David M Cole

I am a research postgraduate at the C3NL (Computational, Cognitive and Clinical NeuroImaging Laboratory), within the Section of Neuroscience (Division of Experimental Medicine). The C3NL is based at the Hammersmith Hospital campus. Until recently I also held a visiting research position at Leiden University in The Netherlands, in collaboration with Imperial.

 

Research

I am interested in processes of neural communication, or connectivity, between separate regions of the human brain, and how these distributed patterns of activity translate into cognitive function and the way in which we experience the world. My focus is specifically on characterising how such processes may alter in psychiatric diseases, such as addiction, or be manipulated pharmacologically, for example with nicotine replacement therapy or dopamine receptor blockade.

Working with Dr Christian Beckmann, and in collaboration with colleagues at the GSK Clinical Imaging Centre and Prof Serge Rombouts in Leiden, I use multiple imaging approaches in order to investigate these phenomena, including task-activation and resting-state fMRI, EEG and PET. I employ a combination of univariate and multivariate data analysis approaches in order to utilise complementary information when attempting to interpret the complex brain signals underlying psychological processes.

 

Background

Feb to Aug 2011 - Visiting Researcher, Leiden Institute for Brain & Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands

Feb 2009 to present - Research Postgraduate (PhD) in Clinical Neuroscience & Clinical Medicine Research, Section of Neuroscience, Division of Experimental Medicine, Imperial College London, UK

2007 to 2009 - Imaging Research Assistant Scientist, GlaxoSmithKline Clinical Imaging Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK

2006 to 2007 - MSc Cognitive Neuroscience, University of York, UK

2003 to 2006 - BSc Psychology, University of York, UK