Why do people feel disconnected from their environment?
Many people struggle to feel in sync with the environment around them and with others during social interactions. This disconnect is often linked to mental health challenges, but we don't understand how it develops in the brain or why some people experience it more than others.
Using innovative and individualised approaches, my research aims to uncover the neural mechanisms behind this lack of alignment to the environment and the difficulties that come from impairments in adapting to environmental demands.
Identify Neurotypical Brain Patterns and Signatures of Misalignment
Understanding impairments requires first knowing what normal synchronisation looks like. Running experiments and using large-scale (n>1,000) datasets, I use EEG and other imaging and physiological methods, in conjunction with cutting edge machine learning methods such as normative models to identify specific brain activity patterns that index misalignment with the environment and impaired cognitive performance.
My focus is on particular neural signals and neural temporal patterns across conditions such as autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia. This work builds on previous findings about how early life experiences shape brain responses and synchronization abilities.
The goal is creating reliable neural activity-based biomarkers that can help quantify environmental misalignment and guide personalised treatments to help individuals get back in sync.
My Research Aims
Understand Gender Differences in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Girls and women with autism and ADHD have been historically overlooked in research, leading to missed diagnoses and delayed and sometimes inadequate treatment. As a female scientist with a neurodevelopmental condition, this research addresses both a critical scientific gap and a personal mission.
I examine how environmental misalignment and synchronization challenges manifest differently in males and females with autism and ADHD, and how the neural activity of the individual adapts. The analysis combines brain imaging, genetic profiles, and behavioural assessments to understand gender-specific patterns of alignment and synchronisation.
This work is identifying why females are often under-diagnosed or experience delayed diagnosis, and developing better approaches for recognising and treating neurodevelopmental conditions in girls and women who struggle to stay in sync with their environment.
Leverage the Methods of Quantum Computing for Neuroscience Research
The brain is a complex, multi-scale dynamical system which requires new computational approaches to fully understand. At the moment, as a member of the IBM Quantum HealthCare and Life Sciences Working Group, I am exploring how quantum computing algorithms and methods can help model the intricate relationships between brain activity, inter-individual variability, and environmental synchronisation.
This cutting-edge approach has revealed new insights for other areas of research, and the properties of brain activity indicates that it could be a promising new approach to investigating complex nonlinear interactions in the brain.
This may open doors to novel and individualised therapeutic interventions that help those with psychiatric symptoms realign with their environment.
