Bettina Forster

Professor Bettina Forster is a leading cognitive neuroscientist at City, St George's University of London, where she holds a professorship in the Department of Psychology within the School of Health Sciences. She co-leads the Centre for Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience and is actively engaged in research, teaching, and academic leadership. Her work is supported by major funders including the BBSRC, Leverhulme Trust, and Wellcome Trust.

Research Interests: Her research focuses on the brain mechanisms underlying body perception, touch, and embodied cognition. She employs EEG and ERP techniques to study how attention, emotion, and social context shape somatosensory processing. Her work has identified key neural markers such as the Late Somatosensory Negativity (LSN) and N140cc, and she has pioneered methods to isolate somatosensory activity from visual influences. She investigates how we perceive our own and others’ bodies and emotions, with implications for mindfulness, autism, and clinical psychology.

Publication Trends: Her recent publications (2022–2025) reflect a strong focus on emotion perception, vicarious touch, and the role of the somatosensory cortex in social cognition. She frequently uses ERP methodology to explore how facial expressions engage body representations, with growing interest in individual differences (e.g., alexithymia) and developmental conditions (e.g., autism). Her work bridges cognitive, clinical, and social neuroscience, demonstrating a consistent trajectory toward understanding the neural basis of embodied social interaction.

Scientific Awards:

• Staff Research Prize for excellence in research (£1000), City University London (December 2007)

Research Supervision and Funding: Professor Forster supervises current PhD students including Hana Villar, Carmen Kohl, and Alejandro Galvez-Pol. Her former students include Silvia Goss, Alexander Jones, and Chiara F. Sambo. She has secured significant research grants, including a Leverhulme Trust award (£216K) on neurometric measures of decision-making and BBSRC funding (£371K) on tactile spatial orienting. She has also received internal pump-priming awards for projects on the bodily self and aesthetic perception.

Research Centre: She co-leads the Centre for Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, a hub for interdisciplinary research on brain, behavior, and mental health, fostering collaboration across psychology, neuroscience, and clinical practice.