Dr Claire Hanley

I obtained a First Class Honours degree in Psychology from Swansea University before completing a Masters in Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Birmingham. After obtaining a research assistant position at the University of Cambridge, I completed my doctoral studies in Advanced Neuroimaging Methods at Cardiff University.
 
My research centres on modulating and measuring neural activity. I have a particular interest in plasticity and how our brains adapt and develop as part of the ageing process. Through the use of behavioural paradigms, neuroimaging techniques and brain stimulation methods, I aim to investigate age-related changes within specific brain regions and diffuse neural networks in both health and disease.

Areas of Expertise

  • ageing
  • brain stimulation
  • cognitive neuroscience
  • inhibition & cognitive control
  • neuroimaging

Publications

  1. (in press). Sequential Information Processing: The “Elevated First Response Effect” Can Contribute to Exaggerated Intra-Individual Variability in Older Adults. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 92
  2. & (2019). Towards Establishing Age-Related Cortical Plasticity on the Basis of Somatosensation. Neuroscience 404, 407-412.
  3. & (2019). Anodal tDCS improves attentional control in older adults. Experimental Gerontology 115, 88-95.
  4. & (2015). Transcranial modulation of brain oscillatory responses: A concurrent tDCS–MEG investigation. NeuroImage
  5. (2016). Commentary: Systematic assessment of duration and intensity of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on primary motor cortex excitability. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 10

See more...

Teaching

  • PS-M68 Experimental Design I: Brain Stimulation

    Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques provide the means to directly influence the way the brain behaves, and have therefore received much attention in cognitive and clinical domains. The module provides a comprehensive overview of the use of such methodology as part of cognitive neuroscience research. Topics covered during the module include: rationale for the use of brain stimulation and effective experimental design, distinctions between the various techniques and the inferences each method enables us to make, practical considerations when running brain stimulation research, and analysis of the results.

  • PSY212 Development Across the Lifespan

    The first half of the module will explore age related changes in cognitive and moral development from early infancy to late adolescence. It will also consider the other major changes that occur in adolescence including social, biological, and neurological changes and how this might impact on normative development in this sensitive period. The second half will deal with health ageing in comparison to age-related disorders such as mild cognitive impairment and dementia. These issues will be considered in terms of brain anatomy and function as well as the effect on the individual and society. Current methods in ageing and developmental research will also be discussed.

  • PSY302 Development Across the Lifespan

    The first half of the module will explore age related changes in cognitive and moral development from early infancy to late adolescence. It will also consider the other major changes that occur in adolescence including social, biological, and neurological changes and how this might impact on normative development in this sensitive period. The second half will deal with health ageing in comparison to age-related disorders such as mild cognitive impairment and dementia. These issues will be considered in terms of brain anatomy and function as well as the effect on the individual and society. Current methods in ageing and developmental research will also be discussed.

  • PSY319 Final Year Independent Research Project

    Students conduct an independent research project under the supervision of a member of staff. The research topic is decided in conjunction with supervisors and Research topics. Students must obtain ethical approval, design, conduct, analyse and write up a piece of research in order to achieve Graduate Basis for Chartership with the British Psychological Society (BPS).

  • PSY320 Dissertation

    This optional module provides students with the opportunity to conduct an extended literature review to discover what is currently known about an interesting, but less well known, area of psychology that is not taught as part of the psychology curriculum in Level 5 or 6. Students work independently, guided by their dissertation supervisor, to research a topic of their choice. In recent years students have written dissertations about `political psychology¿, `positive psychology¿ `why people take part in extreme sports¿, `does cannabis use cause schizophrenia¿ and many other diverse lines of enquiry.

  • PSY362 The Ageing Brain

    The module provides a comprehensive overview of how the human brain develops across the adult lifespan; focusing on patterns of structural, functional and neurochemical change in health and disease. Topics covered during the lecture series include: the biological consequences of ageing, use of cognitive neuroscience research methods to study the ageing brain and the influence of innate and external factors in determining the onset of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Supervision

  • A multimodal investigation of the effects of fronto-cerebellar transcranial stimulation«br /» (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Dr Hayley Young
    Other supervisor: Dr Hana Burianova

  • The impact of health anxiety on cognitive processes in ageing. (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Prof Andrea Tales
    Other supervisor: Dr Lars Marstaller
    Other supervisor: Dr Hana Burianova

Calling from outside the UK?

+44 1792 295282