![Ross Vanderwert](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/3069?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Ross Vanderwert
Senior Lecturer
- VanderwertR@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29206 88826
- Tower Building, Room 3.20, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT
Overview
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).
Publication
2024
- Thomas, K. S., Jones, C. R., Williams, M. O. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2024. Associations between disordered eating, internalizing symptoms, and behavioral and neural correlates of response inhibition in preadolescence. Developmental Psychobiology 66(3), article number: e22477. (10.1002/dev.22477)
- Keating, J., Purcell, C., Gerson, S. A., Vanderwert, R. E. and Jones, C. R. G. 2024. Exploring the presence and impact of sensory differences in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities
2023
- Keating, J., Gerson, S. A., Jones, C. R., Vanderwert, R. E. and Purcell, C. 2023. Possible disrupted biological movement processing in Developmental Coordination Disorder. Cortex 168, pp. 1-13. (10.1016/j.cortex.2023.06.018)
- Keating, J., Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Davies, R. M., Jones, C. R. G. and Gerson, S. A. 2023. Embracing neurodiversity in doll play: Investigating neural and language correlates of doll play in a neurodiverse sample. European Journal of Neuroscience (10.1111/ejn.16144)
- Thomas, K. and Vanderwert, R. 2023. Disordered eating behaviours and basic psychological need satisfaction: the mediating role of anxiety symptoms in preadolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (10.2989/17280583.2023.2277763)
2022
- Thomas, K. S., Birch, R. E., Jones, C. R. G. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2022. Neural correlates of executive functioning in anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 16, article number: 841633. (10.3389/fnhum.2022.841633)
- Birch-Hurst, K., Rychlowska, M., Lewis, M. B. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2022. Altering facial movements abolishes neural mirroring of facial expressions. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience 22, pp. 316-327. (10.3758/s13415-021-00956-z)
- Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Paine, A. L. and Gerson, S. A. 2022. Doll play prompts social thinking and social talking: representations of internal state language in the brain. Developmental Science 25(2), article number: e13163. (10.1111/desc.13163)
2021
- Aanestad, E., John, M., Melkonyan, E., Hashmi, S., Gerson, S. and Vanderwert, R. 2021. What is happening in children’s brains when they are playing pretend?. Frontiers for Young Minds (10.3389/frym.2021.644083)
- Thomas, K. S., Williams, M. O. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2021. Disordered eating and internalizing symptoms in preadolescence. Brain and Behavior 11(1), article number: e01904. (10.1002/brb3.1904)
2020
- Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Price, H. A. and Gerson, S. A. 2020. Exploring the benefits of doll play through neuroscience. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 14, article number: 560176. (10.3389/fnhum.2020.560176)
- 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. M., Vanderwert, R., Roberti, E. and Geangu, E. 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., Festante, F., Coudé, G., Vanderwert, R. E., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 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., Vanderwert, R., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A. and Nelson, C. A. 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., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A. and Nelson, C. A. 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., Simpson, E. A., Fox, N. A., Vanderwert, R., Woodward, A. L. and Ferrari, P. F. 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., Vanderwert, R., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A. and Nelson, C. A. 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)
- Ehrlich, K. B., Gerson, S., Vanderwert, R., Cannon, E. N. and Fox, N. A. 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)
- Vanderwert, R., Westerlund, A., Montoya, L., McCormick, S. A., Miguel, H. O. and Nelson, C. A. 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)
- Ravicz, M. M., Perdue, K. L., Westerlund, A., Vanderwert, R. and Nelson, C. A. 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., Simpson, E. A., Paukner, A., Suomi, S. J., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 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., Vanderwert, R. E., Thorpe, S., Festante, F., Bimbi, M., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 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., Yoo, K. H., Vanderwert, R., Ferrari, P. F., Woodward, A. L. and Fox, N. A. 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., White, L. K., Vanderwert, R., Bar-Haim, Y., Pine, D. and Fox, N. 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., Troller-Renfree, S., Vanderwert, R., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H. and Fox, N. A. 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., Ferrari, P. F., Paukner, A., Bower, S. B., Fox, N. A. and Suomi, S. J. 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., Vanderwert, R., Paukner, A., Bower, S., Suomi, S. J. and Fox, N. A. 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., Marshall, P. J., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H. and Fox, N. A. 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)
Articles
- Thomas, K. S., Jones, C. R., Williams, M. O. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2024. Associations between disordered eating, internalizing symptoms, and behavioral and neural correlates of response inhibition in preadolescence. Developmental Psychobiology 66(3), article number: e22477. (10.1002/dev.22477)
- Keating, J., Purcell, C., Gerson, S. A., Vanderwert, R. E. and Jones, C. R. G. 2024. Exploring the presence and impact of sensory differences in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities
- Keating, J., Gerson, S. A., Jones, C. R., Vanderwert, R. E. and Purcell, C. 2023. Possible disrupted biological movement processing in Developmental Coordination Disorder. Cortex 168, pp. 1-13. (10.1016/j.cortex.2023.06.018)
- Keating, J., Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Davies, R. M., Jones, C. R. G. and Gerson, S. A. 2023. Embracing neurodiversity in doll play: Investigating neural and language correlates of doll play in a neurodiverse sample. European Journal of Neuroscience (10.1111/ejn.16144)
- Thomas, K. and Vanderwert, R. 2023. Disordered eating behaviours and basic psychological need satisfaction: the mediating role of anxiety symptoms in preadolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (10.2989/17280583.2023.2277763)
- Thomas, K. S., Birch, R. E., Jones, C. R. G. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2022. Neural correlates of executive functioning in anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 16, article number: 841633. (10.3389/fnhum.2022.841633)
- Birch-Hurst, K., Rychlowska, M., Lewis, M. B. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2022. Altering facial movements abolishes neural mirroring of facial expressions. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience 22, pp. 316-327. (10.3758/s13415-021-00956-z)
- Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Paine, A. L. and Gerson, S. A. 2022. Doll play prompts social thinking and social talking: representations of internal state language in the brain. Developmental Science 25(2), article number: e13163. (10.1111/desc.13163)
- Aanestad, E., John, M., Melkonyan, E., Hashmi, S., Gerson, S. and Vanderwert, R. 2021. What is happening in children’s brains when they are playing pretend?. Frontiers for Young Minds (10.3389/frym.2021.644083)
- Thomas, K. S., Williams, M. O. and Vanderwert, R. E. 2021. Disordered eating and internalizing symptoms in preadolescence. Brain and Behavior 11(1), article number: e01904. (10.1002/brb3.1904)
- Hashmi, S., Vanderwert, R. E., Price, H. A. and Gerson, S. A. 2020. Exploring the benefits of doll play through neuroscience. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 14, article number: 560176. (10.3389/fnhum.2020.560176)
- 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)
- Crespo-Llado, M. M., Vanderwert, R., Roberti, E. and Geangu, E. 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., Festante, F., Coudé, G., Vanderwert, R. E., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 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)
- 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., Vanderwert, R., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A. and Nelson, C. A. 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)
- 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., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A. and Nelson, C. A. 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., Simpson, E. A., Fox, N. A., Vanderwert, R., Woodward, A. L. and Ferrari, P. F. 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)
- Stamoulis, C., Vanderwert, R., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A. and Nelson, C. A. 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)
- Ehrlich, K. B., Gerson, S., Vanderwert, R., Cannon, E. N. and Fox, N. A. 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)
- Vanderwert, R., Westerlund, A., Montoya, L., McCormick, S. A., Miguel, H. O. and Nelson, C. A. 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)
- Ravicz, M. M., Perdue, K. L., Westerlund, A., Vanderwert, R. and Nelson, C. A. 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., Simpson, E. A., Paukner, A., Suomi, S. J., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 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)
- Coude, G., Vanderwert, R. E., Thorpe, S., Festante, F., Bimbi, M., Fox, N. A. and Ferrari, P. F. 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., Yoo, K. H., Vanderwert, R., Ferrari, P. F., Woodward, A. L. and Fox, N. A. 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)
- Suway, J., White, L. K., Vanderwert, R., Bar-Haim, Y., Pine, D. and Fox, N. 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., Troller-Renfree, S., Vanderwert, R., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H. and Fox, N. A. 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)
- Vanderwert, R., Ferrari, P. F., Paukner, A., Bower, S. B., Fox, N. A. and Suomi, S. J. 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., Vanderwert, R., Paukner, A., Bower, S., Suomi, S. J. and Fox, N. A. 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.
- Vanderwert, R., Marshall, P. J., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H. and Fox, N. A. 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)
- 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)
Research
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
"Neural signature of DCD" Waterloo Foundation
“Development of wearable, room-temperature and movement-tolerant MEG for adults and children at Cardiff University” Wellcome Trust ISSF3
"Benefits of doll play" OxyInsight
"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
Teaching
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)
Biography
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
Supervisions
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
