Dr. Anna Joyce (née Ashworth)
Anna completed a BSc (Hons) in psychology at Coventry University then an MSc in cognitive neuropsychology at University College London. She was awarded her PhD from the Institute of Education, London, in 2013, where she researched sleep problems in children with Down syndrome and Williams syndrome and the effects of sleep on learning and cognition. She's currently a research associate in psychology at Coventry University where she is working on several projects. These include investigating sleep problems and early cognitive development in children with Down syndrome; the neural basis of attitudes and beliefs using transcranial direct current stimulation; and the effects of belief in science on perceived and physiological stress.
She is the theme leader for the Sleep research group within the Brain, Belief and Behaviour lab. Research is planned to investigate the effects of sleep on cognitive functioning and behaviour in children with neurodevelopmental disorders; sleep and cognition in school aged children, and the effects of sleep disturbance in students.
- Ashworth, A., Hill, C.M., Karmiloff-Smith, A., and Dimitriou, D. (2014a) “Sleep Enhances Memory Consolidation in Children.” Journal of sleep research 23 (3), 302–8.
- Ashworth, A., Hill, C.M., Karmiloff-Smith, A., and Dimitriou, D. (2014b) “The Importance of Sleep: Attentional Problems in School-Aged Children With Down Syndrome and Williams Syndrome.” Behavioral sleep medicine 15, 1–17.
- Ashworth, A., Hill, C.M., Karmiloff-Smith, A., and Dimitriou, D. (2013) “Cross Syndrome Comparison of Sleep Problems in Children with Down Syndrome and Williams Syndrome”. Research in Developmental Disabilities 34, 1572–1580.
- Dimitriou, D., Hill, C.M., Ashworth, A., and Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2013) “Imparied Sleep-Dependent Learning in Children with Williams Syndrome”. Pediatrics Research International [online] (2013), 1–10.
- Annaz, D. and Ashworth, A. (2011) “Sleep-Related Learning in Williams Syndrome”. in Neurodevelopmental Disorders across the Lifespan: A Neuroconstructivist Approach. ed. by Farran, E.K. and Karmiloff-Smith, A. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Annaz, D., Hill, C.M., Ashworth, A., Holley, S., and Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2011) “Characterisation of Sleep Problems in Children with Williams Syndrome”. Research in Developmental Disabilities 32 (1), 164–169.
