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Marta Wawrzuta MSc, BSc (Hons)

Marta Wawrzuta

(she/her)

MSc, BSc (Hons)

Teams and roles for Marta Wawrzuta

Overview

I am a third year PhD student in the Neuroscience and Psychology of Sleep (NAPS) laboratory at the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC). My main interest is the interplay between sleep and emotional processing in humans. I am working on developing a proof of concept overnight therapy for PTSD, by utilising Targeted Memory Reactivation in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. In my work I utilise techniques such as polysomnography (a combination of EEG, EOG and EMG) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to understand the biological underpinnings of emotional memory processing in REM sleep and how we can manipulate it with TMR.

Research

My work focuses on using Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) in REM sleep to improve emotional processing of memories during sleep. In my first study I investigated the influence of REM TMR of complex emotional stimuli (short videos) on measures of emotion (arousal and valence) and memory (chronological order of events) in healthy participants. Preliminary results show reduced negativity and impaired memory recall for cued items, indicating that TMR in REM sleep could be a valid treatment method for PTSD in the future.

In my next project I aim to expand upon my first study by including functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in order to better understand the biological underpinnings of this effect.

 

Teaching

One of my current responsibilities at Cardiff University is that of a Postgraduate tutor.

My role is to prepare 1st year psychology students for an academic career. My responsibilities include supporting student development in areas of: report writing; research methods; stimulus presentation skills; understanding statistics; communication skills and group work.

Biography

  • MSc Brain and Behaviour (Liverpool John Moores University)
  • BSc hons Psychology (University of Chester)

Academic positions

  • Postgraduate Tutor (Cardiff University)
  • Research intern in cell culture (Liverpool John Moores University)

Speaking engagements

  • Why do we struggle to fall asleep, BBC radio
  • How we measure sleep and our current research on overnight therapy at the World Sleep Day, Cardiff University
  • Questions about sleep on Midnight Mastermind, BBC radio
  • Importance of sleep for positive wellbeing at the Welcome Week in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
  • Long term effects of stimulant use on cognition and cortical haemodynamics at the Central and Eastern European Conference for Interdisciplinary Research (CEECIR), University of Warwick

Contact Details

Email WawrzutaMK@cardiff.ac.uk

Campuses Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Sleep
  • Cognitive neuroscience
  • Memory
  • Emotion

External profiles