The Cognitive Genetics (CogGene) Lab
Overview
Neuropsychological Assessment
Electrophysiological Assessment
Neuroimaging Approaches
The Group
Vacancies
Funding Agencies
Overview
Our work in cognitive neuroscience has focused on understanding how illness risk is increased by specific genes through focusing on specific aspects of brain function. Often described as an intermediate or 'endophenotype' approach, studying specific aspects of brain function may help to bring us closer to the mechanism of gene activity than the broader illness phenotype.
Currently our work draws on neuropsychological, electrophysiological, and neuro-imaging techniques for investigating the role of gene function at the level of individual brain systems.
Neuropsychological Assessment
Measures of neuropsychological ability, including general cognitive ability (IQ), memory, and attention have been extensively used to investigate variance in cognition in both health controls and patients. This provides a relatively simple and cost-effective strategy for measuring the effects of individual genes on cognition in large numbers of individuals.
Electrophysiological Tests
The use of high density EEG to study variance in sensory information processing, both at early and late processing stages stages involves a non-invasive measurement of electrical impulses picked up by scalp electrodes. This approach allows mili-second accuracy in recording brain responses to visual and auditory stimuli.
Set up for non-invasive high density EEG recordings.
Neuro-imaging Approaches
This involves the use of MRI for a wide range of purposes, including measurement of grey and white matter density, white matter integrity (DTI), and functional MRI (fMRI). Collectively, these approaches provide millimetre accuracy in investigating the influence of individual genes on brain structure and function.
The Group
| Name, TCD Email and Publication Link | Title | Expertise Ireland Details |
| Dr Gary Donohoe | Group Leader | Dr Donohoe |
| Dr Aiden Corvin | Lecturer |
Dr Corvin |
| Dr Derek Morris | Lecturer in Molecular Psychiatry | Dr Morris |
| Dr Emma Jane Rose | Research Fellow | |
| Dr April Hargreave | Postgraduate student | |
| Therese O’Donoghue | Postgraduate student | |
| Sonja DelMonte | Postgraduate student |
Former members of the group:
Rosie Peel
Sarah Clarke
Judy Hayden
Nicola McGlade
Cara O'Grada
Vacancies
Details on current vacancies are available on the trinity college vacancies website at: www.tcd.ie/vacancies
Funding Agencies
The work of the CogGene lab is generously sponsored by Science foundation Ireland, the Higher Education Authority (Ireland), the Wellcome trust, and NARSAD.