Dr. David J McGonigle
Based at CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University. Joint appointment between the School of Bioscience and School of Psychology
Research Keywords
Touch, Plasticity, Somatosensory, Neuroimaging, Autism, Perceptual Learning, Neurophysiology.
Research Interests and Facilities
Studying sensory processing means focusing on the rules and mechanisms that the brain uses to make sense of the world. I use the somatosensory system – the sense of touch – as a gateway to uncover some of the fundamental principles that govern neuronal communication in the human brain. I am particularly interested in the dynamic, plastic nature of sensory processing: how our perceptions are critically dependent on the waxing and waning of millisecond to millisecond changes in brain activity. Although I have a background in basic neuroscience, I use neuroimaging as a tool to study the human brain non-invasively. I have also recently begun to use brain stimulation to modulate brain activity.
Available PhD Projects
- Effects of tDCS on perceptual learning and consolidation
- Sensory symptoms and the neurobiology of ASD
- Studying short and long-term plasticity in the somatosensory system using neuroimaging
Publications
- Puts, N. A. J., Edden, R. A. E., Evans, C. J., McGlone, F., & McGonigle, D. J. (2011). Regionally Specific Human GABA Concentration Correlates with Tactile Discrimination Thresholds. Journal of Neuroscience 31(46), 16556-16560.
- Wiestler T, McGonigle DJ, Diedrichsen J (2011) Integration of sensory and motor representations of single fingers in the human cerebellum. Journal of neurophysiology 105:3042-53.
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Evans C, McGonigle DJ, Edden R. (2010) Diurnal stability of gamma-aminobutyric acid concentration in visual and sensorimotor cortex. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 31(1):204-9.