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Dr Dianne Sheppard

Dr Dianne Sheppard

Biography

How do we cope with the abundance and intensity of sensory information that our sensory systems relay to our brains? How is it that we can consciously perceive our name spoken in a very noisy environment when other parts of the conversation are impossible to decipher (the 'cocktail party effect')?  The answer lies within our selective attention system of our brains.
Selective attention is critical for many aspects of daily functioning. We need to filter aspects of our visual and auditory environment to drive safely, we need to look for certain visual cues when locating familiar products while grocery shopping. Without selective attention we would take a lot longer to accomplish even basic goals.
We don't as yet fully understand how selective attention and other, related, aspects of our cognitive systems develop across childhood. We know even less about how selective attention processes deteriorate with age, and as a result of neuropathology associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases.
While I am especially interested in selective attention, I am also interested in other cognitive processes that are closely related or even overlap, such as working memory, sustained attention or vigilance, divided attention, etc. Also, one particular research focus at present is understanding which aspects of cognition deteriorate with age, and the processes that underlie that deterioration.

Email Dr Dianne Sheppard

Professional Activities

  • Deputy Coordinator of the Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience (BBNSc) undergraduate degree
  • Coordinator of the Honours program of the BBNSc
  • Coordinator of the unit 'Foundations of Behavioural Neuroscience' (BNS1072)
  • Co-coordinator of the 3rd year psychology elective unit 'Human Neuropsychology: Neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders' (PSY3180)

Research Interests

  • To elaborate on the typical developmental trajectory of different aspects of cognition, particularly selective attention, distractibility, inhibitory processes, etc, across childhood and adolescence.
  • The impact of intellectual disability on different aspects of cognition, particularly across early periods of development.
  • Are there recognisable differences in cognitive profiles across development for children with different forms of intellectual disability, e.g. Down’s syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, William’s syndrome, autism, non-specific intellectual dysfunction, etc?
  • As we age, do we show a consistent pattern of cognitive decline? Can our cognitive strengths be utilised in order to compensate for potential weaknesses as we age?
  • Does depression account for any of the cognitive deficits that are shown by the elderly? By treating depression in the elderly, do we see a relative improvement in certain aspects of cognition?
  • Can we learn more about age-related brain pathology by looking at electrophysiological correlates (e.g. event-related potential) of cognitive task performance in the elderly relative to younger individuals?

Teaching

  • PSY3180: Human Neuropsychology: Neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders (Coordinator and lecturer)
  • PSY3062: Research Methods and Theory (supervisor)
  • BNS1072: Foundations of Behavioural Neuroscience (Coordinator and lecturer)
  • PSY1011: Introduction to Psychology 1A (lecturer)

Collaborations

  • Professor Kimron Shapiro, University of Wales, Bangor, UK
  • Professor Robert Iansek, Geriatric Research Unit, Kingston Centre, Cheltenham
  • Professor Paul Fitzgerald, Psychiatrist, School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Monash University.

Grant Support

  • Australian Research Council (ARC) grant 2004-2006 $150,000

Publications

Recent Publications

  • Tresize, K., Gray, K. & Sheppard, D.M. (Accepted for publication, January, 2008). Attention and vigilance in the child with Down's syndrome. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

  • Gardner, B.K., Sheppard, D.M., & Efron, D. (Published Online, 2007). The impact of stimulants for children with AD/HD on selective and divided attention subtests of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children. Child Neuropsychology, 1-16.

  • Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Tang, J., Mehmedbegovic, F., Farrow, M., Bradshaw, J.L. & Sheppard, D. (2006). Age-related differences in cognitive function using a global local hierarchical paradigm. Brain Research, 1124, 86-95.

  • Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Tang, J., Vardy, Y., Sheppard, D., Evans, N., Wilson, M., Gardner, B., Farrow, M., & Bradshaw, J.L. (2007). Progressive age related changes in the attentional blink paradigm. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition 14(3), 213-226.

  • Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Gardner, B., Vardy, Y., Evans, N., Bradshaw, J.L., Shapiro, K. & Sheppard, D.M. (2006). The attentional blink in adults with Tourette's syndrome. Australian Journal of Psychology, 58(3), 151-8.