| Ylva Østby |
|
|
PhD student I am a psychologist studying for a PhD, with a project about cognitive and brain development during childhood and adolescence (8-19 years). Ca 100 children and adolescents are undergoing MRI scanning, cognitive/neuropsychological testing, and electrophysiological measurements while doing cognitive tasks (ERP). The MRI scans acquired are both structural, morphometric scans, and DTI scans. The focus of the cognitive and ERP testing is on memory and executive function, in addition to general mental abilities and attention. Through the use of DTI in combination with cognitive testing, the aim is to understand the functional significance of the development of the connections between brain areas in complex cognitive tasks. The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council, and is part of the Multi-modal Imaging project, under the “Cognition and plasticity throughout the human lifespan” project. Kristine B. Walhovd and Anders M. Fjell are supervising the project, and I am working together with fellow PhD-student Christian K. Tamnes. Before I started my PhD studies, I worked a year as I clinical psychologist in neuropsychology. As a psychology student, I worked with Kristine Walhovd and Anders Fjell as a research assistant, together with fellow students Christian Tamnes and Lars Westlye, getting acquainted with Freesurfer as a tool for analyzing MR images. In addition to studying the brain and cognition, I am also interested in music psychology, and emotion. |
