Vincent Walsh

Prof Vincent Walsh

Professor of Human Brain Research

Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Group Leader

v.walsh@ucl.ac.uk

Vince Walsh's full research profile on UCL Profiles

Current Research and Interests

All aspects of visual cognition: visual search, priming, awareness, motion and colour perception, eye movements, visual memory. The perception of time. Numerical representation. Synaesthesia in auditory, visual and tactile domains. Plasticity in visual and motor systems. All aspects of human brain stimulation.

Research Summary

The research group I lead is called Applied Cognitive Neuroscience (ACN). The goal is to use neuroscience to improve high performance in sport, high pressure decision making and advancing human brain stimulation in cognition and health. I am particularly interested in sleep, plasticity and extending classical findings to older people. Traditional strengths of my group's work has been investigations of the functions of the parietal lobe, the frontal eye fields and their interactions with primary and secondary visual areas. The techniques my group uses include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and DC stimulation in which I have particular expertise. I run the ICN TMS facility and I also organise the Brain Stimulation Workshops with The Magstim Company.

Recent practical applications of my work have been with Dunlop Sports, Team GB Rio squads, GSK Human Performance Labs, PEAK Brain Training and several businesses who wish to improve performance and decision making under pressure.

Teaching Summary

My main teaching commitment is to the UCL BASc course. This is the UK's best undergraduate degree course. Not one of the best, the best. 40% of my time is given to this course and I mentor over students with a contact time of over 300 hours p.a. I also deliver a 20 hrs module called Psychology in The Real World which is for BASc students only. I also teach on the MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience. I run the compulsory Special Methods seminars for all new PALS PhD students.