If you have a research idea that is related to work in the lab or you would like to discuss a potential PhD application, please contact me at djkb1@le.ac.uk. Applications can be made via the university's website and there are regular calls for studentship proposals via funders including the BBSRC, ESRC, MRC, charities, and overseas funders (e.g., The Chinese Scholarship Scheme). These schemes are competitive, and applicants will need to provide a research proposal and a rationale explaining why the project is relevant to the funder. If you are interested in these opportunities, please contact me early so that we can discuss the call and develop your application.
Disturbances of attentional control are considered a key symptom of schizophrenia (SZ).
Evidence for attentional deficits is usually inferred using tasks that compare the ability to select or inhibit
stimuli in the visual field. Contrasts between individuals with and without SZ on these tasks are typically
based on summary statistics that aggregate responses across multiple trials. Whilst informative, these analyses
are insensitive to fluctuations in attentional control that occur at smaller time intervals, for example on a
trial-by-trial basis.
Recent evidence suggests attentional control is mediated by interactions between neural
networks that prioritize external or internal stimuli over time. Connectivity between these networks fluctuates,
with lapses of attention during task performance reflecting competitive interactions between the internally
directed default mode and externally directed dorsal and ventral attentional systems. Resting state fMRI data
indicate SZ is associated with changes in the connectivity between these networks, which is thought to underlie
symptomatic dissociations between self-representation, salience, and task-oriented endogenous attention to
external stimuli. SZ-related fluctuations in connectivity between networks should elicit measurable interference
on tasks that require the ongoing evaluation of external visual input.
The objective of this studentship is to
evaluate the sensitivity and reliability of time-locked changes in sustained attention as a measure of network
connectivity in SZ and controls. To do this, the project will investigate the relationship between clinical
symptoms of SZ and trial-by-trial variability in behavioral, pupillometric, and electrophysiological measures of
performance on tasks that measure the consistency of visual selective attention over short periods of time.
Supervision: The project will be jointly supervised by academics in the School of Psychology and Vision
Science and a Clinical Psychiatrist at Leicester Partnership NHS Trust.
Call Details:
1) Midlands Mental Health Neuroscience DTP Competition, 2025
2)Project Page
Note: This application is open to healthcare professionals currently employed by the NHS and is designed to support individuals seeking to combine a clinical and academic career. See the eligibility section on the website above for more details.
Background: There is a growing awareness of the impact of lifestyle factors on mental health and cognition
across the adult lifespan. Modifiable behaviours such as sleep duration, levels of physical activity and
sedentary time have been associated with variability in cognitive health in young, middle age and older
adults. Cognitive abilities are mediated by the structure and functional capacity of the brain. Adequate
sleep and engagement in regular physical activity are thought to improve cognitive health and neural
processes, such as neuroplasticity, through molecular upregulation of cellular processes, synchronised
neural firing and increased cerebral blood flow. Much of the evidence for links between lifestyle factors
and cognitive health comes from studies that have focussed on clinical groups or outcomes in response to
prescribed diets, physical activity programmes or sleep deprivation. Few studies, however, have investigated
the combined influence of sleep and different physical activity modalities on neuroplasticity and its
influence on specific measures of sustained attention, which are though to mediate the ability to prioritise
and respond flexibly to changes in the physical and social environment.
Objetive: The project will investigate the way that sleep, sedentary time and different forms of physical
activity (i.e., aerobic and resistance) interact to influence neural function via changes in the speed of
sensory processing and individual’s capacity to sustain attentional control. To do this, the study will use
cutting-edge statistical methods to model interactions between self-report measures of sleep, physical
activity and different types of exercise, and their impact on sensory processing and sustained attention
using behavioural, eye tracking and electrophysiological measures. To assess these interactions at different
stages of the adult lifespan, the study will recruit cohorts of young, middle-aged and older adults who have
recently enrolled in a gym or fitness class.
The aims of the study are:
Supervision: The project will be supervised by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in developing
lifestyle interventions and measuring mental health outcomes, experimental design, and eye movement and
electrophysiological measures of sustained attention. The student will combine self-report, behavioural, and
physiological measures of physical health and cognitive performance to investigate the impact of lifestyle
choices on each cohort’s cognitive ability. The results will provide new insights into the link between
different forms of physical activity and the maintenance of core cognitive abilities in response to
modifiable lifestyle behaviours at different stages of the adult lifespan
Call Details:
1) BBSRC Midlands Integrated Biosciences Training Partnership Competition, 2025
2)University of Leicester PhD Projects