Fully Funded PhD Scholarship in Psychology: Anxiety disorders

This is one of many projects in competition for the current funding opportunities available within the Department of Psychology

Primary supervisor: Dr Liat Levita

Project description:  Anxiety disorders affect over 40-million people per year (Kessler et al., 2005). Adolescents are at especially high risk; with recent estimates suggesting one in three adolescents meets the criteria for an anxiety disorder (Merikangas et al., 2010). Despite this, the neural mechanisms underlying the development of anxiety disorders in adolescence remain poorly understood. The aim of the proposed research is to use EEG to examine the relationship between attentional processes and anxiety in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This will be done by measuring two event-related potentials (ERPs) – the N2-posterior contralateral (N2pc) and distractor positivity (Pd) – which have been shown to reflect attentional processes in adults. Recent studies of these components have found reduced attentional control in individuals with high levels of anxiety (Fox et al., 2007; Weymar et al., 2013). However, these components have not been studied in adolescents, especially in relation to the development of anxiety. Studying these two components in adolescents will clarify the role of attention in the development of anxiety, which is crucial for the effective prevention and treatment of chronic anxiety disorders.

Start date: 1 October 2016

Requirements:  Applicants must have, or expect to obtain, a minimum of a first class or high upper second-class honours degree in psychology or a related discipline. In general awards are usually made to applicants with first class undergraduate degrees and/or at least a merit at masters level.

For further details and the application process please visit:

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/psychology/prospectivepg/funding

Closing date for applications is 5pm Tuesday, 2 February 2016