Staff Profile

I am a Lecturer in the Bioscience Institute. I lecture in the School of Psychology, supporting both the undergraduate single honours BSc and the MSc Foundations in Clinical Psychology.  

I co-lead the Quantum Cognition research team, an interdisciplinary group applying the quantum formalism to cognitive processes such as decision making, emotional episodic memory, and legal decision making.

My area of academic interest is broadly called behavioural neuroscience with a focus rooted in understanding brain development, how pathology can impact behaviour, and the development of affective disorders. I am interested in learning and memory processes, especially how (and where) memories are encoded, stored, and are subsequently re-experienced. I have a particular interest in how episodic memories are formed, but also in the experience of remembering. I also investigate how different factors, such as positive or negative emotions, can either distort or enhance the accurate recall of personal past events. 

I hold a certificate in University Teaching (Waterloo), and have held various student support roles throughout my career.

Previously, I worked for Dr. Tom Smulders and Prof Melissa Bateson at the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University on a DEFRA funding grant exploring the effects of food restriction (stress) on hippocampal neurogenesis in broiler breeder chickens. 

I have worked and studied both in the UK and in Canada. I hold a First Class Honours BSc from the University of Prince Edward Island, and an MA in Psychology (Behavioural Neuroscience) from the University of Waterloo. My PhD is from Durham University, examining the neural underpinnings of episodic memory. 

I am a cognitive neuroscientist who explores how emotions impact episodic memory. This research has applications to forensic, clinical, and health psychology.

I was recently awarded £1.2 million pounds to develop a Quantum Cognition research group here at Newcastle University. UKRI3740: Quantum Emotions: Using the Quantum Formalism to explain temporal order effects in memory for emotional events. https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/UKRI-160626-CRCRM-AwardedProjectsBooklet-R1R2Combined.pdf (pg. 74)

I co-lead the Quantum Cognition research team, an interdisciplinary group applying the quantum formalism to cognitive processes such as decision making, emotional episodic memory, and legal decision making. This emerging field will allow us to explore cognitive function and affective processes using new tools.

My area of academic interest is broadly called behavioural neuroscience with a focus rooted in understanding brain development, how pathology can impact behaviour, and the development of affective disorders. I am interested in learning and memory processes, especially how (and where) memories are encoded, stored, and are subsequently re-experienced. I have a particular interest in how episodic memories are formed, but also in the experience of remembering. I also investigate how different factors, such as positive or negative emotions, can either distort or enhance the accurate recall of personal past events. 

Previously, I worked for Dr. Tom Smulders and Prof Melissa Bateson at the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University on a DEFRA funding grant exploring the effects of food restriction (stress) on hippocampal neurogenesis in broiler breeder chickens. 

I contribute to PSY1004 - Cognitive Psychology; PSY2007 - Biological Psychology; PSY3030 - Forensic Psychology. I am the Module Leader for PSY8081 - Neurobiology of Mental Health.

Previously, I was the Module Leader for PSY1011 - Statistics and Research Methods; PSY1007 - History of Psychology; and a stage 3 module on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Processes.

• Articles

  • Robertson BA, Rathbone L, Cirillo G, D'Eath RB, Bateson M, Boswell T, Wilson PW, Dunn IC, Smulders TV. Food restriction reduces neurogenesis in the avian hippocampal formation. PLoS ONE 2017, 12(12), e0189158.
  • Rana SA, Mallet PE, Robertson B-A, Wainwright PE. Effect of complete maternal and littermate deprivation on morphine-induced Fos-immunoreactivity in the adult male rat brain. Pediatric Research 2010, 67(3), 263-267.
  • Robertson B-A, Clements KM, Wainwright PE. The working memory capabilities of the spontaneously hypertensive rat. Physiology & Behavior 2008, 94(3), 481-486.
  • Clements KM, Saunders AJ, Robertson B-A, Wainwright PE. Spontaneously hypertensive, Wistar Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley rats differ in their use of place and response strategies in the water radial arm maze. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 2007, 87(2), 285-294.

• Report

  • Dorsett R, Rienzo C, Rolfe H, Burns H, Robertson BA, Thorpe B, Wall K. Mind the Gap: evaluation report and executive summary. London: Education Endowment Foundation, 2014.

• Review

  • Robertson B-A, Eacott MJ, Easton A. Putting Memory in Context: Dissociating memories by distinguishing the nature of context. Behavioural Brain Research 2015, 285, 99-104.