I completed my BSc degree in Psychology from the University of Iceland and subsequently a MSc Res degree in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience from Maastricht University, The Netherlands where I specialised in Neuropsychology. As part of the degree I completed an 8 month internship at the University Medical Centre in Mainz, Germany, studying serum concentration of venlafaxine (a SNRI antidepressant) in people with late-life depression. I then was awarded the Vice-Chancellors scholarship for research excellence to complete my PhD in Psychology at the University of Nottingham, supervised by Prof. Stephen R. Jackson. My PhD thesis explored sensory phenomena and brain structure in young people with Tourette syndrome using multi-modal framework. In addition to behavioural measurements, my work has employed a variety of neuroscience techniques such as structural MRI [sMRI], diffusion tensor imaging [DTI] and MR spectroscopy [MRS], and transcranial magnetic stimulation [TMS].

In March 2019 I started as a research associate with the Brain and Movement (BAM) Research Group at the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, led by Prof. Lynn Rochester.

Links: Google scholar | ResearchGate | Publons

I joined the Brain and Movement group in March 2019 working with Prof. Lynn Rochester. My work involves developing novel stepped protocols to dynamically track changes in FDG metabolism to differentiate gait related brain activity from postural control using Positron Emission Tomography [PET]/MRI. Furthermore, I will attempt to investigate the interaction of FGD-PET activation with structural and functional connectivity networks to ascertain mechanisms underpinning any age or disease related changes.

My primary research interest involve human motor learning and the control of action, sensorimotor integration and disorders of the basal ganglia.

• Sigurdsson HP, Pépés SE, Jackson GM, Draper A, Morgan PS, Jackson SR. Alterations in the microstructure of white matter in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome measured using tract-based spatial statistics and probabilistic tractography. Cortex 2018, 104, 75-89.
• Sigurdsson HP, Hefner G, Ben-Omar N, Köstlbacher A, Wenzel-Seifert K, Hiemke C, Haen E. Steady-state serum concentrations of venlafaxine in patients with late-life depression. Impact of age, sex and BMI. Journal of Neural Transmission 2015, 122(5), 721-729.
• Chen C, Sigurdsson HP, Pépés SE, Auer DP, Morris PG, Morgan PS, Gowland PA, Jackson SR. Activation induced changes in GABA: functional MRS at 7 T with MEGA-sLASER. NeuroImage 2017, 156, 207-213.