Schizophrenia is one of the most disabling mental disorders for sufferers, impairing functioning on many levels from low-level cognitive processes to social interaction in the everyday world. These deficits can persist throughout life, making it vital to search for ways to improve the early identification and treatment of this illness.

We combine cognitive, brain (EEG, MRI) and genetic information to study the nature of schizophrenia and psychosis in both children and adolescents/young adults. Our work is contributing to understanding of the functional neurological changes in psychotic illness, and has led to advances in treatments.

Insights from our cognitive work have been utilised in a series of projects aimed at improving social outcomes and neurocognition in people with schizophrenia. This has been combined with intervention programs aimed at helping people with a severe mental illness return to work and has contributed to the development of a social cognition intervention program.