Dr Ross Vanderwert
Lecturer
- vanderwertr@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2068 8826
- 3.20, Adeilad y Tŵr, Plas y Parc, Caerdydd, CF10 3AT
Research summary
My primary research interests are in the role of early experiences (parent-infant relationships, environmental, and individual differences) that promote healthy brain development and in identifying factors that may place an individual at risk for psychopathology. I am interested in infant, child, and adult development and I employ various behavioural and neuroimaging techniques, including eye-tracking, electroencephalogram (EEG), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Undergraduate education
2003
B.A.: Psychology and Mathematics
St. Olaf College, Minnesota, USA
Postgraduate education
2012
Ph.D.: Developmental Science
University of Maryland, College Park, USA
Employment
2012-2015
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Labs of Cognitive Neuroscience
Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts, USA
2008-2012
Special Volunteer
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA
2020
- Rychlowska, M. and Vanderwert, R. 2020. The pacified face: early embodiment processes and the use of dummies. Frontiers in Psychology 11, article number: 387. (10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00387)
2018
- Crespo-Llado, M.et al. 2018. Eight-month-old infants' behavioral responses to peers' emotions as related to the asymmetric frontal cortex activity. Scientific Reports 8, article number: 17152. (10.1038/s41598-018-35219-4)
- Bimbi, M.et al. 2018. Simultaneous scalp recorded EEG and local field potentials from monkey ventral premotor cortex during action observation and execution reveals the contribution of mirror and motor neurons to the mu-rhythm. NeuroImage 175, pp. 22-31. (10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.03.037)
- Crespo-Llado, M. M., Vanderwert, R. and Geangu, E. 2018. Individual differences in infants' neural responses to their peers' cry and laughter. Biological Psychology 135, pp. 117-127. (10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.03.008)
- Festante, F.et al. 2018. EEG beta desynchronization during hand goal-directed action observation in newborn monkeys and its relation to the emergence of hand motor skills. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 30, pp. 142-149. (10.1016/j.dcn.2018.02.010)
2017
- Bowman, L. C.et al. 2017. The mu-rhythm can mirror: insights from experimental design, and looking past the controversy. Cortex 96, pp. 121-125. (10.1016/j.cortex.2017.03.025)
- Stamoulis, C.et al. 2017. Neuronal networks in the developing brain are adversely modulated by early psychosocial neglect. Journal of Neurophysiology, article number: jn.00014.2017. (10.1152/jn.00014.2017)
2016
- Fox, N. A.et al. 2016. Assessing human mirror activity with EEG Mu Rhythm: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 142(3), pp. 291-313. (10.1037/bul0000031)
- Vanderwert, R. E.et al. 2016. Normalization of EEG activity among previously institutionalized children placed into foster care: a 12-year follow-up of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 17, pp. 68-75. (10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.004)
- Cannon, E. N.et al. 2016. Relations between infants' emerging reach-grasp competence and event-related desynchronization in EEG. Developmental Science 19(1), pp. 50-62. (10.1111/desc.12295)
2015
- Stamoulis, C.et al. 2015. Early psychosocial neglect adversely impacts developmental trajectories of brain oscillations and their interactions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 27(12), pp. 2512-2528. (10.1162/jocn_a_00877)
- Vanderwert, R.et al. 2015. Looking to the eyes influences the processing of emotion on face-sensitive event-related potentials in 7-month-old infants. Developmental Neurobiology 75(10), pp. 1154-1163. (10.1002/dneu.22204)
- Ehrlich, K. B.et al. 2015. Hypervigilance to rejecting stimuli in rejection sensitive individuals: behavioral and neurocognitive evidence. Personality and Individual Differences 85, pp. 7-12. (10.1016/j.paid.2015.04.023)
- Ravicz, M. M.et al. 2015. Infants' neural responses to facial emotion in the prefrontal cortex are correlated with temperament: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study. Frontiers in Psychology 6, article number: 922. (10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00922)
- Vanderwert, R. E.et al. 2015. Early social experience affects neural activity to affiliative facial gestures in newborn nonhuman primates. Developmental Neuroscience 37(3), pp. 243-252. (10.1159/000381538)
2014
- Coude, G.et al. 2014. Frequency and topography in monkey electroencephalogram during action observation: possible neural correlates of the mirror neuron system. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences 369(1644), article number: 20130415. (10.1098/rstb.2013.0415)
- Cannon, E. N.et al. 2014. Action experience, more than observation, influences mu rhythm desynchronization. PLoS ONE 9(3), article number: e92002. (10.1371/journal.pone.0092002)
- Vanderwert, R. and Nelson, C. A. 2014. The use of near-infrared spectroscopy in the study of typical and atypical development. NeuroImage 85, pp. 264-271. (10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.10.009)
2013
- Suway, J.et al. 2013. Modification of threat-processing in non-anxious individuals: a preliminary, behavioral and ERP study. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 44(3), pp. 285-292. (10.1016/j.jbtep.2012.11.006)
- McDermott, J. M.et al. 2013. Psychosocial deprivation, executive functions, and the emergence of socio-emotional behavior problems. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7, article number: 167. (10.3389/fnhum.2013.00167)
- Vanderwert, R., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 2013. The mirror mechanism and mu rhythm in social development. Neuroscience Letters 540, pp. 15-20. (10.1016/j.neulet.2012.10.006)
2012
- Vanderwert, R.et al. 2012. Spectral characteristics of the newborn rhesus macaque EEG reflect functional cortical activity. Physiology & Behavior 107(5), pp. 787-791. (10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.06.010)
- Ferrari, P. F.et al. 2012. Distinct EEG amplitude suppression to facial gestures as evidence for a mirror mechanism in newborn monkeys. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 24(5), pp. 1165-1172.
2010
- Vanderwert, R.et al. 2010. Timing of intervention affects brain electrical activity in children exposed to severe psychosocial neglect. PLoS ONE 5(7), article number: e11415. (10.1371/journal.pone.0011415)
2009
- Reeb-Sutherland, B. C.et al. 2009. Attention to novelty in behaviorally inhibited adolescents moderates risk for anxiety. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 50(11), pp. 1365-1372. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02170.x)
Modules taught
Current
Neurodevelopmental Disorders 2: Cognition & emotion (MSc in Children's Psychological Disorders)
Research Methods in Developmental Psychology (Final year)
Developmental Psychology Practical (Second year)
Former
Developmental Psychopathology (Final year)
Research topics and related papers
My current research focuses on the influence of pacifiers (dummies) on infants' ability to regulate emotions, process emotions in others, and understanding parents' decisions to allow their infant to use pacifiers. Pacifiers are controversial among practitioners who have identified a number of potential negative health effects on the infant. However, very little research has examined the psychological effects of pacifier use on either the baby or the family as a whole. We know that parenting a young infant can be a stressful period and pacifiers may help reduce some of that distress. We are currently in the process of collecting and analysing data from three studies surrounding issues related to pacifier use in infants.
My other research interests include understanding how adverse childhood experiences impact neural development and function, how emerging social biases in infancy contribute to risk or resilience to mental health in adolescence, and how motor development can impact how we understand our social environment (including our families and peers).
Funding
"Implications of pacifier use for the development of emotional competence." British Academy/Leverhulm Small Research Grant
Ph.D. Students
Kai Thomas
Kelsey Frewin
Charlotte Findlay
Postgraduate research interests
If you are interested in applying for a PhD, or for further information regarding my postgraduate research, please contact me directly (contact details available on the 'Overview' page), or submit a formal application.
Current students
Kai Thomas
- Topic: Understanding risk factors for disordered eating
Prosiectau ymchwil ôl-raddedig
Previous students
coming soon
Media activities
coming soon