countermeasures on neuroimaging-based concealed information tests. Hum Brain Mapp, 40(10), 2899-2916.
Kosslyn, S. M., Ganis, G., & Thompson, W. L. (2001). Neural foundations of imagery. Nat Rev Neurosci, 2(9), 635-642.
Kosslyn, S. M., Ganis, G., & Thompson, W. L. (2003). Mental imagery: against the nihilistic hypothesis. Trends Cogn Sci, 7(3), 109-111.
Mast, F. W., Ganis, G., Christie, S., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2003). Four types of visual mental imagery processing in upright and tilted observers. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res, 17(2), 238-247.
Ward, E., Ganis, G., & Bach, P. (2019). Spontaneous Vicarious Perception of the Content of Another's Visual Perspective. Curr Biol, 29(5), 874-880 e874.
Wright, R., Thompson, W. L., Ganis, G., Newcombe, N. S., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2008). Training generalized spatial skills. Psychon Bull Rev, 15(4), 763-771.
Roser, M.E., Fiser, J., Aslin, R.N., McKenzie, B., & Zahra, D. (2015). Enhanced visual statistical learning in adults with autism. Neurospychology, 29(2), 163-72.
Trippas, D., Verde, M. F., Handley, S. J., Roser, M. E., McNair, N. A., & Evans, J. S. B. (2014). Modeling causal conditional reasoning data using SDT: caveats and new insights. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 217.
Linnet, E. & Roser, M.E. (2012). Age-related differences in interhemispheric visuo-motor integration measured by the redundant target effect. Psychology and Aging, 27(2), 399-409.
Roser, M.E., Fiser, J., Aslin, R.N., & Gazzaniga, M.S. (2011). Right hemisphere dominance in visual statistical learning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 5: 1088-1099.
Lambert, A., Roser, M.E., Wells, I., & Heffer, C. (2006). The spatial correspondence hypothesis and orienting in response to central and peripheral spatial cues. Visual Cognition, 13, 65-88.
Roser, M.E., Fiser, J., Aslin, R.N., & Gazzaniga, M.S. (2011). Right hemisphere dominance in visual statistical learning. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 5: 1088-1099.
Roser, M.E., Fugelsang, J.A., Dunbar, K.N., Corballis, P.M., & Gazzaniga, M.S. (2005). Dissociating causal perception and causal inference in the brain. Neuropsychology, 19, 591-602.
Prokic E., Woodhall, GL, Williams AC, Stanford IM,, Hall SD. (2019). Bradykinesia is driven by cumulative beta power during continuous movement and alleviated by GABAergic modulation in Parkinson’s disease. Frontiers in Neurology 10: 1298. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2019.01298.
Hall SD, Prokic EJ, McAllister CJ, Ronnqvist KC, Williams AC, Witton C, Woodhall GL, Stanford IM.(2014). GABA-mediated changes in inter-hemispheric beta frequency activity in early-stage Parkinson’s disease. Neuroscience 281: 68-76.
Hall SD, Yamawaki N, Fisher AE, Clauss RP, Woodhall GL & Stanford IM. (2010). Desynchronisation of pathological low-frequency brain activity by the hypnotic drug zolpidem. Clinical Neurophysiology. 121(4): 549-55.
