Dr Ashok Jansari
Staff details
Summary
Ashok is a Senior Lecturer who has been working in the field of neuropsychology for 25 years. He studied Experimental Psychology at King’s College, Cambridge followed by a doctorate at the University of Sussex. He conducted his postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Iowa in the United States working with Antonio Damasio and Ralph Adolphs. His major research concentrates on disorders of human memory, face recognition and executive functions. He has developed an ecologically-valid assessment of the latter known as JEF (the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions). In 2004 he was awarded the Cermak Award by the International Neuropsychological Society for his research in memory disorders.
Grants and Awards
In 2004, Ashok was awarded the Cermak Award for Best Research in Memory Disorders by the International Neuropsychological Society and in 2008 was awarded a Media Fellowship by the British Association for the Advancement of Science for his skills in communicating science to the general public. In 2011 he was awarded a three-month Wellcome funded Live Science residency at London's Science Museum to conduct one of the largest prevalence studies of super-recognition in the world. In 2014, he won Best Research Supervisor prize at the University of East London for his ability to teach and inspire students to high levels of research.
Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange
Ashok has contributed widely to public engagement with science through TV (both national TV such as the BBC and Channel 4 as well as internationally), radio and print media as well as annual public lectures as part of International Brain Awareness Week. In addition, he has lectured extensively throughout Europe, North America, South America, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Since 2006, he has organised annual ‘Brain Awareness Day’ events to make the work of neuropsychologists accessible to the general public. This public engagement work was recognized in 2008 with a Media Fellowship from the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2014, he won a place on BBC’s Talent Academy for finding new experts to comment on science in society.
Ashok serves or has served the INS (Education Task Force and International Liaison Committee) as well as several other neuropsychological organizations including the British Neuropsychological Society (Treasurer), the World Federation for Neuro-Rehabilitation (WFNR) Special Interest Group in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (Scientific Committee), and the British Psychological Society (Associate Fellow, Vice-Chair of the Neuropsychology International Fellowship). His involvement with the international fellowship underscores his commitment to nurturing neuropsychology in low income countries providing financial support for neuropsychologists to visit clinicians and researchers in the UK. His INS involvement also fits with his interests in teaching, public engagement, and global development of neuropsychology, especially in the context of the latter. Ashok’s current international collaborations with researchers in low to middle income countries (e.g. India, Brazil, Romania, Iran) place him in an ideal position to work toward this goal.
Webclips of Dr Jansari speaking about his field:
Speaking about the general field of cognitive neuropsychology
Speaking on BBC1’s The One Show
Speaking about his ‘super-recognizer’ study at London’s Science
Speaking about face-recognition for Universities Week
Research Interests
- Memory Disorders
- Accelerated Long-term Forgetting (ALF)
- Prosopagnosia
- Super-recognition
- Executive Functions
- Ecologically-valid assessments
- Synaesthesia
Publications and research outputs
Article
McGibbon, Terence; Jansari, Ashok S.; Demirjian, Jessica; Nemes, Ana and Opre, Adrian. 2023. Accelerated forgetting in healthy older samples: Implications for methodology, future ageing studies, and early identification of risk of dementia. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76(6), pp. 1347-1367. ISSN 1747-0218
Smith-Spark, James H.; Gordon, Rebecca and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2023. The impact of developmental dyslexia on workplace cognition: Evidence from a virtual reality environment. Behaviour & Information Technology, 42(3), pp. 269-277. ISSN 0144-929X
Ramos-Mastache, Daniela; Mondragón-Maya, Alejandra; Liemburg, Edith J.; Enriquez-Geppert, Stefanie; Goerlic, Katharina S.; Rosel-Vales, Mauricio; Pérez-Ferrara, David; Jansari, Ashok S. and Aleman, Andre. 2022. Understanding the relationship between apathy, cognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia: The significance of an ecological assessment. PLoS ONE, 17(11), e0277047. ISSN 1932-6203
Orkin Simon, Nicole; Jansari, Ashok S. and Gilboa, Yafit. 2022. Hebrew version of the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions for Children (JEF-C©): translation, adaptation and validation. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 32(2), pp. 287-305. ISSN 0960-2011
Yanakieva, S.; Luke, D. P.; Jansari, Ashok S. and Terhune, Devin Blair. 2019. Acquired synaesthesia following 2C-B use. Psychopharmacology, 236(7), pp. 2287-2289. ISSN 0033-3158
Denmark, Tanya; Fish, Jessica; Jansari, Ashok S.; Tailor, Jignesh; Keyoumars, Ashkan and Morris, Robin. 2019. Using Virtual Reality to investigate multitasking ability in individuals with frontal lobe lesions. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 29(5), pp. 767-788. ISSN 0960-2011
Gilboa, Yafit; Jansari, Ashok S.; Kerrouche, Bernadette; Uçak, Emel; Tiberghien, Anne; Benkhaled, Ouarda; Aligon, Delphine; Mariller, Aude; Verdier, Valentine; Mintegui, Amaia; Abada, Geneviève; Canizares, Céline; Goldstein, Andrew and Chevignard, Mathilde. 2019. Assessment of Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI) using a novel complex multi-tasking computerized task – the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions for Children (JEF-C©). Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 29(9), pp. 1359-1382. ISSN 0960-2011
Davis, Josh; Forrest, Charlotte; Treml, Felicia and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2018. Identification from CCTV: Assessing police super-recogniser ability to spot faces in a crowd and susceptibility to change blindness. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 32(3), pp. 337-353. ISSN 0888-4080
Davis, Josh P.; Lander, Karen; Evans, Ray and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2016. Investigating predictors of superior face recognition ability in police super-recognisers. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30(6), pp. 827-840. ISSN 0888-4080
Soar, Kirstie; Chapman, Emma; Lavan, N; Jansari, Ashok S. and Turner, John. 2016. Investigating the effects of caffeine on executive functions using traditional Stroop and a new ecologically-valid virtual reality task, the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions (JEF©). Appetite, 105, pp. 156-163. ISSN 0195-6663
Jansari, Ashok S.; Cocchini, Gianna; Jenkinson, Paul; Bajo, Ana and Ietswaart, Magdalena. 2015. NHS Ethics: Shoe-bombers and why ‘less needs to be more’. Cortex, 71, pp. 409-411. ISSN 0010-9452
Jansari, Ashok S.; Miller, S; Pearce, L; Cobb, S; Tree, J and Hanley, R. 2015. The man who mistook his neuropsychologist for a pop star: when configural processing fails in acquired prosopagnosia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 9(390), ISSN 1747-0218
Jansari, Ashok S.; Miller, Scott; Pearce, Laura; Cobb, Stephanie; Sagiv, Noam; Williams, Adrian; Tree, Jeremy and Hanley, Rick. 2015. The Man Who Mistook His Neuropsychologist For a Popstar: When Configural Processing Fails in Acquired Prosopagnosia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, 390. ISSN 1662-5161
Spiller, Mary Jane; Jonas, Clare N.; Simner, Julia and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2014. Beyond visual imagery: How modality-specific is enhanced mental imagery in synesthesia? Consciousness and Cognition, 31, pp. 73-85. ISSN 1053-8100
Jansari, Ashok S.; Devlin, Alex; Agnew, Robert; Akesson, Katarina; Murphy, Lesley and Leadbetter, Tony. 2014. Ecological assessment of executive functions: a new virtual reality paradigm. Brain Impairment, 15(2), pp. 71-87. ISSN 1443-9646
Tan, Lee-Fan; Dienes, Zoltan; Jansari, Ashok S. and Goh, Sing-Yau. 2014. Effect of mindfulness meditation on brain-computer interface performance. Consciousness and Cognition, 23, pp. 12-21. ISSN 1053-8100
Jonas, Clare N.; Spiller, Mary Jane; Jansari, Ashok S. and Ward, Jamie. 2013. Comparing implicit and synaesthetic number-space associations: visuospatial and verbal SNARC effects. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 67(7), pp. 1262-1273. ISSN 1747-0218
Jansari, Ashok S.; Froggatt, Daniel; Edginton, Trudi and Dawkins, Lynne. 2013. Investigating the impact of nicotine on executive functions using a novel virtual reality assessment. Addiction, 108(5), pp. 977-984. ISSN 1360-0443
Dienes, Zoltan; Baddeley, Roland J. and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2013. Rapidly measuring the speed of unconscious learning: amnesics learn quickly and happy people slowly. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e33400. ISSN 1932-6203
McGibbon, Terence and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2013. Detecting the onset of accelerated long-term forgetting: evidence from temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuropsychologia, 51(1), pp. 114-122. ISSN 0028-3932
Pasqualotto, Achille; Spiller, Mary Jane; Jansari, Ashok S. and Proulx, Michael J.. 2013. Visual experience facilitates allocentric spatial representation. Behavioural Brain Research, 236(1), pp. 175-179. ISSN 0166-4328
Montgomery, C.; Seddon, A.L.; Fisk, J.E.; Murphy, P.N. and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2012. Cannabis-related deficits in real-world memory. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 27(2), pp. 217-225. ISSN 0885-6222
Roser, Matthew E.; Corballis, Michael C.; Jansari, Ashok S.; Fulford, Jon; Benattayallah, Abdelmalek and Adams, William M.. 2012. Bilateral redundancy gain and callosal integrity in a man with callosal lipoma: a diffusion-tensor imaging study. Neurocase, 18(3), pp. 185-198. ISSN 1355-4794
Jansari, Ashok S.; Rodway, P. and Goncalves, Salvador. 2011. Identifying facial emotions: valence specific effects and an exploration of the effects of viewer gender. Brain and Cognition, 76(3), pp. 415-423. ISSN 0278-2626
Montgomery, C.; Ashmore, K.V. and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2011. The effects of a modest dose of alcohol on executive functioning and prospective memory. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 26(3), pp. 208-215. ISSN 0885-6222
Jansari, Ashok S.; Davis, Kavus; McGibbon, Terence; Firminger, Stephanie and Kapur, Narinder. 2010. When "long-term memory" no longer means "forever" analysis of accelerated long-term forgetting in a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuropsychologia, 48(6), pp. 1707-1715. ISSN 1873-3514
Jansari, Ashok S.. 2010. In search of an ecologically valid measure of the dysexecutive syndrome: can virtual reality help rehabilitation? Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 42(4), p. 399. ISSN 1650-1977
Weber, M; Ring, C; Jansari, Ashok S. and Edwards, M G. 2010. Do aggression and executive function influence sport concussion? Brain Injury, 24(3), p. 299. ISSN 0269-9052
Jansari, Ashok S.; Bate, Sarah; Haslam, Catherine; Hodgson, Timothy L.; Gregory, Nicola and Kay, Janice. 2010. Positive and negative emotion enhances the processing of famous faces in a semantic judgment task. Neuropsychology, 24(1), pp. 84-89. ISSN 0894-4105
Montgomery, Catharine; Hatton, Nicholas P.; Fisk, John E.; Ogden, Ruth S. and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2010. Assessing the functional significance of ecstasy-related memory deficits using a virtual paradigm. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, 25(4), pp. 318-325. ISSN 1099-1077
Bate, Sarah; Haslam, Catherine; Jansari, Ashok S. and Hodgson, Timothy L.. 2009. Covert face recognition relies on affective valence in congenital prosopagnosia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 26(4), pp. 391-411. ISSN 0264-3294
Jansari, Ashok S.; McGibbon, Terence; Haslam, Catherine and Anderson, S. 2009. Exploring the limits of memory rehabilitation using errorless learning and spaced retrieval in dense amnesia. Brain Impairment, 10(2), p. 240. ISSN 1443-9646
Tan, Lee-Fan; Jansari, Ashok S.; Keng, Shian-Ling and Goh, Sing-Yau. 2009. Human-Computer Interaction, Part II. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 5611, pp. 632-635. ISSN 0302-9743
Jansari, Ashok S.; Agnew, R; Duncombe, S; Illingworth, M G; Edginton, Trudi; Dawkins, Lynne and Bartfai, A. 2009. Using virtual reality for ecologically-valid assessment of executive functions. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15(2), p. 105. ISSN 1355-6177
Cappelletti, Marinella; Jansari, Ashok S.; Kopelman, Michael and Butterworth, Brian. 2008. A case of selective impairment of encyclopaedic numerical knowledge or 'when December 25th is no longer Christmas day, but "20 + 5" is still 25. Cortex, 44(3), pp. 325-336. ISSN 0010-9452
Jansari, Ashok S.; Debreceni, K; Bartfai, A and Eriksson, M. 2008. Swedish JAAM? Adaptation of a virtual reality assessment of dysexecutive syndrome to a new culture and language. Brain Impairment, 9(2), ISSN 1443-9646
Renison, B; Ponsford, J; Testa, R and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2008. The use of virtual reality in assessment of executive function following traumatic brain injury. Brain Impairment, 9(1), p. 47. ISSN 1443-9646
McGibbon, Terence; Jansari, Ashok S. and Gaskell, G. 2008. Say it again? The importance of repeated recall for ensuring consolidation in ‘Longterm Amnesia’ (LTA). Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14(2), pp. 70-71. ISSN 1355-6177
Jansari, Ashok S.; Miller, Soo; Pearce, L; Chan, J and Nicholls, A. 2008. The man who mistook his neuropsychologist for a popstar: when configural processing fails in selective prosopagnosia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14(2), p. 117. ISSN 1355-6177
Edginton, Trudi; Jansari, Ashok S. and Zacharia, H. 2008. The functional dissociations between immediate and delayed emotional memory processing following right temporal lobe damage. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14(2), p. 88. ISSN 1355-6177
Spiller, Mary Jane and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2008. Mental imagery and synaesthesia: Is synaesthesia from internally-generated stimuli possible? Cognition, 109(1), pp. 143-151. ISSN 0010-0277
Dampney, G and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2008. Is memory rehabilitation possible in older densely amnesic adults? A detailed case study of a post-encephalitic patient using errorless learning and a personal digital computer. Brain Impairment, 9(2), p. 222. ISSN 1443-9646
Edginton, Trudi; Dawkins, Lynne; Bradon, L; Nikolla, D; Herbert, C and Jansari, Ashok S.. 2008. An investigation of the effects of nicotine on executive processes using a virtual reality environment. Brain Impairment, 9(2), p. 207. ISSN 1443-9646
