Emma Scholey

My work focuses on the causal role of neurocognitive processes in the generation of symptoms of repetitive negative thoughts (RNT; e.g. rumination and worry). 

I study how habits - behaviours that are expressed automatically -  may be involved in RNT. I examine how the brain learns and expresses habits, and whether the function of specific brain targets is necessary for the control of habitual behaviours. We will test whether neurostimulation to these brain targets can reduce the expression of habitual behaviours, and in turn, RNT. 

I previously completed my PhD in Psychology at the University of Birmingham with Prof. Matthew Apps and Prof. Mark Humphries (University of Nottingham), funded by the Medical Research Council. My PhD research explored how people decide when to commit to an opportunity or forego it, especially when these opportunities require physical effort to pursue.