Contact details
Address
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom
Dr. Bretherton received an undergraduate degree in Behavioural Science (2001) and an Honours degree in Psychology (2003) from Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Before emigrating to the UK, he trained in Cognitive Neuroscience and Electroencephalography (EEG) at the Centre for Magnetic Resonance at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia while studying the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease and Ischemic Stroke with EEG, and cognitive and neuropsychological assessments.
Dr. Bretherton was awarded the Award for Excellence for achieving the highest grade in the Master’s degree in Applied Psychological Research in 2010 and was awarded a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience in 2016 for his work studying visual attention and the impact of threatening information on attentional deployment using EEG and behaviour.
Before taking up a permanent position at City University of London in 2021, Dr. Bretherton was a Senior Technician in the Psychology Department at the University of Roehampton, London, UK.
Research
Dr. Bretherton’s research mainly focusses on the study of the neural mechanics of human visual system, with a particular focus on Attention, Perception, Memory, and Learning. A secondary interest is the impact that stress and emotion have on cognitive performance, particularly Attention, Perception, Memory and Learning.
For example, how does Social Anxiety impact cognitive performance on complex tasks? Also, how does stress negatively impact cognitive performance, while stress relieving activities, such as exercise and meditation, have positive effects on cognitive performance.
Dr. Bretherton uses Neurophysiological methods such as Electroencephalography (EEG), Eye Tracking, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Electrodermal Dermal Response (EDR), and Cognitive Assessments.
Qualifications
- Ph.D. Psychology (2016)
- MSc. Applied Psychological Research (2010)
- Honours Applied Psychological Research (2003)
- BSc. Behavioural Science (2001)
Publications
Ph.D. Thesis
The Neural mechanisms of attention: Exploring threat-related suppression and enhancement using ERPs
Journal Articles
Bretherton, P.M., Eysenck, M.W., Richards, A., & Holmes, A. (2020) Target and distractor processing and the influence of load on the allocation of attention to task irrelevant threat. Neuropsychologia, 145.
Conference Papers and Proceedings
Chenery, H., Copland, D., Finnigan, S., Bretherton, P., Harris, J., Catts, S., & Humphreys, M. (2005) Electrophysiologic measures of expectancy-based semantic priming in high and low schizotypy. Society for Psychophysiological Research 45th Annual Meeting, 42 (Supp.1), S11.