Associate Professor (Principal Investigator)
Tanja Nijboer
Utrecht University
Department of Experimental Psychology
Helmholtz Institute
Postdocs
Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher at Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium & Copromotor of Eileen Bousché
Investigating the potential of computational modelling, Bayesian statistics in combination with innovative technology for clinical neuropsychological diagnosis during my postdoctoral research. In addition, during my PhD I developed an immersive virtual reality rehabilitation game (i.e., HEMIRehapp) for hemispatial neglect. We plan to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of this new rehabilitation approach in the next years.
Affiliation: University of Antwerp, Research Group MOVANT (Dept. Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy)
This joint UAntwerpen – Utrecht project evaluates whether looking into gaze control during walking may increase our insights into the sensory and cognitive functioning as well as postural control abilities of older adults prone to falls.
PhD Candidates
Basic mechanisms
Affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology, MSc Neuropsychology, MSc Neuroscience & Cognition
How do patients with acquired brain injury employ their visual working memory to efficiently perceive and use visual information? Do conventional neuropsychological tasks tell the whole story or should we move on to novel paradigms? During the course of my PhD I will try to find out whether eye movement behavior can give insights in underlying (working) memory deficits after acquired brain injury, and whether and how this relates to findings on tasks used in standard neuropsychological assessment.
Affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University
Background: BSc. Psychology, MSc. Artificial Intelligence
Uncovering, at any given time, how many items are present in someone’s (visual) working memory is a complex task. I will investigate whether computational cognitive models can give insight into working memory usage based on gaze behaviour – and how experimental manipulations affect this usage of working memory. Additionally, I will investigate whether various patient populations use different working memory strategies as compared to healthy controls, by seeing whether machine learning models can dissociate between the two groups based on gaze behaviour and memory usage.
Affiliation: Department of public health and primary care, Leiden University Medical Center and Zorggroep Florence
Background: BSc Physical Therapy, MSc Neurorehabilitation and innovation, PhD candidate
A Dutch multicenter study to provide more insight into the process of VSN assessment in GR and to provide more insight into the stroke population with VSN during and after GR. The outcomes of the study will improve VSN assessments in GR neurorehabilitation and will ameliorate the insight of problems due to VSN in GR patients.
Mixed Reality
Affiliation: Utrecht University Experimental Psychology
Background: BSc. Psychology, MSc. Neuropsychology
Using Mixed Reality and Serious Gaming techniques to develop new neuropsychological outcome measures. Starting with assessing cognitive performance in children who underwent open heart surgery in early life with a VR Serious Game.
Affiliation: Utrecht University Experimental Psychology and Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital
Background: Neuropsychology
I am working on the ‘Playing for Cognition’ project (grant Stichting Hartekind), in which I will evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a Virtual Reality Serious Game for cognitive training in children with congenital heart disease.
Affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University
Background: B.Sc. Psychology, M.Sc. Cognition and Psychophysiology
I am a PhD student supervised by Tanja Nijboer and Stefan van der Stigchel. My background lies in cognition and attention, specifically in visual perception. My PhD project revolves around finding an objective measurement for the experience of presence, which is defined as “the feeling of being inside of a virtual environment”. I am interested in how the experience can be quantified and utilized in practical applications and in understanding which factors influence the experience of presence.
Affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University and Geriatrische Revalidatie Zorg, afdeling Onderzoek, Omring, Hoorn, Nederland
Background: Ergotherapeut en Master Digitale Innovatie in Zorg en Welzijn (M.A.)
Applying Augmented Reality(AR) to align treatments better to the needs of neglect patients. SE(AR)CH = Scan your Environment with AR to Create less Hamper in moving.
Affiliation: Department of Education, Utrecht University
Background: MSc Inclusive Education, PhD candidate
Project: I received funding from the DoY Thriving & Healthy Youth community, designed to foster interfaculty collaborations among junior researchers. Through that, I will join the research around the ‘Playing for Cognition’ project, since I would like to dive into the research field of mixed reality games for cognitive rehabilitation. Within this project, my focus will be on examining how individual differences among children with brain injury and congenital heart disease influence their performance when utilizing a VR Serious Game for cognitive assessment and training.
Non-invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS)
Affiliation: PhD candidate at Maastricht University (Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Stimulation and Cognition lab) and Interakt Contour
Background: Health Sciences
I believe that NIBS has the potential to become a powerful therapeutic tool to treat neglect symptoms following stroke. My research projects aim to answer the question whether NIBS, specifically tACS, can be used to correct for the visuospatial attention bias typically seen in neglect patients.
Affiliation: Brain Stimulation and Cognition Group, Maastricht University
Background: Neuropsychology
In my current project we study whether high-definition transcranial electrical stimulation can help improve cognitive rehabilitation outcomes for neglect in subacute stroke patients. In this project we use an interactive digital test- and training programme that recruits the patient’s visuomotor system and provides in-depth insight into training progress.
Research Assistants
Mixed Reality
Affiliation: research assistant Utrecht University, Experimental Psychology
Background: BSc Psychology, currently MSc Neuropsychology
Project: In close collaboration with the Department of Neonatology at the WKZ we will investigate the feasibility, user-experience and potential added value of a VR Serious Game for cognitive assessment. We focus on children (aged approx 10 years) who were very prematurely born, suffered asphyxia, or stroke.
A second project I’m involved in is targeting return to work in (young) adults who suffered acquired brain injury. In this project, we will use a VR simulation and investigate its potential to better explain, train and coach those young adults on their way to return to work.
Interns
Digitised Neuropsychological Assessment (dNPA)
Affiliation: Master’s Student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology at Vrije University Amsterdam
The CoCo-P is a questionnaire which was developed in the Netherlands as a measure for cognitive complaints in daily living, specifically for patients with Acquired Brain Injury. In my internship I will be translating the CoCo-P questionnaire into Portuguese and collecting data with healthy controls, and possibly patients, from Portugal. Afterward I will compare the results with data from the Netherlands.
Affiliation: Master’s Student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology at Radboud University Nijmegen
For my internship at SMARTneurolab, I will help to develop the new Coco-P instrument. The Coco-P is a questionnaire which aims to get more insight into the cognitive complaints experienced in daily life in patients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). The added value of my involvement in the project is that I will be translating the Coco-P questionnaire into Spanish. Subsequently, I will collect healthy control data from Spain and compare it with corresponding Dutch data.
Affiliation: Master’s Student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology at The University of Hong Kong, currently MSc Applied Cognitive Psychology student
For my internship, I will be working with CoCo-P and conduct study aiming to access its use in Korean-speaking population. Coco-P is a questionnaire that assesses cognitive complaints reported in daily lives among individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). By translating the CoCo-P questionnaire into Korean, I will collect data from healthy individuals from Korea and identify is relation to one’s coping style.
Mixed Reality
Affiliation: Master’s Student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology, currently MSc Neuropsychology
I am currently involved in a project which aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of Virtual Reality Serious Games as cognitive training for children with congenital heart disease.
Lotta Kooijmans
Affiliation: Master’s student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Educational Sciences, currently MSc Neuropsychology
Project: I am currently working on the Job-E-Tunities project. For this project, a new virtual Restaurant Simulation is developed. Through this simulation, people can experience working life again and psychologist can assess their functioning. For my thesis, I will be researching the feasibility and user experience of the simulation.
Eleni Kalligeri Skentzou
Affiliation: Master’s Student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology, currently MSc Neuropsychology
Affiliation: Master’s Student at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology, currently MSc Neuropsychology
Affiliation: Research assistent at Utrecht University
Background: BSc Psychology, MSc Neuroscience & Cognition (currently)
I’ll be working with data from Virtual Reality simulations in different patient populations. With AI modeling we will evaluate the value of different outcome measures (eye tracking, navigation data) in dissociating between normal cognitive behavior and that after acquired brain injury.
Alumni
There have been many others participating in this lab. Read more about them on our alumni page.