Dirk Heslenfeld
Dr. Dirk J. Heslenfeld, Assistant Professor, Imaging Coordinator
What fascinates you in the area of cognitive neuropsychology?
Imaging the living brain is a very powerful experience. Sliding a person into a MRI scanner and looking at the inside of the body is fascinating. However, for scientists the difficulty (or art) is to design experiments in such a way that the results are interpretable, informative, and useful. Each brain imaging technique (MRI, PET, EEG, MEG) has its own peculiarities and potential, and I enjoy the challenge of designing and conducting experiments in such a way that they are sound, and exploit the potential of the technique that is being used.
What are recent accomplishments in your research?
Because I am supervising the imaging work of the department, I have contributed to various achievements. We have shown that voluntary and involuntary visual attention use the same network of brain areas, and that they are already effective in V1. We showed that the left inferior frontal cortex (Broca's area) is active during comprehension of subliminal speech, and that the right inferior frontal cortex is active during inhibitory control. We found medial frontal structures reflecting activation of one's self, and the hypothalamus to be involved during an experience of social exclusion. Using ERP's, we discovered components reflecting preattentive visual memory, inhibition of distracting information, involuntary temporal preparation, and adaptive control in ADHD children.
What are you working on at the moment?
Because I am working with different groups, I am involved in very different topics. In very general terms, they concern the imaging of cognitive, emotional, and social brain functions. Concrete examples are: social exclusion, somatosensory affect, inhibitory control, ADHD. I am also working on brain imaging methods, such as cardiac artifact control, spinal imaging, perfusion imaging.
