Enhancing the perception of social facial cues using non-invasive brain stimulation
Lead Research Organisation:
Goldsmiths University of London
Department Name: Psychology
Abstract
This project will examine whether brain stimulation and perceptual training can help to improve social perception abilities in healthy adults and atypical groups.
Even in the most fleeting social interaction, we are confronted with a wide array of social signals several of which are displayed by the face. Our ability to successfully interpret and use these signals is a critical feature of our everyday lives. In recent years we have made large strides in understanding brain mechanisms that we use for a range of our social perception abilities (e.g. emotion perception, person perception). This project builds on this by examining whether increasing neural activity in these brain regions can enhance our social perception abilities. To do this, the project will use novel brain stimulation techniques called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS). These techniques involve a small current (1-2milliamps) being passed between two rubber pads that are placed on the scalp. When current flows between the two pads, the brain area underneath them becomes more excitable. This makes the particular brain area more responsive to signals that it processes and it has been shown that if the excitatory stimulation is given while someone is training / learning a new skill (that recruits the brain area being stimulated) then the benefits of learning / training are enhanced and occur more rapidly.
The project will use these types to brain stimulation to examine whether we can facilitate face recognition and facial emotion recognition. This will include studies in typical and atypical groups (e.g. in developmental prosopagnosia - where individuals are unable to perceive the facial identities of other people). The project will also build upon recent studies using face-training paradigms to improve facial identity and emotion processing abilities, by stimulating the brain during training. Based upon findings in other domains, it is predicted that increasing excitability in brain areas shown to be involved in each task (i.e. person perception and emotion perception) will enhance specific social perception skills. It is also expected that pairing social perception training paradigms with brain stimulation will lead to training effects being boosted and lasting longer. The findings will therefore provide insights into the mechanisms of the brain that contribute to our social perception abilities and determine whether we can influence them in order facilitate social perception abilities in typical and atypical groups.
Even in the most fleeting social interaction, we are confronted with a wide array of social signals several of which are displayed by the face. Our ability to successfully interpret and use these signals is a critical feature of our everyday lives. In recent years we have made large strides in understanding brain mechanisms that we use for a range of our social perception abilities (e.g. emotion perception, person perception). This project builds on this by examining whether increasing neural activity in these brain regions can enhance our social perception abilities. To do this, the project will use novel brain stimulation techniques called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS). These techniques involve a small current (1-2milliamps) being passed between two rubber pads that are placed on the scalp. When current flows between the two pads, the brain area underneath them becomes more excitable. This makes the particular brain area more responsive to signals that it processes and it has been shown that if the excitatory stimulation is given while someone is training / learning a new skill (that recruits the brain area being stimulated) then the benefits of learning / training are enhanced and occur more rapidly.
The project will use these types to brain stimulation to examine whether we can facilitate face recognition and facial emotion recognition. This will include studies in typical and atypical groups (e.g. in developmental prosopagnosia - where individuals are unable to perceive the facial identities of other people). The project will also build upon recent studies using face-training paradigms to improve facial identity and emotion processing abilities, by stimulating the brain during training. Based upon findings in other domains, it is predicted that increasing excitability in brain areas shown to be involved in each task (i.e. person perception and emotion perception) will enhance specific social perception skills. It is also expected that pairing social perception training paradigms with brain stimulation will lead to training effects being boosted and lasting longer. The findings will therefore provide insights into the mechanisms of the brain that contribute to our social perception abilities and determine whether we can influence them in order facilitate social perception abilities in typical and atypical groups.
Planned Impact
1) Academia
Several broader international academic groups will benefit including clinicians and social scientists in other fields. Short-term benefits for these groups will be achieved by supporting the development of innovative approaches examining mechanisms of social perception that will provide novel avenues for future studies in typical and atypical groups. Longer-term benefits may include potential methods to improve social perception abilities in groups with deficits in perceiving social perception cues.
Staff employed on the project will also benefit. For myself (PI), the grant will provide a timely stimulus to develop my research programme conceptually and technically. It will also allow me to develop networking skills with international collaborators involved in the project and the opportunity for international mobility via visits to Dartmouth College (USA). For the RA, it will enable the acquisition of skills in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation, the opportunity to engage in an international project, and experience in working with atypical groups. Each element will therefore promote the delivery and training of highly skilled researchers that will increase the economic competitiveness of UK research.
2) Industry
By aiding our understanding of mechanisms that contribute to the perception of facial cues the findings will provide immediate benefits to companies involved in developing face recognition systems. The findings will also highlight the utility of using non-invasive brain stimulation as a tool to aid social perception abilities, which may promote growth for brain stimulation companies in the UK and overseas (e.g. Magstim, UK). By determining the efficacy of brain stimulation and perceptual training to improve social perception abilities, the findings will also have the potential to provide longer term benefits to industries interested in developing services to improve social perception abilities. For example, extending the training paradigms to mobile applications for devices like the iPad may offer one avenue for future industrial collaborations / impact (one candidate to take this forward is Six-to-Start Gaming, whom I have previous links with).
3) General public
Short term benefits will include developments in our understanding of the mechanisms that enable us to perceive social signals from the face; how they can breakdown; and whether we can improve social perception abilities with perceptual training and brain stimulation. The findings will also directly benefit individuals with developmental prosopagnosia by determining the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation training paradigms to improve face recognition abilities in that group. A recent paper concluded that the potential for negative psycho-social consequences and occupational disability posed by DP is as great as that posed by conditions that receive professional recognition and support (e.g. dyslexia - [26]), so there is the potential for prominent long term benefit for individuals with DP.
The findings from this project will also provide insights into potential tools to improve social perception abilities more generally, which (if successful) will have long term benefits for broader groups with social perception deficits. For example, healthy aging has been linked to several declines in social perception, which have been associated with reduced levels of social competence and isolation [46]. The findings from this project related to ways to improve these abilities in healthy adults will therefore have the potential to benefit attempts to enhance the quality of life and well-being of older adults. Similarly, the training paradigms will also provide longer term benefits for individuals with other neurodevelopmental disorders linked to deficits in social face perception (e.g. Autistic Spectrum Disorders, William's syndrome) because they may be able to be extended to these groups in future work.
Several broader international academic groups will benefit including clinicians and social scientists in other fields. Short-term benefits for these groups will be achieved by supporting the development of innovative approaches examining mechanisms of social perception that will provide novel avenues for future studies in typical and atypical groups. Longer-term benefits may include potential methods to improve social perception abilities in groups with deficits in perceiving social perception cues.
Staff employed on the project will also benefit. For myself (PI), the grant will provide a timely stimulus to develop my research programme conceptually and technically. It will also allow me to develop networking skills with international collaborators involved in the project and the opportunity for international mobility via visits to Dartmouth College (USA). For the RA, it will enable the acquisition of skills in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation, the opportunity to engage in an international project, and experience in working with atypical groups. Each element will therefore promote the delivery and training of highly skilled researchers that will increase the economic competitiveness of UK research.
2) Industry
By aiding our understanding of mechanisms that contribute to the perception of facial cues the findings will provide immediate benefits to companies involved in developing face recognition systems. The findings will also highlight the utility of using non-invasive brain stimulation as a tool to aid social perception abilities, which may promote growth for brain stimulation companies in the UK and overseas (e.g. Magstim, UK). By determining the efficacy of brain stimulation and perceptual training to improve social perception abilities, the findings will also have the potential to provide longer term benefits to industries interested in developing services to improve social perception abilities. For example, extending the training paradigms to mobile applications for devices like the iPad may offer one avenue for future industrial collaborations / impact (one candidate to take this forward is Six-to-Start Gaming, whom I have previous links with).
3) General public
Short term benefits will include developments in our understanding of the mechanisms that enable us to perceive social signals from the face; how they can breakdown; and whether we can improve social perception abilities with perceptual training and brain stimulation. The findings will also directly benefit individuals with developmental prosopagnosia by determining the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation training paradigms to improve face recognition abilities in that group. A recent paper concluded that the potential for negative psycho-social consequences and occupational disability posed by DP is as great as that posed by conditions that receive professional recognition and support (e.g. dyslexia - [26]), so there is the potential for prominent long term benefit for individuals with DP.
The findings from this project will also provide insights into potential tools to improve social perception abilities more generally, which (if successful) will have long term benefits for broader groups with social perception deficits. For example, healthy aging has been linked to several declines in social perception, which have been associated with reduced levels of social competence and isolation [46]. The findings from this project related to ways to improve these abilities in healthy adults will therefore have the potential to benefit attempts to enhance the quality of life and well-being of older adults. Similarly, the training paradigms will also provide longer term benefits for individuals with other neurodevelopmental disorders linked to deficits in social face perception (e.g. Autistic Spectrum Disorders, William's syndrome) because they may be able to be extended to these groups in future work.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Michael Banissy (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bate S
(2019)
Objective Patterns of Face Recognition Deficits in 165 Adults with Self-Reported Developmental Prosopagnosia.
in Brain sciences
Bennetts RJ
(2022)
Face specific inversion effects provide evidence for two subtypes of developmental prosopagnosia.
in Neuropsychologia
Bowling N
(2017)
Emotion expression modulates perception of animacy from faces
in Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Bowling NC
(2017)
Modulating vicarious tactile perception with transcranial electrical current stimulation.
in The European journal of neuroscience
Cioffi MC
(2016)
'Am I moving?' An illusion of agency and ownership in mirror-touch synaesthesia.
in Cognition
Cioffi MC
(2014)
What can mirror-touch synaesthesia tell us about the sense of agency?
in Frontiers in human neuroscience
De Guzman M
(2016)
Self-other control processes in social cognition: from imitation to empathy.
in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
Gillmeister H
(2017)
Inter-Individual Differences in Vicarious Tactile Perception: a View Across the Lifespan in Typical and Atypical Populations.
in Multisensory research
Grice-Jackson T
(2017)
Common and distinct neural mechanisms associated with the conscious experience of vicarious pain.
in Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior
| Description | During this three-year project we examined the efficacy of transcranial electrical current stimulation as a tool to modulate social perception abilities. The project focused primarily on the ability to perceive and remember facial identity and facial emotion. We also examined the perception of other social cues including trait perception (e.g. trustworthiness, deception), self-other representations (including theory of mind, visual perspective taking, imitation), mimicry, and music. We made a number of achievements including developing significant new knowledge; identifying important new research questions; and developing new research partnerships. We exceeded key grant objectives related to dissemination outlined in the original application. The work conducted in the grant contributed to over 30 publications. The PI and his research team gave over 40 presentations about the work conducted (27 academic talks and 12 public events), including prestigious Keynote Talks. The PI has been part of a number of television projects related to the data collected during the grant. The PI has also received two highly prestigious awards related to work conducted during the grant: the BPS Spearman Medal and the Paul Bertelson Award. Each award is given to recognise outstanding contributions to research that has shaped the discipline. In terms of new knowledge, we made advances within each of our streams of research (Stream A - examining mechanisms involved in and approaches to improve facial identity perception in typical and atypical groups; Stream B - examining mechanisms involved in and approaches to improve facial emotion perception in typical groups). Within Stream A, we have identified that a single session of transcranial current stimulation (tCS) can enhance facial identity perception and facial identity memory in typical adults . We have extended these findings to individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (individuals that show a selective impairment in facial identity perception; DP), and examined whether pairing tCS with training paradigms designed to aid face perception can lead to greater benefits than training alone. We also conducted a number of studies examining mechanisms of face processing in DP, gaining important insights into our understanding of what neurocognitive mechanisms contribute to DP. In Stream B, we also identified approaches to improve facial emotion processing using a single session of tCS in younger and older typical adults. We extended this by studying perceptual mechanisms that give rise to trait judgments about faces and are examining brain mechanisms related to this. We also studied the perception of pain and identified important individual difference factors contributing to tCS modulation of empathy (already published data). In addition, we considered the extent to which brain stimulation can be used to aid the perception other social cues. Here we showed that tCS can be useful to modulate the perception of self-other representations, lie detection from faces , and social interaction , and music perception . Collectively, the findings from the project led to the identification of important new research questions including: the extent to which the improvements seen following a single session of tCS can be harnessed in order to aid training paradigms conducted over multiple sessions designed to facilitate social perception (e.g. emotion processing) and socio-cognitive (e.g. visual perspective taking) skills; how differences in brain excitability of typical and atypical groups (e.g. individuals with DP) contribute to inter-individual variability in social perception skills, and how these differences interact with tCS facilitation effects; how typical aging interact with tCS facilitation effects; and the extent to which tCS can be used to modulate the perception of other social cues (e.g. trait judgment perception). They also led to the generation of novel research partnerships. For example, the PI is now a co-director of the 'Trouble With Faces' group (www.troublewithfaces.org) that seeks to examine the mechanisms involved in and potential remediation strategies of individuals with deficits in face processing abilities (e.g. DP, alexithymia, autism). |
| Exploitation Route | As the first findings to demonstrate improvements in a variety of social domains following tCS, we believe that our findings highlight a productive new research area that will open up several research questions (some of which are noted above) within academia. Further, the social processing skills that we are seeking to improve are vital aspect of daily life. In atypical groups, deficits in these abilities lead to reductions in communication and social competence, reduced quality of life, and social isolation. Conversely, some individuals use these abilities extraordinarily well and such skills are important for variety of employers (e.g. face identity processing in law enforcement and other security organisations). Given the importance of these abilities, techniques that enhance them could be valuable in healthcare, security and other sectors. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Security and Diplomacy,Other |
| Description | Our findings have mainly been used in the context of increasing awareness of prosopagnosia, social perception research, and non-invasive brain stimulation. This has been achieved through talks at public symposium, hosting public workshops on social perception, and direct engagement with school groups. More specifically, members of the research team have spoken at several public events and to media about our research over, and have been involved in several school events. In doing so, we have raised awareness of social science research and interest in a variety of age groups (e.g. we have spoken at schools and to the University of Third Age). Additionally, in collaboration with one of our partners involved in this project (Centre for Face Processing Disorders, Bournemouth University; Trouble With Faces Group), some of our data on prosopagnosia was also used in a House of Commons Roundtable discussion on prosopagnosia. The main impact of this was that prosopagnosia has now been added to the NHS choices website, leading to a potential increase in awareness of the condition among the public and medical professionals. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
| Sector | Healthcare,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | A Level Psychology Research Day (Goldsmiths) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A talk and demo of brain stimulation was provided to A Level students from four schools in the London area. This led to questions / discussion and a request for a visit from one of the schools. The students reported a greater interest in science, with particular emphasis on the TMS workshop, following the event. There was also a request for a visit from one of the schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | A-Level Conference Goldsmiths September 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Raised awareness about research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Also Festival 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussion afterwards and requests for further information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Andrew Marr My Brain and Me |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview on prosopagnosia for Andrew Marr My Brain and Me (Broadcast February 2017). Raised awareness about research and increased public awareness of prosopagnosia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | BBC Radio 5 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | National and local radio broadcasters discussed prosopagnosia and the potential social impact of prosopagnosia on-air, listeners phoned in to discuss their own experiences (including those who had never heard of the condition). Media outlets picked up the initial story, leading to additional radio shows (Wales/Soton/Gloucestershire) and interest from national print-media (e.g. Times Educational Supplement). The prosopagnosiaresearch.org website received a large increase in the number of participants registering as potential prosopagnosics. Increased awareness of prosopagnosia and the potential impact of prosopagnosia amongst the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | British Science Festival, Birmingham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk generated discussion around face processing, neural mechanisms of perception, and awareness of developmental disorders in a group of adolescents who were previously unaware of prosopagnosia. Several groups of students contacted the speaker asking about university courses that might cover similar content. Educators in the audience asked for more information about the condition to take to students who did not attend. Most important impact: Increased awareness of prosopagnosia and interest in prosopagnosia research amongst young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Building brains workshop 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Workshop run for school children to raise awareness about the brain and brain stimulation. This resulted in raised awareness and requests for future participation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | House of Commons Roundtable on Prosopagnosia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion generated interest and questions from several MPs and Lords (Tobias Ellwood; Annette Brook; Lord Nicolas Phillips), professional bodies (BPS), and prosopagnosia groups. Subsequently, some of these individuals and groups reported on the event in blogs and society websites. As a consequence of discussions with Tobias Ellwood, prosopagnosia was added to the NHS Choices website, and to the list of conditions available in GP surgeries for recording patient conditions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Keynote Talk presented at BrainBox Initiative Symposium: Multimodal imaging and brain stimulation, New York, USA (January, 2017). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk led to discussion afterwards. It also resulted in the development of novel collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | National Science and Engineering Week (Pimlico Academy) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The talk increased student awareness about the brain and brain stimulation. There were questions and discussion afterwards. Increased awareness and interest from students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Queen Elisabeth Academy for Leadership Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussion afterwards and requests for further information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Royal Holloway Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Raised awareness of research and requests for collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk led to requests for further information and discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | School Visit 'Science Day: Brain Stimulation Workshop' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 30, 10-11 year pupils attended. We provided an interactive workshop surrounding the use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a research setting. The students reported a greater interest in science, with particular emphasis on the TMS workshop, following the event. Interest in our first workshop prompted requests for a second workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | School Visit 'Stimulating Brains' talk (Hertfordshire; Wiltshire) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 50 10-11 year pupils attended the talk each year, which sparked questions and discussion about the brain and brain stimulation techniques. The children also completed activities where they built 'brain-caps', which led to further engagement. The schools reported a greater interest in science following the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014 |
| Description | Social Perception Across the Lifespan Adolescence Workshop (London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | This workshop formed the third of four that were held as part of an ESRC Seminar Series Grant. The audience were a mix of academics, practitioners, and the public. The workshop led to questions and discussion, increased awareness of research, and the development of novel collaborations. Increased awareness of research and the development of novel collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Social Perception Across the Lifespan Adulthood Workshop (London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | This workshop formed the fourth of four that were held as part of an ESRC Seminar Series Grant. The audience were a mix of academics, practitioners, and the public. The workshop led to questions and discussion, increased awareness of research, and the development of novel collaborations. Increased awareness of research and the development of novel collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Talk for ESRC Seminar Series on Cognitive Intervention Across the Lifespan, University of Oxford |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk led to further interest in findings |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | UEL Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Raised awareness of research and requests for further information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | University La Laguna Seminar, Tenerife |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk raised awareness of research and led to new collaborative opportunities. Raised awareness of research and development of novel collaboration with University La Laguna staff related to projects combining brain stimulation and neuroimaging to examine social perception. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | University of East London Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk led to discussion afterwards. Raised awareness of research findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | University of Essex Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk led to discussion afterwards. It also resulted in the development of novel collaboration. Raised awareness of research and plans for future related activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | University of Oxford Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussion afterwards and requests for further information. Raised awareness of research findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | University of Swansea Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussion afterwards and requests for further information. Raised awareness of research findings and development of new collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | University of the Third Age (Sutton) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 50 older adults attended the talk, which was focused around how social perception abilities change with age and tools to improve them. This led to questions and discussion afterwards. Increase in public interest and awareness of the research in older adults. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Wellcome Collection Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussion afterwards and requests for further information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Wellcome Trust Consciousness Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Raised awareness about my research and opened avenues for further collaboration / broader dissemination. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Workshop and talk presented at Wellcome Trust Collection, London, UK (June, 2016). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Raised awareness about research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |