FACULTY OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: Enhancing creativity by inducing brain plasticity
Creativity and innovation are crucial for significant advances and progress to be made in any domain of human
life, be it the sciences, arts, industry, policy-making, services or community development. Any knowledge on
how creativity can be enhanced would be in the service of society and therefore extremely valuable.
The term “brain plasticity” or “neuroplasticity” refers to changes in neural pathways which arise as a function
of changes in behavior (e.g., exercise-induced), environment (e.g., enriched vs. impoverished), and neural
processes (e.g., developing vs. aging). Empirical studies of neuroplasticity in non-clinical populations often
involve direct induction of short-term plasticity in the central nervous system through brain stimulation, or
indirect induction of short-term plasticity through novel cognitive or behavioural training (such as when
learning a new visuomotor task).
Induced brain plasticity and its impact on creativity have been only limitedly explored thus far. The objective of
this PhD project would be to evaluate the impact of induced brain plasticity via different methods of cognitive
and behavioral training as well as brain stimulation. Three studies will be conducted to assess the impact of
several factors on creativity in terms of (a) generalized plasticity induction through brain stimulation, (b)
comparing novel motor with novel cognitive-motor neuroplasticity induction, and (c) contrasting differing
levels of expertise on a real world cognitive-motor task in terms of the influence of induced plasticity. Among
the key questions of interest would be to determine which particular facets of creative cognition are aided by
induced neuroplasticity, and to evaluate which method of inducing neuroplasticity is associated with the
highest degree of efficacy in leading to sustained improvements in creative function.
Please contact Dr Anna Abraham for further details: A.G.Abraham@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: Identifying and managing dementia in prison populations
The prison population in England and Wales stands at around 88,000 which is 13,000 people more than in
2004 (The Howard League for Penal Reform, 2015). The rate at which we imprison people in England and
Wales, currently 147 per 100,000 of the population, is one of the highest in Western Europe (International
Centre for Prison Studies, 2015). Older people are the fastest growing sub-section of the prison population –
their incarceration rate has more than doubled in the past decade (Prison Reform Trust, 2014). This growth
has not been exclusively down to demographic changes in the wider population (Philpot, 2006), as conscious
policy choices have resulted in harsher sentencing, especially in relation to those convicted of sex offences.
Furthermore, due to advances in DNA technology and forensics, courts are now more willing to hear old sex
offence cases and new evidence is resulting in many older people being imprisoned for crimes committed
decades ago (Prison Reform Trust, 2008, Sparks, 2009). Many older prisoners are socially isolated from other
inmates and are generally portrayed as ‘loners’, with limited social support networks (Lemieux et al., 2002).
Furthermore, many are at risk of violence from other prisoners resulting in high chronic stress levels (Tarbuck,
2001).
The implications of an older prison population are profound, most acutely for health services, since the
presence of multiple chronic medical conditions is particularly prevalent in this population (Jones et al 2015).
Dementia is a condition that increases in prevalence in an older population with approximately 1 in 14 people
age 65 and over living with the condition compared to 1 in 79 of the general UK population, equating to over 1
million people in the UK estimated to have dementia by 2025 (Alzheimer’s Society 2014). Around 2% of
people have early onset dementia (under the age of 60), with prevalence significantly higher in men. Therefore
in an England and Wales prison population of approximately 3,500 people over the age of 60, and a further
6,700 aged 50-59 (Berman and Dar 2013) we can estimate there are likely to be 250-300 people in this
population at any one time, who currently also have dementia. This figure is likely to rise in line with a rising,
ageing prison population. However, according to Moll (2013), dementia in prisons is a ‘hidden problem’ with
the prevalence of dementia among older prisoners remaining largely undetermined and the reasons for this
multi-factorial. One particular issue is that the detection of dementia in this setting is particularly problematic.
Staff resources are becoming more strained in prison environments and moreover the highly regimented
nature of life means that dementia ‘symptoms’ are not visible or apparent (Moll, 2013). Furthermore,
dementia symptoms in the general community are often first detected and the person supported to seek the
help and diagnosis from health services by close family and friends (Chrisp et al 2012). This is clearly less-likely
in a custodial setting where access to family ties is curtailed significantly.
The likelihood of a growing prison population who are older and living with dementia is of concern for a
number of reasons. Dementia is a progressive condition, meaning people begin to lose skills required for
independent daily living including decision-making and procedural abilities (washing, dressing) as well as loss
of memory and increasing communication difficulties. These issues will mean there comes a point where their
needs will be too great or complex to be supported within an already overstretched prison service. Dementia
can also lead to personality changes and distressed reactions such as agitation and aggression, often triggered
by increasing confusion resulting from cognitive impairment, exacerbated by a physical and social environment
that may be unsupportive or unable to meet their changing needs. In addition dementia impairs short term or
more recent memories first, meaning longer term memories become more prominent, with recall from the
second and third decades of life most frequently recalled (Fromholt et al 2003). Dementia can also result in
impaired abilities to perceive time and place and so it is common for people with moderate to severe
dementia, to experience and relive emotional distress and display related reactions to early life experiences in
the present. Given the prison population includes a significant number of prisoners who have experienced a
range of difficult early life experiences including being in the care system, emotional, physical or sexual abuse,
violence in the home and homelessness (Berman and Dar 2013), this may lead to additional support need and
risks in a prison population with dementia than in the general population. The cognitive impairments
associated with dementia can also leave people significantly more vulnerable to abuse as the condition
progresses. All of these factors lead to an increased risk of harm to people with dementia in prison, and
potential for increased risk of them causing harm to others. With safety in prisons high on the agenda for HM
Inspectorate of Prisons, and the need to ensure equity of access to healthcare for prisons, identification and
appropriate management and support for people with dementia in the prison system requires exploration.
However, very little research has been undertaken to date on prisoners with dementia and support needs of
people with the condition in the prison system.
This research seeks to explore prison staff views on the prevalence, detection, management and treatment of
dementia in the prison population. Given that prison staff hold a critical role in the daily life of prisoners and
frequently have a high amount of contact time with individuals, they are often best-placed to identify older
prisoners who may require health and social support (Moll, 2013). They are also well positioned to discuss the
challenges and potential for supporting an older prison population with dementia and some may have firsthand experience of this.
Please contact Dr James Woodall for further details: j.woodall@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: Imaging Arm and Hand Movement in Parkinson's Disease
Brain disorders cost the UK around £112 billion annually, with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) alone costing £2.0
billion. PD is caused by a loss of the neurons in the substantia nigra that produce dopamine. Dopamine is a
neurotransmitter involved in motor control such as arm and hand movement. PD symptoms are characterized
by tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement and balance problems. Current patient assessment relies on
subjective application of clinical criteria, which limit assessment and treatment. There is a need to develop
more sensitive, objective and reproducible assessment tools to complement current clinical practice.
Motor control of arm and hand movement is divided into 2 temporally integrated movements by visual and
motor pathways in the brain. Arm movement (reach), where the arm is moved in relation to the target’s
location and orientation, is mediated by a dorsomedial pathway. Hand movement (grasp), where the hand is
opened, shaped and closed in relation to the targets size and shape, is mediated by a dorsolateral pathway.
Preliminary studies have shown that PD patients have longer movement duration and smaller hand opening,
making movements less well suited to the task. This project will use state-of-the-art motion tracking analysis to
image patient arm and hand movements under careful experimental manipulation of task and perceptual
information. This imaging has high precision, enabling detailed quantitative comparisons between PD patients
and typical controls. Performance across different PD syndromes will be assessed to identify clinically relevant
markers.
This proposal will apply modern movement science techniques to develop a reproducible assessment tool for
PD patients that can be carried out by non-clinicans.
Please contact Dr Sareen Galbraith for further details: S.E.Galbraith@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: Investigating therapeutic outcomes of group therapy for teenagers who stammer
Stuttering is a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon of which disruptions to speech comprise one element
(James et al, 2009). For older children and adults, stuttering can lead to negative predictions and thoughts about
speaking, to feeling of frustration and embarrassment about stuttering and to avoidance of words or speaking
situations (e.g. Beilby, 2014). These can have significant impact on quality of life for people who stutter, for
example in educational, interpersonal and vocational domains (e.g. Yaruss & Queasal, 2004) with associated
economic impact at a personal and societal level.
People who stammer are at increased risk of low self-esteem and associated psychological problems (Iverach et
al., 2009). Literature suggests that this increases in adolescence; as children who stammer reauch as ch teenage
years their self image becomes increasingly negative and fear of stammering and associated anxiety increases
(Smith et al, 2014). The use of group therapy has been widely recommended as a useful way of managing
stammering in school-aged children, including teenagers, (e.g. Liddle et al, 2011). Due to its social nature, group
therapy is thought to provide an especially useful context in which to address the client’s underlying affective,
behavioural, and cognitive reactions to stammering (e.g. Manning, 2010). In particular, group therapy is beneficial
for reducing feelings of isolation that are borne out of the experience of stammering (e.g. Manning, 2010; Guitar,
2006). This is of paramount importance for the school-aged child, who may find it difficult to be accepted by his
peers (e.g. Evans et al., 2008), and whose experience of stammering may be ‘hallmarked’ by a sense of isolation
(Guitar & Reville, 2003).
Whilst there is a persuasive rationale for offering group therapy to people who stammer, there has been little
research in the area particularly for school-aged children. Liddle,et al (2011) reported that group therapy for
children is widely used in the UK despite a limited evidence base. They later used interpretative
phenomenological analysis to explore school-aged children’s experience of group therapy and found evidence that
‘active ingredients’ included friendship, fun, peer support and being ‘in the same boat’ (Liddle et al, in
preparation). This is significant since it suggests that typical structured approaches to group therapy currently used
in practice would benefit from being modified to take into account these findings.
Within the UK, one away of delivering group therapy is through a residential setting. Teenagers attend a
residential setting for 5 days, during which time they take part in direct speech and language therapy based
intervention as well as outdoor activities and team building games with the aim to build a positive peer group and
build confidence. To date, no research has evaluated the outcomes of this approach to delivery or explored the
experiences of children who take part. This research will build on and extend Liddle et al’s previous work exploring
group therapy for school aged children who stammer and, as with their work, has potential to significantly impact
on current speech and language therapy practice. The specific research questions to be addressed are:


Is group therapy is a residential setting effective in reducing the affective, cognitive and affective reactions to
stammering in school aged children
How do school-aged children make sense of their experience of group therapy in a residential setting
The study will employ a mixed methods approach using a convenience sample of children who participate in group
therapy in a residential setting (n=16).
1.
2.
A Phase 1 (Robey et al, 1999) study will examine therapeutic effects using a within group pre- post- quasiexperimental design to investigate changes across a range of affective, cognitive and behavioural dimensions
using measures such as the Overall Assessment of the Speakers Experience of Stuttering (OASES) (Yaruss and
Quesal, 2010).
A multiple ABA case design across subjects will measure children’s responses to communication situations
over a period of 3 months pre- and 3 months post- group using the Speaking Task Response Questionnaire
3.
(James et al, 2009). Single subject case research design is well recognised as a valuable approach to
investigating therapeutic change in highly heterogeneous populations (e.g. Beeson & Robey, 2006).
Children’s experiences of the residential group will be explored using one-on-one semi-structured interviews.
Interview data will be analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1996), with a view to
understanding the meanings attached to children’s subjective experiences of group therapy in a residential
setting.
Please contact Dr Sarah James for further details: s.james@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: Optimising quality of life (QoL) and coping for patients and carers in relations to cancers with poor
prognosis
In the treatment and care of cancers with poor prognosis, the challenge is to identify ways of optimising
patients’ quality of life. During this PhD, the student will draw on health psychology theories and use a range
of innovative qualitative and quantitative methods to explore patients’ and carers experiences of a cancer with
poor survival, and when and how they cope and how care could support such coping. The student has the
scope to choose the cancer, depending on their interests and experiences.
Creating the conditions for positive ‘patient experiences’ is one of the five goals in the NHS Outcomes
Framework (Department of Health, 2012). The challenge of ensuring patients’ quality of life is particularly
acute for cancers with low survival rates, where patients face their mortality, invasive medical procedures and
bodily decline. The National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (2013) argues that while patients’ experiences are
improving, there are challenges in care that can be overcome through holistic, personalised care and pre(re)habilitation to support patients in the identification of their needs and ways of meeting them.
This PhD would cut across the wellbeing and engagement themes of the Institute for Health & Wellbeing,
which houses a range of disciplines within a single unit to inspire new thinking and understanding about the
big health problems affecting individuals, communities and nations. Using health psychology theories as a
framework (e.g. self-regulation model of illness), the PhD would aim to optimise quality of life in the care of a
vulnerable group.
Please contact Dr Peter Branney for further details: p.branney@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: Understanding the experiences and needs of informal male caregivers of people with dementia
Traditionally, caregiving duties have been predominantly undertaken by women. However, the number of men
in caregiving roles is increasing, and in those over 65 yrs old in the UK men are more likely than women to be
caring for a spouse (Baker and Robertson 2008). While the majority (60-70%) of informal or family caregivers
of people with dementia in the UK are women (Alzheimer’s Research UK 2015), male spousal caregivers make
up a majority of caregivers who are over 65. Despite the growing population of male caregivers of people with
dementia, and some limited literature about the gender-specific nature of caring approaches (Wituki Brown et
al 2007), relatively little is currently known about the specific needs, support mechanisms and coping
strategies of men as caregivers of people with dementia (Baker and Robertson 2008).
Where evidence does exist it is often conflicting. For example, some studies suggest that male and female
carers show no differences in how stressful they find a range of behaviours and symptoms associated with
dementia (Ford et al 1997), whereas other studies have found male carers to be at lower risk of depression
and physical health problems (Almberg et al 1998). In terms of help seeking and support, some research
indicates that male caregivers of people with dementia tend to use formal services such as respite, daycare,
sitting services etc more frequently whilst being less likely to seek help from informal sources, (such as other
family members, neighbours and friend (Wituki Brown et al 2007), whereas the wider caregiving literature,
suggests male carers are less aware of and are thus low users of formal community based support servic(Baker
and Robertson 2008).
There are many gaps in the existing evidence base. For example, few or no studies appear to focus on the
impact of caregivers perceptions of the caring role or approaches to caregiving on outcomes for the person
with dementia. Likewise there is limited research on the specific needs of male caregivers from white British,
western European or US backgrounds.Clearly the area of gender within caregiving for people with dementia
requires further research if support services offered are to meet the needs of male caregivers (and therefore
those they provide care for). Given the paucity of evidence in this area the PhD will focus on the area of male
caregivers of people with dementia. The student will be free to choose one of the following topics to explore,
based on their own area of interest or relevance to their current role/work.
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The meaning of and approaches/strategies to caregiving for male spousal caregivers of people with
dementia
The relationship between spousal caregiver approaches and care/clinical outcomes (e.g. quality of
life, well-being, symptoms, admission to hospital or care home etc) for people with dementia
The caring role and experiences of male caregivers within a non-white or other to date un-researched
population
Improving the care of people with dementia is a national priority set out in the National Dementia Strategy
(DoH 2009) and the two recent Prime Minister’s Challenge’s on Dementia (DoH 2012, 2015). Two thirds of
people with dementia live in the community and supporting people to live for longer with a better quality of
life at home is recognised as essential if the growing numbers of people with dementia are to live well with the
condition in a way that is financially sustainable for the NHS. The Carers Strategy (HM Government 2014)
recognises the pressure caring responsibilities places on families and commits to ensuring carers are
recognised and supported with personalised support that helps the carer to remain physically and mentally
well.
Please contact Professor Clare Surr for further details: C.A.Surr@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Title: What are men's experiences of psychological services for common mental health problems and how
can these be improved?
We know that men access psychological therapies less than women, and when they do they often drop out
early. Men are also more likely to commit suicide and deal with mental health problems in risky ways
compared to women (e.g. alcohol misuse). This research will use qualitative methods (e.g. interviews) with
men who have been referred to psychological services to ascertain why so many do not attend their initial
assessment once referred, or drop out early – and also why certain men complete their therapy programme.
Interviewees will provide valuable feedback on current provision and offer suggestions for improving
psychological services
Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) is a key NHS priority - it is well established that psychological
therapies are effective, evidence-based interventions for common mental health problems such as anxiety and
depression (NICE, 2011). We know that men access psychological therapies less than women (35% v 65% Clark et al., 2009), and when they do they often drop out early. There are huge costs associated with unmet
mental health needs (Layard, 2006), and we know that men are more likely to commit suicide and deal with
mental health problems in health damaging ways compared to women (e.g. alcohol misuse).
The research will use qualitative methods (e.g. interviews) with men who have been referred to psychological
services to ascertain the reasons why so many men do not attend their initial assessment once referred, or
drop out early – and also why certain men complete their therapy programme. These men can tell us about
difficulties in accessing or completing psychological therapy, as well as any benefits experienced. They will
provide valuable feedback on current provision and offer suggestions for better 'male-friendly' psychological
services. Mental health professionals may also be interviewed to gain further insights into men’s engagement
with psychological services.
Please contact Professor Brendan Gough or Professor Steve Robertson for further details:
b.gough@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
S.S.Robertson@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Closing date is midnight on 30th June 2015.
Details of how to apply can be found at: http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/research/researchdegrees/research-studentships-and-fees-only-bursaries/