Dr Sarah Wilson

BSc(Hons); PhD; MAPS; CCN

Senior Lecturer

Contact details:

I am a Clinical Neuropsychologist and research scientist with a particular interest in the interrelationships between brain processes, cognition and behaviour, and their psychosocial outworkings. This interest has issued two lines of research into the study of brain and behaviour that inform clinical practice: (1) clinical neuropsychology, with a specialty in epilepsy and extensions to other medical conditions, and (2) behavioural neuroscience, with a specialty in music neurocognition.

The first arm of my research profile investigates the health outcomes and psychosocial functioning of patients following major medical treatments for chronic illness, such as epilepsy surgery. It has led to the development of a new model of psychosocial adjustment that has subsequently been extended to other medical conditions, such as narcolepsy and cardiac disease.

The second arm of my research profile investigates the influence of genetic and environmental factors in effecting morphological and functional changes in the brain (cortical plasticity) and the relationship of these changes to cognitive skill development across different domains. My particular interest lies in the auditory domain, focusing on the development of musical abilities and expertise and their neurobiological basis, the effect of brain injury on the performance of musicians (amusia), and the use of music to facilitate cerebral recovery.

Research Interests:

• Clinical Neuropsychology
  • Psychosocial and cognitive aspects of medical illness and treatment outcome, including epilepsy, narcolepsy, cardiac surgery, cerebral aneurysm
  • The neurobiological basis of mood and sexual functioning
  • Quality of life research
• Behavioural Neuroscience
  • Pitch perception, music cognition and memory
  • Musical ability and expertise, amusia
  • Williams Syndrome
• Methodologies of Interest
  • Qualitative research
  • Structural and functional neuroimaging
• Music Research Laboratory
  • Music, Auditory Cognition and Mind (MACAM) Research Group

 

Professional Associations & Memberships:

• Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist, Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Austin Health
• Consultant, Seizure Surgery Follow-up & Rehabilitation Program, Comprehensive Epilepsy Program
• Registered Psychologist, Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria
• Specialist Registration, Clinical Neuropsychologist, The APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (CCN)
• Member, Australian Psychological Society (MAPS)
• Member, Epilepsy Society of Australia (ESA)
• Member, Research Commission (2002-2005), International Bureau of Epilepsy (IBE)
• Member, HCSNet Steering Committee, ARC Network in Human Communication Science
• Member, Advisory Board of the National Music Therapy Research Unit (NaMTRU)
• PRIMAL Network Inc.

Awards:

• Epilepsy Association Research Scholarship, 2003
• Australian Research Council, Early Career Researcher Award, 2002
• Melbourne University Early Career Researcher Award, 2002
• Inaugural Sanofi-Synthallabo Prize for Assessing Costs in Epilepsy (IBE-SPACE), 1999
• GlaxoSmithKline Epilepsy Fellow, Austin Health, 1997-1999
• Melbourne University Fund Travelling Scholarship, 1994
• Australian Post-graduate Research Award (APRA), 1992-1995

• Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) Post-graduate Scholarships, 1991, 1992-1996
  

Recent Funded Research:

Selected Publications:

Journal Articles

Baird AD, Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM, Reutens DC. (in press). Neurological control of human sexual behaviour: Insights from lesion studies. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, & Psychiatry. Published JNNP Online First.

Wilson SJ, Frazer DW, Lawrence JA, Bladin PF. (2007). Psychosocial adjustment following relief of chronic narcolepsy. Sleep Medicine, 8, 252-259.

Willetts SW, Wilson SJ, Saling MM, Newton MR, Berkovic SF. (2007). The psychosocial impact of a newly-diagnosed seizure: Losing and restoring perceived control. Epilepsy & Behavior, 10, 223-233.

Wilson SJ, Parsons K, Reutens DC . (2006). Preserved singing in aphasia: A case study of the efficacy of Melodic Intonation Therapy. Music Perception, 24, 23-36.

Crncec R, Wilson SJ, Prior M. (2006). No evidence for the Mozart effect in children. Music Perception, 23,305-317.

Crncec R, Wilson SJ, Prior M. (2006). The cognitive and academic benefits of music to children: Facts and fictions. Educational Psychology, 26, 579-594.

Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM, Pattison PE. (2005). Characterising psychosocial outcome trajectories following seizure surgery. Epilepsy & Behavior, 6, 570-580.

Wrench J, Wilson SJ, Bladin PF. (2004). Mood disturbance before and after seizure surgery: A comparison of temporal and extra-temporal resections. Epilepsia, 45, 534-543.

Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM. (2004). Paradoxical results in the cure of chronic illness: The ‘burden of normality’ as exemplified following seizure surgery. Epilepsy & Behavior, 5, 13-21.

Baird AD, Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM, Reutens D. (2004). The amygdala and sexual drive: Insights from temporal lobe epilepsy surgery. Annals of Neurology, 55, 87-96.

Baird AD, Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM, Reutens D (2003). Sexual outcome after epilepsy surgery. Epilepsy & Behaviour, 4, 268-278.

Baird AD, Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM, Reutens D. (2002). Hypersexuality after temporal lobe resection. Epilepsy & Behaviour, 3, 173-181.

Wilson SJ, Pressing J, Wales RJ. (2002). Rhythmic timing in a musician post-stroke. Neuropsychologia, 40, 1494-1505.

McIntosh AM, Wilson SJ, Berkovic SF. (2001). Seizure outcome after temporal lobectomy: Current research practice and findings. Epilepsia, 42, 1288-1307.

Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM. (2001). The ‘Burden of Normality’: Concepts of adjustment after seizure surgery. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 70, 649-656.

Wilson SJ, Bladin PF, Saling MM, McIntosh AM, Lawrence J. (2001). The longitudinal course of adjustment after seizure surgery. Seizure, 10, 165-172.

Graduate Students under Supervision in Clinical Neuropsychology:

Joanne Wrench, Sarah Willetts, Dr Silvana Micallef, Lucy Macintosh, Dr Natasha Brown, Ruth Drackford, Asawari Killedar

Graduate Students under Supervision in Music Neurocognition: