EMAIL alexandra.woolgar@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk

Department

School

Clinical Medicine

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Research Theme Adaptive Brain Computations Brains and Machines Neurons, Circuits and Networks

Research Focus

Keywords

Attention

Cognititve Control

Cognition

Neuroimaging

Multimodal Neuroimaging

Human

Integrative Human Neuroimaging

Human Behaviour

Brain Stimulation

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

fMRI

Multivariate Analysis

EEG/MEG

Clinical Conditions

Autism

Equipment & Techniques

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Science Culture

Open Access

Women in Neuroscience

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing

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Alexandra Woolgar

(she/her/hers)

University Position

Programme Leader
Principal Research Associate

Dr Alexandra Woolgar is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students.

Interests

We study the neural basis for flexible cognitive control, underpinning the incredible human capacity for diverse and flexible behaviour. Our research uses multivariate analysis of fMRI, E/MEG, and combined TMS-fMRI data. We are interested in how information from the world is represented, exchanged, and transformed between brain regions and how (and whether!) the activation patterns we decode give rise to thought and behaviour. We focus on frontoparietal ?multiple-demand? (MD) brain regions which are involved in a wide range of tasks. These regions appear to prioritise coding of task-relevant information, providing a neural basis for selective attention. Projects examine the flexibility of the system, the relationship with visual cortices, and the links between MD coding and behaviour. Separately, we are developing methods to study language abilities in children with Autism who do not speak. We aim to use neuroimaging to examine cognition in this understudied population.

Key Publications

Parietal alpha stimulation causally enhances attentional information coding in evoked and oscillatory activity.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2025.01.003
Journal: Brain Stimul
E-pub date: 1 Jan 2025
Authors: R Lu, E Michael, CL Scrivener, JB Jackson, J Duncan, A Woolgar

Aperiodic and oscillatory systems underpinning human domain-general cognition

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07397-7
Journal: Commun Biol
E-pub date: 18 Dec 2024
Authors: R Lu, N Dermody, J Duncan, A Woolgar

Neural Coding of Visual Objects Rapidly Reconfigures to Reflect Subtrial Shifts in Attentional Focus.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01832
Journal: J Cogn Neurosci
E-pub date: 31 Mar 2022
Authors: L Barnes, E Goddard, A Woolgar

Linking the Brain with Behavior: The Neural Dynamics of Success and Failure in Goal-directed Behavior.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01818
Journal: J Cogn Neurosci
E-pub date: 5 Mar 2022
Authors: AK Robinson, AN Rich, A Woolgar

Concurrent neuroimaging and neurostimulation reveals a causal role for dlPFC in coding of task-relevant information.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02109-x
Journal: Commun Biol
E-pub date: 17 May 2021
Authors: JB Jackson, E Feredoes, AN Rich, M Lindner, A Woolgar

The multiple-demand system but not the language system supports fluid intelligence.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0282-3
Journal: Nat Hum Behav
E-pub date: 1 Mar 2018
Authors: A Woolgar, J Duncan, F Manes, E Fedorenko

Coping with confounds in multivoxel pattern analysis: what should we do about reaction time differences? A comment on Todd, Nystrom & Cohen 2013.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.04.059
Journal: Neuroimage
E-pub date: 1 Sep 2014
Authors: A Woolgar, P Golland, S Bode

Publications

How robustly do multivariate EEG patterns track individual-subject lexico-semantic processing of visual stimuli?

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2023.2177315
Journal: Language, Cognition and Neuroscience
E-pub date: 1 Jan 2024
Authors: S Petit, A Brown, ET Jessen, A Woolgar

Adaptive coding of stimulus information in human frontoparietal cortex during visual classification.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120150
Journal: Neuroimage
E-pub date: 1 Jul 2023
Authors: D Wisniewski, C González-García, S Formica, A Woolgar, M Brass

Fractionating distraction: How past- and future-relevant distractors influence integrated decisions.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001081
Journal: J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform
E-pub date: 1 May 2023
Authors: L Barnes, D Rangelov, JB Mattingley, A Woolgar

When the Whole Is Less Than the Sum of Its Parts: Maximum Object Category Information and Behavioral Prediction in Multiscale Activation Patterns.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.825746
Journal: Front Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2022
Authors: H Karimi-Rouzbahani, A Woolgar

Caveats and Nuances of Model-Based and Model-Free Representational Connectivity Analysis.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.755988
Journal: Front Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2022
Authors: H Karimi-Rouzbahani, A Woolgar, R Henson, H Nili

The time-course of feature-based attention effects dissociated from temporal expectation and target-related processes.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10687-x
Journal: Sci Rep
E-pub date: 28 Apr 2022
Authors: D Moerel, T Grootswagers, AK Robinson, SM Shatek, A Woolgar, TA Carlson, AN Rich

Causal Evidence for the Multiple Demand Network in Change Detection: Auditory Mismatch Magnetoencephalography across Focal Neurodegenerative Diseases.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1622-21.2022
Journal: J Neurosci
E-pub date: 13 Apr 2022
Authors: TE Cope, LE Hughes, HN Phillips, NE Adams, A Jafarian, D Nesbitt, M Assem, A Woolgar, J Duncan, JB Rowe

Spatial and Feature-selective Attention Have Distinct, Interacting Effects on Population-level Tuning.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01796
Journal: J Cogn Neurosci
E-pub date: 5 Jan 2022
Authors: E Goddard, TA Carlson, A Woolgar

Caveats and nuances of model-based and model-free representational connectivity analysis

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.10.455841
Journal:
E-pub date: 11 Aug 2021
Authors: H Karimi-Rouzbahani, A Woolgar, R Henson, H Nili

Word Detection in Individual Subjects Is Difficult to Probe With Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.602798
Journal: Front Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2021
Authors: L Barnes, S Petit, NA Badcock, CJ Whyte, A Woolgar

Perceptual difficulty modulates the direction of information flow in familiar face recognition.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117896
Journal: Neuroimage
E-pub date: 1 Jun 2021
Authors: H Karimi-Rouzbahani, F Ramezani, A Woolgar, A Rich, M Ghodrati

Now you see it, now you don’t: optimal parameters for interslice stimulation in concurrent TMS-fMRI

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.28.446111
Journal:
E-pub date: 30 May 2021
Authors: CL Scrivener, JB Jackson, MM Correia, M Mada, A Woolgar

Neural signatures of vigilance decrements predict behavioural errors before they occur.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60563
Journal: Elife
E-pub date: 8 Apr 2021
Authors: H Karimi-Rouzbahani, A Woolgar, AN Rich

The effect of non-communicative eye movements on joint attention.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1747021820945604
Journal: Q J Exp Psychol (Hove)
E-pub date: 1 Dec 2020
Authors: N Caruana, A Alhasan, K Wagner, DM Kaplan, A Woolgar, G McArthur

Finding hidden treasures: A child-friendly neural test of task-following in individuals using functional Transcranial Doppler ultrasound.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107515
Journal: Neuropsychologia
E-pub date: 1 Sep 2020
Authors: S Petit, NA Badcock, A Woolgar

Late disruption of central visual field disrupts peripheral perception of form and color.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219725
Journal: PLoS One
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2020
Authors: KB Weldon, A Woolgar, AN Rich, MA Williams

Efficiency in Magnocellular Processing: A Common Deficit in Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2020.00049
Journal: Front Hum Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2020
Authors: AC Brown, JL Peters, C Parsons, DP Crewther, SG Crewther

Toward an Individualized Neural Assessment of Receptive Language in Children.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00313
Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res
E-pub date: 20 Jul 2020
Authors: S Petit, NA Badcock, T Grootswagers, AN Rich, J Brock, L Nickels, D Moerel, N Dermody, S Yau, E Schmidt, A Woolgar

Unconstrained multivariate EEG decoding can help detect lexical-semantic processing in individual children.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67407-6
Journal: Sci Rep
E-pub date: 2 Jul 2020
Authors: S Petit, NA Badcock, T Grootswagers, A Woolgar

Are Working Memory Training Effects Paradigm-Specific?

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01103
Journal: Front Psychol
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2019
Authors: J Holmes, F Woolgar, A Hampshire, SE Gathercole

Adaptive coding in the human brain: Distinct object features are encoded by overlapping voxels in frontoparietal cortex.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.07.006
Journal: Cortex
E-pub date: 1 Nov 2018
Authors: JB Jackson, A Woolgar

Representing the location of manipulable objects in shape-selective occipitotemporal cortex: Beyond retinotopic reference frames?

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2018.05.009
Journal: Cortex
E-pub date: 1 Sep 2018
Authors: R Zopf, M Butko, A Woolgar, MA Williams, AN Rich

Detecting communicative intent in a computerised test of joint attention.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2899
Journal: PeerJ
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2017
Authors: N Caruana, G McArthur, A Woolgar, J Brock

Multisensory coding in the multiple-demand regions: vibrotactile task information is coded in frontoparietal cortex.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00559.2016
Journal: J Neurophysiol
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2017
Authors: A Woolgar, R Zopf

Simulating social interactions for the experimental investigation of joint attention.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.022
Journal: Neurosci Biobehav Rev
E-pub date: 1 Mar 2017
Authors: N Caruana, G McArthur, A Woolgar, J Brock

Feature-selective Attention in Frontoparietal Cortex: Multivoxel Codes Adjust to Prioritize Task-relevant Information.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01039
Journal: J Cogn Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Feb 2017
Authors: J Jackson, AN Rich, MA Williams, A Woolgar

Coding of Visual, Auditory, Rule, and Response Information in the Brain: 10 Years of Multivoxel Pattern Analysis.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00981
Journal: J Cogn Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Oct 2016
Authors: A Woolgar, J Jackson, J Duncan

Disruption of Foveal Space Impairs Discrimination of Peripheral Objects.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00699
Journal: Front Psychol
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2016
Authors: KB Weldon, AN Rich, A Woolgar, MA Williams

Representational dynamics of object recognition: Feedforward and feedback information flows.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.01.006
Journal: Neuroimage
E-pub date: 1 Mar 2016
Authors: E Goddard, TA Carlson, N Dermody, A Woolgar

Flexible Coding of Task Rules in Frontoparietal Cortex: An Adaptive System for Flexible Cognitive Control.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00827
Journal: J Cogn Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Oct 2015
Authors: A Woolgar, S Afshar, MA Williams, AN Rich

The fovea is essential for peripheral vision: The effect of foveal distractors on extra-foveal perception

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1167/15.12.609
Journal: Journal of Vision
E-pub date: 1 Sep 2015
Authors: K Weldon, A Woolgar, A Rich, M Williams

Simulating Cooperative Interactions to Investigate the Neural Correlates of Joint Attention

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00046
Journal: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2015
Authors: C Nathan, W Alexandra, B Jon

Attention enhances multi-voxel representation of novel objects in frontal, parietal and visual cortices.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.083
Journal: Neuroimage
E-pub date: 1 Apr 2015
Authors: A Woolgar, MA Williams, AN Rich

A frontotemporoparietal network common to initiating and responding to joint attention bids.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.041
Journal: Neuroimage
E-pub date: 1 Mar 2015
Authors: N Caruana, J Brock, A Woolgar

Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) reveals abnormal fMRI activity in both the “core” and “extended” face network in congenital prosopagnosia.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00925
Journal: Front Hum Neurosci
E-pub date: 1 Aug 2014
Authors: D Rivolta, A Woolgar, R Palermo, M Butko, L Schmalzl, MA Williams