How does the brain create subjective experiences? What happens in the nervous system that makes us perceive something as good or bad, pleasant or painful? My research uses a variety of cognitive, affective and social neuroscience techniques to answer this fundamental question. This is my wonderful team.
My current and previous research projects revolve around the subjective hedonic feelings associated with rewards and punishments, social reward, and individual differences in the subjective experience of pain and pleasure. The research techniques I use include psychopharmacological studies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychophysical investigations using self-report and autonomic measures. My research has implications for treatment of alcohol and drug addiction, chronic pain and other mental and physical health problems.
Higher education and employment history
- 2014-2016: Research fellow at the Intervention Centre, Oslo University Hospital.
- 2010-2014: Research fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo.
- 2008-2010: Postdoc at the universities of Gothenburg and Oslo, mentored by Professors Håkan Olausson and Bruno Laeng.
- 2004:2008: D.Phil. on ‘Pain, Pleasure and Relief’ at the Oxford Centre for Functional Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) in spring 2008, supervised by Professor Irene Tracey.
- My academic training includes masters’ and doctorate degrees in Neuroscience (Oxford University, UK) and a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science (Exeter University, UK).
Appointments
- President-elect, Society for Social Neuroscience
- Associate editor, Pain
Cooperation
Current active international collaborations:
- Professor Tom Johnstone (Opioid modulation of craving & cognitive regulation)
- Dr. Chantal Berna, Professor Irene Tracey et al. at the Universities of Oxford and Lausanne (The role of endogenous opioid signalling for pain and emotion)
- Dr Eric Garland, Utah