Sensory Overload

Smell, emotion and memory are tightly linked due to the close coupling of these systems in the brain. As a result, odours provide an effective means of manipulating perception of people, products and the world around us. In the same way, odour perception is extremely malleable and can be influenced by other types of information. My talk will describe and explain these links using some practical examples, and share some recent findings from neuroimaging research.

The relationship between social media and child mental health tends to attract negative press. Headlines frequently argue that social media is the cause for the current mental health crisis. However, mental health is multi-factorial and highly complex. To better understand the issues, we conducted research with adolescents, mental health practitioners and educationalists. We found that the negative rhetoric was repeated, but they all used social media, and many had found ways to use these platforms to help them stay mentally healthy.

The food we eat generally tastes good but also includes a diverse mixture of nutrients that our bodies need to survive and thrive. My research group is interested in determining how the brain helps us to acquire the nutrients we need and how this may go wrong in diseases such as obesity.