معرفی
Dr. Catharine Winstanley is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and a key member of the Centre for Brain Health. Her research focuses on the neural, neurochemical, and molecular basis of higher-order cognitive processes such as impulse control and gambling-related decision-making.
- PhD, Cambridge University (2004)
- Laboratory of Molecular and Behavioural Neuroscience
- Research streams: Addiction, Decision Making, Behavioral Neuroscience
Her work combines molecular biology, pharmacology, and behavioral testing in rodents to model human conditions like gambling disorder, substance abuse, and cognitive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury. She employs tasks such as the Rat Gambling Task (rGT), Rat Slot Machine Task (rSMT), and five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT) to investigate these phenomena.
Key article trends show a focus on cue-induced risk preference, dopamine/noradrenaline interactions, sex differences in addictive behaviors, and computational modeling of gambling. Recent studies examine fentanyl abstinence effects, THC exposure impacts, and cholinergic regulation of impulsivity.
Scientific accolades include:
- 2020 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
- 2008 CIHR New Investigator Award
- 2008 Michael Smith Scholar Award
- 2014/15 UBC Killam Research Prize
As Principal Investigator of the Molecular and Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, she mentors post-doctoral fellows and graduate students while advancing translational research that bridges basic science with clinical applications for mental health disorders.
