Centre for Behaviour and Evolution

Staff Profile

Dr Barbara-Anne Robertson

Lecturer

Background

 

I am a Lecturer in the School of Psychology. 


I hold a certificate in University Teaching (Waterloo), and have held various student support roles throughout my career.


My area of academic interest is broadly called behavioural neuroscience with a focus rooted in understanding brain development, how pathology can impact behaviour, and the development of affective disorders. I am interested in learning and memory processes, especially how (and where) memories are encoded, stored, and are subsequently re-experienced. I have a particular interest in how episodic memories are formed, but also in the experience of remembering. I also investigate how different factors, such as positive or negative emotions, can either distort or enhance the accurate recall of personal past events. 


Previously, I worked for Dr. Tom Smulders and Prof Melissa Bateson at the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University on a DEFRA funding grant exploring the effects of food restriction (stress) on hippocampal neurogenesis in broiler breeder chickens. 


I have worked and studied both in the UK and in Canada. I hold a First Class Honours BSc from the University of Prince Edward Island, and an MA in Psychology (Behavioural Neuroscience) from the University of Waterloo. My PhD is from Durham University, examining the neural underpinnings of episodic memory. 


Research

My area of academic interest is broadly called behavioural neuroscience with a focus rooted in understanding brain development, how pathology can impact behaviour, and the development of affective disorders. I am interested in learning and memory processes, especially how (and where) memories are encoded, stored, and are subsequently re-experienced. I have a particular interest in how episodic memories are formed, but also in the experience of remembering. I also investigate how different factors, such as positive or negative emotions, can either distort or enhance the accurate recall of personal past events. 

Previously, I worked for Dr. Tom Smulders and Prof Melissa Bateson at the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University on a DEFRA funding grant exploring the effects of food restriction (stress) on hippocampal neurogenesis in broiler breeder chickens. 

Publications

  • Articles

    • Robertson BA, Rathbone L, Cirillo G, D'Eath RB, Bateson M, Boswell T, Wilson PW, Dunn IC, Smulders TV. Food restriction reduces neurogenesis in the avian hippocampal formation. PLoS ONE 2017, 12(12), e0189158.
    • Rana SA, Mallet PE, Robertson B-A, Wainwright PE. Effect of complete maternal and littermate deprivation on morphine-induced Fos-immunoreactivity in the adult male rat brain. Pediatric Research 2010, 67(3), 263-267.
    • Robertson B-A, Clements KM, Wainwright PE. The working memory capabilities of the spontaneously hypertensive rat. Physiology & Behavior 2008, 94(3), 481-486.
    • Clements KM, Saunders AJ, Robertson B-A, Wainwright PE. Spontaneously hypertensive, Wistar Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley rats differ in their use of place and response strategies in the water radial arm maze. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 2007, 87(2), 285-294.

  • Report

  • Review