Williams Syndrome Research in Newcastle
Welcome to our homepage for research exploring components of cognition, behaviour and psychopathology associated with the genetic disorder Williams syndrome. On this page we hope to tell you about research projects that we are currently conducting, about members of our group and their areas of expertise and also provide you with contact details for our researchers.
What is Williams Syndrome?
Williams syndrome is a relatively rare neuro-developmental disorder caused by the sporadic deletion of approximately 25-28 genes on chromosome 7. The disorder is associated with interesting aspects of cognition (e.g. a dissociation between relatively good language in comparison to poorer spatial skills), extraordinary facets of social behaviour (e.g. increased anxiety). Across the various projects that we are running we are exploring different components of Williams syndrome in children and in adults.
Find out more about Williams syndrome from the UK Williams syndrome Foundation website. A very useful podcast.
Our Research Group
In this section we list members of our group and the projects that they are conducting that involve individuals with Williams syndrome. For more information on any of these projects please email Deborah Riby. Some of you may have helped with some of these ongoing projects. We project regular updates about the work in the WS News Magazine for members of the WS foundation and newsletters to all families involved in the projects.
Academic Staff:
Dr Debbie Riby
Lecturer, School of Psychology,
Social Cognition in Typical and Atypical Development
Dr Jacqui Rodgers
Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University
Anxiety and Psychopathology in Typical and Aytypical Development
Professor Vicki Bruce
Head of School of Psychology, Newcastle University
Expert in experimental psychology, face perception in typical and atypical development
Dr Emily James
Honorary Associate Clinical Lecturer, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University
Anxiety, repetitive behaviours and sensory processing in Williams syndrome
Dr Leigh Riby
Senior Lecturer, Dept of Psychology, Northumbria University
Cognitive Ageing in Typical and Atypical Development
Professor Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon
Associate Dean of Research, School of Life Sciences, Northumbria University
Gaze Behaviours in Typical and Atypical Development
Postgraduate Researchers
Rachel Cole-Fletcher
PhD Student, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University
Social Perception and Social Cognition in Williams syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Supervised by D Riby, V Bruce
Joanna Greer
Cognitive Ageing In Williams Syndrome adults
PhD Student, Dept of Psychology, Northumbria University
Supervised by D Riby, L Riby, C Hamilton
Katie Little
Social Profiles in Williams Syndrome
Trainee Clinical Psychologist, School of Psychology, Newcastle University
Supervised by J Rodgers, D Riby, E Janes
Ruth Fleck
Hyperacusis and sensory processing in Williams Syndrome
Trainee Clinical Psychologist, School of Psychology, Newcastle University
Supervised by J Rodgers, D Riby, E Janes
Fiona Clark
Emotion and anxiety in Williams Syndrome
Trainee Clincial Psychologist, School of Psychology, Newcastle University
Supervised by J Rodgers, D Riby, E Janes
Hannah Kirk
Social Cognition in Williams Syndrome & Fragile X Syndrome
Supervised by D Riby, K Cornish (Monash University, Melbourne)
News Alerts
Recruitment
We are currently recruiting individuals with Williams syndrome for a number of projects. If you are interested in helping with our research please email us as we will be able to tell you about ongoing relevant projects depending on the age of the individual with WS.
Public Engagement Workshops
Members of the WS research group held 2 workshops to disseminate information about our work on gaze behaviour associated with WS and to mark the end of a three year project exploring these issues. The events were held in Stirling and Newcastle and representatives of the WS Foundation attended the event in Scotland. This was held in 2011.
Gaze Behaviour in Williams syndrome
This 3 year project that was funded by the ESRC ended in July 2011 and we have recently published 3 research articles based on the findings. Professor Doherty-Sneddon is also giving a public lecture on the work as part of the 2012 Science Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne. For more information on the project please email Deborah Riby.
Media Interest
Work from the group has previously featured in the general science media – for example in Scientific American Mind Matters in 2008:
Members of the group are also contacted by the media for an expert opinion on WS, for example by the New Scientist (2012):
A Selection of Recent Academic Publications:
Riby, D. M., Doherty-Sneddon, G., & Whittle, L. (2012). Face-to-Face Interference in Typical and Atypical Development. Developmental Science, 15, 281–291.
Doherty-Sneddon, G., Riby, D. M., & Whittle, L. (2012). Gaze Aversion as a Cognitive Load Management Strategy in Autism and Williams syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry,53, 420-30.
Rodgers, J., Riby, D. M., Janes, E., Connolly, B., & McConachie, H. (2012). Anxiety and Repetitive Behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Williams syndrome: A Cross-syndrome Comparison. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 175-180.
Riby, D. M., Jones, N., Brown, P. H., Robinson, L., Langton, S. R. H., Bruce, V., & Riby, L. M. (2011). Attention to faces in Williams syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 41, 1228-1239.
Riby, D. M., & Hancock, P. J. B. (2009). Looking at Movies and Cartoons: Eye-tracking evidence from Williams syndrome and Autism. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 53, 169–181.
Riby, D. M., & Hancock, P. J. B. (2009). Do faces capture the attention of individuals with Williams syndrome or Autism? Evidence from tracking eye movements. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 39, 421-431.
Riby, D. M., & Hancock, P. J. B. (2008) Viewing it differently: Social scene perception in Williams syndrome and Autism. Neuropsychologia. 46, 2855–2860.
