Dr. Katherine Johnson
B.A., B.Sc (Hons), PhD (Monash)
Senior Lecturer
Contact details:
| email: kajo At unimelb.edu.au | |
| telephone: +61 3 8344 6349 |
Research Interests:
My research focuses on the cognitive and physiological deficits associated with developmental disorders, especially Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism. I use a variety of neuroscience methods, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), EEG, genetic risk markers, movement kinematics and reaction time analysis to further our understanding of typical and atypical development.
Professional Associations, Memberships & Awards:
Professional Associations:
- Research Associate with the Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin
Memberships:
Awards:
- European Psychiatric Association Research Prize (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) €2,500 (2008)
- Dartmouth College Travel Grant to attend the Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience (2005)
-
Most outstanding thesis from School of Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychological Medicine, Monash University (2002)
Recent Funded Research:
Most outstanding thesis from School of Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychological Medicine, Monash University (2002)
| Project: | Early Career Researcher Grant |
| Year: | 2010 |
| Funded by: | MDHS Faculty, University of Melbourne |
| Authors: | Johnson, K.A. |
| Project: | Electroencephalographic investigations of the neural correlates of psychological function in healthy and clinical populations |
| Year: | 2010 |
| Funded by: | MDHS Faculty Equipment Grant, University of Melbourne |
| Authors: | Carter, O., Hester, R., Johnson, K.A. |
| Project: | Using aerobic exercise to promote brain plasticity and increase functional capacity in older people |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Funded by: | Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI) |
| Authors: | Carson, R., De Vito, G., Lowery, M., Craig, D., Johnson, K.A., Kelly, A. |
| Project: | Eurocores European Collaborative Research Projects (ECRP) in the Social Sciences Project Grant |
| Year: | 2007 |
| Funded by: | Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Authors: | Robertson, I.H., Johnson, K.A., Bundesen, C., Kyllingsbaek, S., Habekost, T. |
| Project: | Irish Health Research Board Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Funded by: | Irish Health Research Board |
| Authors: | Johnson, K.A. |
Selected Publications: |
Refereed Journal Articles:
Adamo, N., Di Martino, A., Esu, L., Petkova, E., Johnson, K.A., Kelly, S., Castellanos, F.X., Zuddas, A. Increased RT variability across different cognitive tasks in children with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders (in press).
McAvinue, L., Vangkilde, S., Johnson, K.A., Habekost, T., Kyllingsbaek, S., Robertson, I.H., Bundesen, C. The relationship between sustained attention, attentional selectivity and capacity. Journal of Cognitive Psychology (in press).
Braet, W., Johnson, K.A., Tobin, C.T., Acheson, R., McDonnell, C., Hawi, Z., Barry, E., Mulligan, A., Gill, M., Bellgrove, M.A., Robertson, I.H., Garavan, H. fMRI activation during response inhibition and error processing: The role of the DAT1 gene in typically developing adolescents and those diagnosed with ADHD. Neuropsychologia, 2011, 49(7), 1641-1650. PMID: 21232548
Kuntsi, J., Wood, A.C., Rijsdijk, F., Johnson, K.A., Andreou, P., Albrecht, B., Arias-Vasquez, A., Buitelaar, J.K., McLoughlin, G., Rommelse, N.N.J., Sergeant, J.A., Sonuga-Barke, E.J., Uebel, H., van der Meere, J.J., Banaschewski, T., Gill, M., Manor, I., Miranda, A., Mulas, F., Oades, R.D., Roeyers, H.D., Rothenberger, A., Steinhausen, H-C., Faraone, S.V., Asherson, P. Separation of cognitive impairments in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder into two familial factors. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2010, 67:1159-1166.
Wood A.C., Rijsdijk F., Johnson K.A., Andreou P., Albrecht B., Arias-Vasquez A., Buitelaar J.K., McLoughlin G., Rommelse N.N.J., Sergeant J.A., Sonuga-Barke E.J.S., Uebel H., van der Meere J.J., Banaschewski T., Gill M., Manor I., Miranda A., Mulas F., Oades R.D., Roeyers H., Rothenberger A., Steinhausen H.C., Faraone S.V., Asherson P., & Kuntsi J. The relationship between ADHD and cognitive phenotypes is not mediated by shared familial effects with IQ. Psychological Medicine, 2010, 4,1-11. PMID: 20522277
Johnson, K.A., Dáibhis, A., Tobin, C., Acheson, R., Watchorn, A., Mulligan, A., Barry, E., Bradshaw, J.L., Gill, M., Robertson, I.H. Right-sided spatial difficulties in ADHD demonstrated in continuous movement control. Neuropsychologia, 2010, 48(5), 1255-1264. PMID: 20043932
Braet, W., Johnson, K.A., Tobin, C., Acheson, R., Bellgrove, M.A., Robertson, I.H., Garavan, H. Functional developmental changes underlying response inhibition and error-detection processes. Neuropsychologia, 2009, 47(14), 3143-51. Epub 2009 Aug 3. PMID: 19651151.
Bellgrove, M.A., Johnson, K.A., Barry, E., Mulligan, A., Hawi, Z., Gill, M., Robertson, I.H., Chambers, C.D. Dopaminergic haplotype predicts spatial inattention in children with ADHD. Archives of General Psychiatry, 2009, 66(10), 1135-1142.
Johnson, K.A., Wiersema, J. R., Kuntsi, J. What would Karl Popper say - Are current psychological theories of ADHD falsifiable? Behavioral and Brain Functions, 2009, 5:15.
Johnson, K.A., Robertson, I.H. Barry, E., Mulligan, A., Dáibhis, A., Daly, M., Watchorn, A., Gill, M., Bellgrove, M.A. Impaired conflict resolution and alerting in children with ADHD: evidence from the Attention Network Task (ANT). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2008, 49(12), 1339-1347. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01936.x.
Johnson, K.A., Kelly, S.P., Robertson, I.H. Barry, E., Mulligan, A., Daly, M., Lambert, D., McDonnell, C., Connor, T.J., Hawi, Z., Gill, M., Bellgrove, M.A. Absence of the 7-repeat variant of the DRD4 VNTR is associated with drifting sustained attention in children with ADHD but not in controls. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 2008, 147B(6), 927-937. PMID: 18361436. Winner of the European Psychiatric Association Research Prize (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) 2009.
Greene, C.M., Braet, W., Johnson, K.A., Bellgrove, M.A. Imaging the genetics of executive function. Biological Psychology, 2008, 79, 30-42. PMID: 18178303.
Bellgrove, M.A., Barry, E., Johnson, K.A., Cox, M., Dáibhis, A., Daly, M., Hawi, Z., Lambert, D., Lawlor, M., Moran, T., Fitzgerald, M., McNicholas, F., Robertson, I. H., Gill, M., Kirley, A. Spatial attentional bias as a marker of genetic risk, symptom severity and stimulant response in ADHD. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2008, 33(10), 2536-2545. PMID: 18046306.
Johnson, K.A., Barry, E., Bellgrove, M.A., Cox, M., Kelly, S.P., Dáibhis, A., Daly, M., Fitzgerald, M., McNicholas, F., Kirley, A., Robertson, I.H., Gill, M. Dissociation in response to methylphenidate administration on sustained attention in a group of medication naïve children with ADHD. Neuropsychologia, 2008, 46(5), 1532-1541. PMID: 18289615.
Sanders, J., Johnson, K.A.., Garavan, H., Gill, M., Gallagher, L. A review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging research in Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Attention, inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Research in Autistic Spectrum Disorders, 2008, 2, 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2007.03.005
Bellgrove, M.A., Chambers, C.D., Johnson, K.A., Dáibhis, A., Daly, M., Hawi, Z., Lambert, D., Gill, M., Robertson, I.H. Dopaminergic genotype biases spatial attention in healthy children. Molecular Psychiatry, 2007, 12(8), 786-792. PMID: 17549062.
Johnson, K.A., Robertson, I.H., Kelly, S.P., Silk, T.J., Barry, E., Dáibhis, A., Watchorn, M., Keavey, M., Fitzgerald, M., Gallagher, L., Gill, M., Bellgrove, M.A. Dissociation in performance of children with ADHD and autism on a task of sustained attention. Neuropsychologia, 2007, 45, 2234-2245. PMID: 17433378. PMC: 2000292.
Johnson, K.A., Kelly, S.P., Bellgrove, M.A., Barry, E., Cox, M., Gill, M., Robertson, I.H. Response variability in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: evidence for neuropsychological heterogeneity. Neuropsychologia, 2007, 45, 630-638. PMID: 17157885.
Rinehart NJ, Tonge BJ, Bradshaw J, L., Iansek R, Enticott PG, Johnson KA. Movement-Related Potentials in Autism and Asperger's disorder. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2006, 48, 272-277. PMID: 16542514.
Johnson. K.A., Cunnington. R., Bradshaw. J.L., Chiu. E., Iansek. R. Effect of an attentional strategy on movement-related potentials recorded from subjects with Huntington’s disease. Movement Disorders, 2002, 17, 998 – 1003. PMID: 12360549.
Johnson. K.A., Cunnington. R., Iansek. R., Bradshaw. J.L., Georgiou. N., Chiu. E. Movement related potentials in Huntington’s disease – movement preparation and execution. Experimental Brain Research, 2001, 138, 492 - 499. PMID: 11465748.
Bellgrove, M.A., Bradshaw, J.L., Velakoulis, D., Pantelis, C. and Johnson K.A. Bimanual coordination in chronic schizophrenia. Brain and Cognition, 2001, 45, 325-341. PMID: 11305877.
Johnson. K.A., Bennett., J.E., Georgiou, N., Bradshaw, J.L., Chiu, E., Cunnington, R., Iansek, R. Bimanual co-ordination in Huntington’s disease. Experimental Brain Research, 2000, 134, 483-489. PMID: 11081830.
Johnson, K.A., Cunnington, R., Bradshaw, J.L., Phillips, J., Iansek, R., Rogers, M. Bimanual Coordination in Parkinson’s disease. Brain, 1998, 121, 734-753. PMID: 9577398.
Cunnington, R., Iansek, R., Johnson, K.A., Bradshaw, J.L. Movement-related potentials in Parkinson’s Disease. Brain, 1997, 120, 1339-1353. PMID: 9278627.
Research Students under Supervision:
Benita Green (co-supervised with Dr Lesley Bretherton)
Emma Burrowes
Dr Jane McGrath (Trinity College Dublin)