Image of Dr Nika Adamian

Dr Nika Adamian

School of Psychology

Faculty of Health

I am a researcher specialising in the dynamics of visual perception and attention. My work examines attention through the lens of experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience, with the goal of uncovering how the brain prioritises sensory information in real time. Essentially, I aim to understand how we balance focusing on important stimuli while remaining aware of our surroundings.

Some of the key questions I explore include: How does the brain integrate multiple prioritised features? Do eye movements facilitate or hinder continuous focus? How does attention contribute to tracking moving objects?

Currently, I am focused on investigating whether and how early visual selection influences our ability to maintain focus in everyday life, striving to bridge the gap between lab-based attention studies and real-world experiences of focus and distraction. I am committed to open science practices, working to make research transparent, accessible, and reproducible.

I am always keen to hear from potential students and collaborators who are interested in exploring these topics further.

Degrees

2017, Université Paris Descartes, France, PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience
2013, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, MSc in Experimental Psychology
2012, Saint Petersburg State University, Russian Federation, BA in Psychology

Academic appointments

Lecturer, School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, 2024 - present
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, 2020 - 2023
Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, 2017 - 2020

Highlighted publications

Adamian N, Andersen SK. 2024. Attentional Modulation in Early Visual Cortex: A Focused Reanalysis of Steady-state Visual Evoked Potential Studies Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 36 :46-70 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Adamian N, Andersen SK. 2022. Attentional Enhancement of Tracked Stimuli in Early Visual Cortex Has Limited Capacity Journal of Neuroscience, 42 :8709-8715 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Journal article

Adamian N, Cavanagh P. 2024. Sustained attention and the flash grab effect Journal of Vision, 24 :1-16 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Adamian N, Andersen SK. 2024. Attentional Modulation in Early Visual Cortex: A Focused Reanalysis of Steady-state Visual Evoked Potential Studies Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 36 :46-70 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Adamian N, Anstis S, Cavanagh P. 2023. Motion-induced distortion of shape Journal of Vision, 23 :1-7 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Chakravarthi R, Nordqvist A, Poncet M, Adamian N. 2023. Fundamental units of numerosity estimation Cognition, 239 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Adamian N, Andersen SK. 2022. Attentional Enhancement of Tracked Stimuli in Early Visual Cortex Has Limited Capacity Journal of Neuroscience, 42 :8709-8715 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Pavlov YG, Adamian N, Appelhoff S, Arvaneh M, Benwell CSY, Beste C, Bland AR, Bradford DE, Bublatzky F, Busch NA, Clayson PE, Cruse D, Czeszumski A, Dreber A, Dumas G, Ehinger B, Ganis G, He X, Hinojosa JA, Huber-Huber C, Inzlicht M, Jack BN, Johannesson M, Jones R, Kalenkovich E, Kaltwasser L, Karimi-Rouzbahani H, Keil A, König P, Kouara L, Kulke L, Ladouceur CD, Langer N, Liesefeld HR, Luque D, MacNamara A, Mudrik L, Muthuraman M, Neal LB, Nilsonne G, Niso G, Ocklenburg S, Oostenveld R, Pernet CR, Pourtois G, Ruzzoli M, Sass SM, Schaefer A, Senderecka M, Snyder JS, Tamnes CK, Tognoli E, van Vugt MK, Verona E, Vloeberghs R, Welke D, Wessel JR, Zakharov I, Mushtaq F. 2021. #EEGManyLabs: Investigating the replicability of influential EEG experiments Cortex, 144 :213-229 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Adamian N, Andersen SK, Hillyard SA. 2019. Parallel attentional facilitation of features and objects in early visual cortex Psychophysiology, 57 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url

Coffey KM, Adamian N, Blom T, van Heusden E, Cavanagh P, Hogendoorn H. 2019. Expecting the unexpected: Temporal expectation increases the flash-grab effect Journal of Vision, 19 DOI Author Url Publisher Url

Seizova-Cajic T, Adamian N, Duyck M, Cavanagh P. 2019. Motion-Induced Scotoma Perception, 48 :115-137 DOI Author Url Publisher Url

Adamian N, Slaustaite E, Andersen SK. 2018. Top–down attention is limited within but not between feature dimensions Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 31 :1173-1183 DOI Author Url Publisher Url

Adamian N, Cavanagh P. 2017. Fröhlich effect and delays of visual attention Journal of Vision, 17 DOI Author Url Publisher Url

Adamian N, Cavanagh P. 2016. Localization of flash grab targets is improved with sustained spatial attention Journal of Vision, 16 :1266-1266 DOI Publisher Url

Noonan MAP, Adamian N, Pike A, Printzlau F, Crittenden BM, Stokes MG. 2016. Distinct mechanisms for distractor suppression and target facilitation Journal of Neuroscience, 36 :1797-1807 DOI Author Url Publisher Url

Adamian N, Cavanagh P. 2015. Speed of visual attention and localization of motion onset Journal of Vision, 15 :1178-1178 DOI Publisher Url

preprint

Adamian N, Andersen S. 2022. Attentional enhancement of tracked stimuli in early visual cortex has limited capacity bioRxiv DOI Publisher Url

Pavlov Y, Adamian N, Appelhoff S, Arvaneh M, Benwell C, Beste C, Bland A, Bradford D, Bublatzky F, Busch N, Clayson P, Cruse D, Czeszumski A, Dreber A, Dumas G, Ehinger BV, Ganis G, He X, Hinojosa JA, Huber-Huber C, Inzlicht M, Jack B, Johannesson M, Jones R, Kalenkovich E, Kaltwasser L, Karimi-Rouzbahani H, Keil A, König P, Kouara L, Kulke L, Ladouceur C, Langer N, Liesefeld H, Luque D, MacNamara A, Mudrik L, Muthuraman M, Neal LB, Nilsonne G, Niso G, Ocklenburg S, Oostenveld R, Pernet C, Pourtois G, Ruzzoli M, Sass S, Schaefer A, Senderecka M, Snyder J, Tamnes C, Tognoli E, van Vugt M, Verona E, Vloeberghs R, Welke D, Wessel J, Zakharov I, Mushtaq F. 2020. #EEGManyLabs: Investigating the Replicability of Influential EEG Experiments PsyArXiv DOI Publisher Url

Conference organisation:

European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), https://ecvp2024.abdn.ac.uk/. 2024

Other invited event:

Invited tutorial "Frequency-tagging in visual attention research", ECVP 2024, This tutorial will cover the basics of frequency-tagging in visual attention research. We will explain how experimental paradigm and analysis go hand-in-glove by walking through the entire process from creating stimuli to EEG data analysis and quantification of attention effects.. 2024

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