Rik Henson
Rik’s first degree was in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, followed by an MSc in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh, before returning to the University of Cambridge for a PhD in Biological Sciences, which he competed in 1997. He then worked as a BBSRC post-doc and then Wellcome Career Development Fellow at University College London, before returning to Cambridge in 2004.
His research concerns the systems neuroscience of human memory; more specifically how memory changes with age, dementia and brain damage. He is interested in the neural bases of both explicit (conscious) memory and implicit (unconscious) memory, particularly the relationship between recollection, familiarity, and priming, and the relationship between memory and (visual) perception. A deeper knowledge of these different expressions of memory is important for understanding the ubiquitous memory impairments associated with neurological damage, neurodegenerative diseases and normal ageing. He studies this topic using behavioural experiments on young, older and amnestic individuals, using neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI and MEG, using computational modelling and using multivariate cognitive, brain, lifestyle and genetic data from large cohorts. He is an expert in neuroimaging and advanced statistical and machine-learning analyses. He is also a strong advocate of open science.
About Dorothy:
"Rik is a cognitive neuroscientist who studies memory, ageing and dementia, and has been an MRC Programme Leader at the MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit (CBU) since 2004. The CBU used to be called the Applied Psychology Unit (APU), which was where Dorothy was a Programme Leader for many years before moving to Oxford. Indeed, Dorothy was the internal examiner for Rik’s PhD in 1997, and Rik has fond memories of discussing the minutiae of short-term memory with her. More recently, Rik worked with Dorothy on the BNA’s “Credibility Advisory Board”, trying to help instill open science principles into neuroscience research".
