Neural basis of perceptual expertise in sport
Functional neuroimaging studies in our laboratory have, over the last decade, identified neural correlates of perceptual expertise in sports including tennis, badminton, football and hockey. They have identified a consistent network of brain areas involved in tasks such as action prediction and the detection of deceptive moves. Sporting action is sufficiently structured to be amenable to experimental methods such as fMRI and EEG and is an ideal domain to explore fundamental and applied issues, such as the specificity versus generalisability of skills, the role of contextual information and selective attention, and the understanding of normal and deceptive actions and their consequences. Possible projects include: fMRI, MRS or EEG studies of a) domain specificity versus generality of skills, b) the role of contextual information in sporting expertise, c) the understanding of normal and deceptive actions and their consequences, d) inhibitory processes in action observation brain network of athletes.
How to apply
If you are interested in applying for the above PhD topic please follow the steps below:
- Contact the supervisor by email or phone to discuss your interest and find out if you would be suitable. Supervisor details can be found on this topic page. The supervisor will guide you in developing the topic-specific research proposal, which will form part of your application.
- Click on the 'Apply here' button on this page and you will be taken to the relevant PhD course page, where you can apply using an online application.
- Complete the online application indicating your selected supervisor and include the research proposal for the topic you have selected.
Good luck!
This is a self funded topic
Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. See more information here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-degrees/Research-degree-funding. The UK Government is also offering Doctoral Student Loans for eligible students, and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.