PhD Studentship
University
of Sheffield, Department of Neurology
Qualification: PhD
Funding for: UK Students, EU Students
Hours:
Full Time
Duration – three years
Project
Description
This 3-year PhD project will comprise of a
number of studies, which
will advance our understanding of the role of emotion
regulation in patients
with functional neurological symptoms (FNS). This
understanding will have
direct effects on the treatment of FNS. The PhD project will
be based in the
Department of Neurology at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital
and in the recently
established “Developmental Affective
Neuroscience” lab at the University of Sheffield led by Dr Liat
Levita.
Functional
neurological symptoms refer to neurological
symptoms that are not explained by disease. They may also be
called
psychogenic, non-organic, somatoform, dissociative or
conversion symptoms. The
most common functional neurological symptoms are
non-epileptic attacks and
functional weakness. FNS make up
about 20% of referrals to neurologists. This means that FNS
are more common than conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis
or Parkinson's
Disease. About 50% of patients with functional neurological
symptoms (FNS) have
nonepileptic attacks (NEA). Despite the fact that FNS are
common, the
underlying causes of FNS remain uncertain. The current
biopsychosocial
aetiological model recognises a range of interacting
predisposing, precipitating
and perpetuating factors in which trauma and chronic stress
and their effects
on patients' ability to perceive their own distress and
regulate their emotions
play a key role. The improvement of emotion regulation is an
important aspect
of all of psychotherapies available for FNS. However, it
remains unclear why
patients with similar backgrounds may develop different FNS
(for instance muscle
weakness vs. NEA). What is more, previous work carried out
by the applicants
also shows that clear evidence of emotional dysregulation
can only be
identified in about 50% of patients. Another large patient
group is
characterised by higher somatisation scores but a relatively
normal ability to
feel and perceive emotions, emotion regulation and
psychopathology.
Aims: This
projects aims to determine whether psychotherapy-associated
improvements in functioning, health-related quality of life
and distress are
associated with changes in self-reported emotional
processing in patients with
FNS. It will also examine whether differences in emotion
regulation patterns
explain why different patients develop different functional
symptoms. And finally
this PhD project will explore whether FNS patients with
normal self-reported
emotional processing are regulating emotions normally or
effectively (and
pathologically) repressing emotions.
Suitable candidates
This project would suit a psychology, neuroscience or
biomedical science
graduate with an interest in clinical research and the
neurobiology of emotion
regulation. The PhD student would be jointly supervised by
Professor Markus
Reuber (Neurology), Ms Stephanie Howlett (Psychotherapy) and
Dr Liat Levita
(Psychology).