Organisation:
Department:
Keywords:
Interests:
I am interested in individual differences in memory processing, in particular in how far certain personality traits can explain such differences. The personality trait I am particularly interested in is extraversion as this trait has been linked to the functioning of the dopamine system. This relationship allows me to treat measures of extraversion as a proxy measure of dopamine availability and thus make an attempt to link differences in the efficiency of the dopamine system to potential differences in memory processing. I study this question using EEG/ERP using already established ERP measures to investigate whether levels of extraversion (and thus dopamine availability) affect processes underlying memory encoding and retrieval. The use of EEG/ERP is particularly useful as it will show differences in neuronal processing even in the absence of behavioural differences (i.e. differences in memory performance).
Research Themes:
Electrophysiological correlates of memory encoding and retrieval, Individual differences in memory processing, Cognitive Ageing
Key Publications:
Rugg, M.D., Mark, R.E., Walla, P., Schloerscheidt, A.M., Birch, C.S. & Allan K.A. (1998). Dissociation of the neural correlates of implicit and explicit memory. Nature, 39, 595-598
Schloerscheidt, A.M. & Rugg, M.D. (2004) The impact of change in stimulus format on the electrophysiological indices of recognition Neuropsychologia, 42, 451-466
Rugg, M.D., Schloerscheidt, A.M. & Mark, R.E. (1998). An electrophysiological comparison of two indices of recollection. Journal of Memory and Language, 39, 47-69
Collaborators:
Prof. Fergus Craik, Rotman Research Institute, Toronto International
Dr. Douglas Potter, University of Dundee Scotland