Funded PhD: Using neuroimaging (MEG and DTI) to assess attention deficits in children

Vacancy Reference Number

R220271

Closing Date

10 May 2022

Salary

Home fees covered, plus a maintenance allowance (£16,062 in 2022/23)

Address

Aston University Birmingham United Kingdom

Duration

3 years funded

Applications are invited for a three-year Postgraduate studentship, supported by both the Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard and Aston University’s College of Health and Life Sciences, to be undertaken within Dr Zumer’s Neural Basis of Attention Research Group at Aston University. The successful applicant will join an established experimental group working on the neural basis of attention and attention deficits, using neural recording methods of magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) and advanced data processing. Dr Jan Novak (Aston University) will co-supervise for the MRI/DTI aspect. Background to the Project: Paying attention, sharpening focus on one thing whilst ignoring distractions, is critical for children’s everyday function, including socially and in school. Attention problems can lead to serious consequences, including social distress and poor scholastic performance. If sustained attention problems are severe, a diagnosis of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will be made, via questionnaires and practitioner assessment. The biological basis of ADHD is largely unknown. While behaviour reports and computer task performance can relate well to real-world attention deficits, neither gives us a picture of what the brain is doing when a person successfully maintains attention or fails due to inattention. Recent studies in adults (without ADHD) have provided strong evidence that a particular brain wave called ‘alpha’ and a particular front-to-back neural path both play a direct role in control of attention. However, little is known about the child (with or without ADHD) brain’s control of alpha waves or this path’s strength during attention tasks. The successful candidate will use state-of-the art brain imaging (MEG and DTI) and advanced data processing to uncover relevant brain activity as well as how brain regions intercommunicate and the ‘highway’ path that physically connects them. The reliability of these measures one day to the next will be assessed, necessary for future clinical implementation. The findings together will give us a ‘picture of the brain with attention deficits’ in a way that can be used for future treatment assessment. The position is available to start in October 2022.

Further Information

https://jobs.aston.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=R220271

Contact Details

Dr Johanna Zumer: j.zumer@aston.ac.uk
https://research.aston.ac.uk/en/persons/johanna-zumer