Dr Bianca De Haan
Associate Dean (Student Experience) / Senior Lecturer

Research Interests

I am interested in selective attention, with a particular emphasis on the mechanisms and anatomy of selective attention in dynamic multi-target environments (such as traffic environments) that are characterised by high levels of stimulus competition across both visual fields.

Using a combination of fMRI, TMS, EEG, lesion-symptom mapping and psychophysical methods in neurologically healthy subjects and neuropsychological patients, my research predominantly focuses on the following two questions:

1. How do neurologically healthy subjects attend and respond in everyday dynamic multi-target environments and which factors modulate this ability? In the UK alone, around 1800 people die each year in traffic-related accidents (WHO, 2013). To reduce accidents in these dynamic multi-target environments, understanding how healthy subjects navigate these environments is essential.

2. Why are some neuropsychological patients not able to attend and respond in everyday dynamic multi-target environments and which factors are capable of ameliorating their deficit? An understanding of the critical mechanisms and neural substrates underlying this inability to navigate multi-target environments might enable better rehabilitation strategies, ultimately improving mobility and everyday quality of life in these patients.

Grants