Prof. Kar is interested in the area of developmental cognitive neuroscience studying normal and abnormal brain and cognitive development. After completing her post graduation in Psychology from University of Lucknow, she pursued M.Phil in Medical and Social Psychology from the Central Institute of Psychiatry Ranchi. She received her PhD degree as a UGC fellow in 2003 at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, (NIMHANS) Bangalore, with Prof. Shobini L. Rao as her advisor. She joined CBCS in 2003 and has been Prof. Kar has developed and standardized a neuropsychological test battery for children in the age range of 5-15 years as a part of her doctoral work and has also studied the growth patterns of brain functions using the growth model approach. Her research program at CBCS focuses on investigating the interaction of cognitive control (proactive, reactive control or components of control such as inhibition, working memory and shifting) in the context of bilingualism, emotions, cognitive development and ageing using behavioural experimentation, EEG/ERP and now also exploring functional neuroimaging with a few fMRI studies. Her studies on bilingualism and cognitive control have demonstrated how first language proficiency extends to domain general cognitive control and second language proficiency to bilingual language control moderated by sociolinguistic factors. Her research on cognitive and affective control demonstrates the effect of emotional valence on proactive control and motivational shift in affective bias with ageing through the recruitment of proactive control. Her current projects focus on the effect of levels of trait anxiety and pathological anxiety on adjustments in cognitive control using behavioural and EEG/ERP studies; cognitive and affective ageing using behavioural experimentation and neuroimaging; development of cognitive control and social-emotional competence in children. Prof. Kar teaches courses like Principles of Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive disorders, Cognitive development and Attention in the Masters program and Methods in Cognitive Science in the PhD program. At CBCS, she is also associated with the outreach programs organized to educate parents and teachers about brain and cognitive development and developmental disorders like learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, autism etc and an annual memory camp for detailed cognitive profiling for the elderly. |
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