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Dr Alastair Smith

Research Associate

Biographical details



I received a BSc in Psychology from the University of Birmingham (1999) and then completed a PhD at the University of Bristol (2003) under the supervision of Iain Gilchrist. I worked here as a Research Associate (2003 – 2004), before being awarded an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. I am also an Honorary Neuropsychologist for North Bristol NHS Trust.


Research interests

Keywords: perception and action, drawing, spatial representation, foraging, neuropsychology

My research is broadly concerned with the integration of perception and action. I am primarily interested in graphic production, with particular reference to the roles of spatial coding and mental imagery. As well as running behavioural experiments, my research involves detailed case studies of neurological patients with acquired disorders of spatial representation in various functional domains (i.e. constructional apraxia, unilateral visual neglect). A current project applies these measures to a child population. I also conduct research on egocentric search in large-scale space, comparing aspects of allocentric visual search behaviour to that of 3-dimensional foraging. This involves participants from various groups, and a current study concerns disorders of spatial representation in Williams Syndrome and related genetic profiles.

Recent and current grants

ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship: “Visuomotor mechanisms across the lifespan”



Collaborators

Iain D. Gilchrist (University of Bristol)
Norman H. Freeman (University of Bristol)
Bruce M. Hood (University of Bristol)
Monika Harvey (University of Glasgow)
Annette Karmiloff-Smith (University College London)


Papers published

Smith, A. D., Hood, B. M., & Gilchrist, I. D. (in press). Visual search and foraging compared in an automated large-scale search task. Cognitive Processing.

Smith, A. D., Gilchrist, I. D., Cater, K., Ikram, N., Nott, K., & Hood, B. M. (in press). Reorientation in the real world: The development of landmark use and integration in a natural environment. Cognition.

Liouta, E., Smith, A. D., & Mohr, C. (in press). Schizotypy and Pseudoneglect: A critical update on theories of hemispheric asymmetries. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry.

Smith, A. D., Gilchrist, I. D., Butler, S., Muir, K., Bone, I., Reeves, I., & Harvey, M. (2007). Non-lateralised deficits of drawing production in hemispatial neglect. Brain & Cognition, 64, 150-157.

Smith, A. D., Hood, B. M., & Hector, K. (2006). Eye remember you two: Gaze direction modulates face recognition in a developmental study. Developmental Science, 9, 465-472.

Smith, A. D., Gilchrist, I. D., Butler, S., & Harvey, M. (2006). Around the clock surveillance: Simple graphic disturbance in hemispatial neglect carries implications for the clock-drawing task. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 77, 407-409.

Smith, A. D., Gilchrist, I. D., & Hood, B. M. (2005). Children's search behaviour in large-scale space: Developmental components of exploration. Perception, 34, 1221-1229.

Smith, A. D. & Gilchrist, I. D. (2005). Within-object and between-object coding deficits in drawing production. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 22, 523-537.

Smith, A. D. & Gilchrist, I. D. (2005). Drawing from childhood experience: Constructional apraxia and the production of oblique lines. Cortex, 41, 195-204.

Smith, A. D. & Gilchrist, I. D. (2004). Evidence for the online operation of imagery: Visual imagery modulates motor production in drawing. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 27, 416-417.

Riddoch, M. J., Humphreys, G. W., Blott, W., Hardy, E. & Smith, A. D. (2003). Visual and spatial short-term memory in integrative agnosia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 20, 641-671.

Contributions to edited works

Smith, A. D., & Cohen, G. (in press). Memory for places: routes, maps, and object locations. In M. Conway & G. Cohen (Eds.), Memory in the Real World (3rd Ed.)

Smith, A. D. (2005). 27 definitions in Cognitive Psychology section of G. Davey (Ed.) Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology. Hodder-Arnold.

Recent conference presentations

Smith, A. D., Hood, B. M., & Gilchrist, I. D. (2007). Mechanisms of probabilistic cueing in large-scale search. Applied Vision Association, University of Bradford, UK, 20th April.

Woodward, R., Gabb, J., O'Leary, K., Turton, A., Smith, A. D., Smith, E., Baddeley, R. J., & Gilchrist, I. D. (2006). Is circle drawing a useful test for detecting unilateral spatial neglect? UK Stroke Forum, Harrogate International Centre, UK, 8th December.

Smith, A.D., Gilchrist, I. D., Hood, B. M., & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2006). Developmental components of large-scale search: evidence from children and individuals with partial genetic deletions. 3rd International Conference on Spatial Cognition, University of Rome, Italy, 14th September.

Smith, A.D., Gilchrist, I. D., & Hood, B. M., & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2006). Genetic bases of large-scale spatial cognition: Comparison between Williams Syndrome and LIMK1 deletion. 3rd Williams Syndrome Workshop, University of Reading, UK, 7th July.

Smith, A. D., Gilchrist, I. D., Butler, S., & Harvey, M. (2006). Around the clock surveillance: Simple graphic disturbance in neglect carries implications for the clock-drawing task. Experimental Psychology Society, University of Birmingham, UK, 11th April.

Smith, A.D., Gilchrist, I. D., & Hood, B. M., & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2006). Genetic bases of large-scale spatial cognition: Comparison between Williams Syndrome and LIMK1 deletion. Experimental Psychology Society, University College London, UK, 5th January.

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