London South Bank University

Post-Doc, Psychology

Research Fellow

About

Dr Laura Crane graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2005 with a first class honours degree in Psychology. Laura then completed a MSc in Research Methods and Statistics at Goldsmiths, which she passed with distinction in 2006. From 2006 to 2009, Laura completed her PhD at Goldsmiths, which was awarded (with no corrections) in Feb 2010. Laura's postgraduate training was funded by an Economic and Social Research Council 1+3 studentship and a grant from the University of London Central Research Fund.

Following a period of maternity leave, Laura began a part-time Research Fellow post at London South Bank University in March 2011, where she is currently based.

Laura's research interests are in the following areas:

1) Autobiographical memory in adults with autism
As part of her PhD studies, Laura explored the autobiographical memory difficulties experienced by adults with autism. As well as exploring the nature of autobiographical memory in this group, Laura examined the mechanisms underlying these difficulties and how the patterns and profiles of autobiographical memory in autism differed to those observed in other clinical disorders (e.g., depression). She is currently extended this work by further assessing the mechanisms associated with personal memory retrieval in autism (with Dr Lorna Goddard, Goldsmiths) and by exploring future thinking in this group (with Dr Sophie Lind, Durham).

2) Sensory processing in neurodevelopmental disorders
During her PhD, Laura examined self-reported levels of sensory processing in adults with autism, relative to typical adults. Extending this work, Laura has recently co-authored a book chapter with Dr Elisabeth Hill and Dr Andy Bremner (both at Goldsmiths) on multisensory processing in neurodevelopmental disorders (including autism, developmental coordination disorder and developmental dyslexia). She is also working on a project exploring sensory processing in a large group of adults with autism and their families (with Professor Linda Pring, Goldsmiths).

3) Cognitive processing of emotions in adults with autism spectrum disorder and their relatives
Laura recently worked with Dr Elisabeth Hill (Goldsmiths, University of London) and Dr Sylvie Berthoz (INSERM) on a project exploring the cognitive processing of emotions (including alexithymia, depression, anxiety, and anhedonia) in adults with autism, their first-degree relatives and typical adults.

3) Creativity in adults with autism (including savants)
Since completing her PhD, Laura has worked with Professor Linda Pring (Goldsmiths, University of London) on a number of projects exploring the cognitive components of creativity in savant artists with autism. She has also collaborated on a project involving calendar calculators (with Dr Lisa Reidy, Sheffield Hallam).

4) Eyewitness memory
In collaboration with Dr Anne Ridley (LSBU), Laura is involved in a project examining the effects of age and retrieval aids on the written and verbal recall of child eyewitnesses. Laura also worked with Professor Lucy Henry (LSBU) on a project assessing the credibility of eyewitnesses with intellectual disabilities.

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