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ANA ISABEL PÉREZ MUÑOZ
Department of Experimental Psychology (University of Granada)
Tel: +34 660308256 Email: [email protected]
Personal profile
I have a PhD in Experimental Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience. I’m
interested in the cognitive processes and skills that underlie language comprehension (e.g.,
inference making or updating information). I have investigated in different research teams in
Spain, Italy and UK, and I have advanced knowledge in linear mixed effects models analysis,
using R software.
Education
2009 – 2014
PhD in Experimental Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience (Funded by
Spanish Ministry of Education and Science; FPU AP2008–01893)
University of Granada, Experimental Psychology
Thesis title: ‘Inferential processes, updating information and working memory
in reading comprehension of adults’
Supervisors: Professor Teresa Bajo and Professor Kate Cain
2008 – 2009
Master’s degree in Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience (Funded by
SMES)
University of Granada, Experimental Psychology
Dissertation title: ‘The visuospatial component of working memory and its
relationship with intuitive geometric ability’
Supervisors: Professor Teresa Bajo and Professor Cesare Cornoldi
2003 – 2008
Degree in Psychology by the University of Granada
3rd year: Charles University of Prague (Funded by Erasmus Programme)
4th year: University of Salamanca (Funded by Sicue-Séneca Programme)
Visiting scholar
2011 – 2012
Stay of research (4 months; Funded by SMES)
University of Oxford, Experimental Psychology
Study title: ‘Monitoring and revision of inferential comprehension in narrative
texts: an eye movement study’
Supervisors: Professor Kate Nation and Dr. Holly Joseph
2011 – 2012
Stay of research (4 months; Funded by SMES)
Lancaster University, Faculty of Science and Technology
Study title: ‘Inferential revision in narrative texts: an ERP study’
Supervisors: Professor Kate Cain and Professor Teresa Bajo
2009
Stay of research (3 months)
University of Padova, Faculty of Psychology
Study title: ‘Geometric ability and visuospatial working memory in adults’
Supervisors: Professor Cesare Cornoldi and Professor Teresa Bajo
Employment
2015 jan/jun PhD contract in a research project (Funded by Spanish Ministry of Science
and Innovation; PSI2012–33625)
University of Granada, Experimental Psychology
Project title: ‘Individual differences in the control of memory interference’
Principal investigator: Professor Teresa Bajo
2014 jun/dec PhD contract in a research project (Funded by SMSI; PSI2012–33625)
University of Granada, Experimental Psychology
Project title: ‘Individual differences in the control of memory interference’
PI: Professor Teresa Bajo
Research experience
My main interests remain in the cognitive processes that are involved in the
development of language comprehension. Accordingly, I have conducted three lines of
research. First, I have studied the neural mechanisms associated with semantic and
grammatical anomalies in sentence comprehension, where a critical result has been that the
P600 component (commonly related to grammatical processing) reflects semantic processing
of animicity. Second, I have investigated distinct cognitive processes that underlie the
construction of a situation model during on−line comprehension. On the one hand, in
collaboration with prof. Kate Cain, I investigated the behavioural and neural mechanisms that
underlie revision of the situation model. A relevant finding here it is that the P3b
subcomponent seems to be related to the ability to replace no longer relevant information,
which it is also associated with individual differences in working memory. On the other hand,
in collaboration with prof. Kate Nation, I studied the eye movements’ pattern generated when
a probable inference must be replaced with unexpected information. Here we found that
working memory differences in the revision of the situation model seem to be restricted to the
verbal (but not visuospatial) domain. Finally, I’m currently investigating these processes in
adults and children bilinguals.
IT Skills
I have advanced knowledge of several softwares used for:
 Programming experiments: E-Prime, Experiment Builder, and Eyetrack 1.
 Statistical analysis: Excel, Statistica, SPSS, R software, EyeDoctor and
EyeDry.
 ERP analysis: Neuroscan, Net Station.
Publications
Pérez, A., Mammarella, I., Del Prete, F., Bajo, T., & Cornoldi, C. (2014). Capacidad
geométrica y memoria visoespacial en población adulta (Geometry ability and visuospatial
memory in adult population). Psicológica, 35(2), 225−249.
Pérez, A. I., Paolieri, D., Macizo, P., & Bajo, T. (2014). The role of working memory
in inferential sentence comprehension. Cognitive processing, 1−9.
Muñoz, A. I. P. (2013). La capacidad de actualizar información inferencial en la
lectura (The ability to update inferential information in reading). Ciencia Cognitiva, 7−3, pp.
43−45.
*I have also other three articles that are under revision or in the process to be
submitted (one was recently demanded to be resubmitted at the journal of ‘Memory &
Cognition’).
Conference presentations
2014 sept
Scientific Inauguration Conference of the Research Center Mind, Brain and
Behaviour (CIMCYC)
Place: Granada, Spain.
Poster title: ‘Discourse comprehension and training in executive control’
Authors: Mª Jesús Maraver, Giulia Togato, Ana I. Pérez, Pedro Macizo, Mª
Rosario Rueda, Carlos J. Gómez-Ariza, and Mª Teresa Bajo
2013 aug
18th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP)
Place: Budapest (Hungary)
Poster title: ‘Inferential updating in narrative texts: an ERP study’
Authors: Ana I. Pérez, Kate Cain, María C. Castellasnos, and Teresa Bajo
1
http://www.psych.umass.edu/eyelab/software/
2012 may
Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences and Spanish Society of
Experimental Psychology (BAPS−SEPEX) Meeting
Place: Liege, Belgium
Poster title: ‘Eye movements in inference making’
Authors: Ana I. Pérez, Joseph Holly, Teresa Bajo, and Kate Nation
2011 sept
17th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP)
Place: Donostia−San Sebastián, Spain
Poster title: ‘Semantic and grammatical anomalies in sentence processing’
Authors: Ana I. Pérez Muñoz, Pedro Macizo Soria, Daniela Paolieri, and
Teresa Bajo
2011 jan
Neuroscience and Education International Workshop
Place: Seville, Spain
Poster title: ‘The role of working memory in inference generation during the
reading of expository texts’
Authors: Ana I. Pérez Muñoz, Daniela Paolieri, Teresa Bajo, and Pedro
Macizo
2010 apr
Spanish Society of Experimental Psychology (SEPEX)
Place: Granada, Spain
Organising committee member
2009 oct
XVIII National Conference of the Italian Association of Research and
Intervention in the Learning of Psychopatolgy (AIRIPA)
Place: La Spezia, Italy
Talk title: ‘Geometric ability and visuospatial working memory’
Authors: Ana I. Pérez Muñoz, Irene Mammarella, Teresa Bajo, and Cesare
Cornoldi
Courses attended
2014 sept
Analysis and design in Psychology
Place: Granada, Spain
Duration: 28 hours
2012 aug
Sixth European Graduate School on Literacy Acquisition
Place: Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands
Duration: 40 hours
2011 oct
MATLAB for Neuroscientifics
Place: Granada, Spain
Duration: 32 hours
2011 jul
Methods of Mathematical and Computational Analysis in Human
Neurophysiology
Place: Seville, Spain
Duration: 30 hours
2009 nov
ERFAI Winter School on Eye-tracking methodology (WSETM)
Place: Barcelona, Spain
Duration: 48 hours
Research project participations
2014 jan
National research project of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Innovation,
Science and Employment (P12-CTS−2369)
Project title: ‘El desarrollo de las habilidades lingüísticas y atencionales de
niños en programas de educación bilingüe’
Duration: 1461 days
Amount: 176.565 euros
PI: Professor Teresa Bajo
2013 jan
National research project of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
(PSI2012−33625)
Project title: ‘Individual differences in the control of memory interference’
Duration: 1095 days
Amount: 128.700 euros
PI: Professor Teresa Bajo
2009 jan
National research project of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology
(EDU−2008−01111)
Project title: ‘Inhibitory control of memory’
Duration: 1825 days
Amount: 377.520 euros
PI: Professor Teresa Bajo
Teaching experience
2012 – 2013
Course: ‘Psychology of Language’ (core subject−4th year)
Psychology degree, University of Granada
Type: practice (four−month period)
2011 – 2012
Course: ‘Psychology of Memory and Representation’ (core subject−3th year)
Psychology degree, University of Granada
Type: practice (four−month period)
Academic awards
2009 – 2013
Doctoral research grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science
(FPU AP2008–01893)
Professional memberships
2010 – 2015
Spanish Society of Experimental Psychology (SEPEX)
2011 – 2014
European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP)
Referees
Professor Kate Cain (http://www.psych.lancs.ac.uk/people/kate-cain)
Department of Psychology, Lancaster University
Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YF United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1524 593990
Email: [email protected]
Professor Kate Nation (http://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/team/principal-investigators/kate-nation)
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 271444
Email: [email protected]
Professor Teresa Bajo (http://www.ugr.es/~memory/?People:Faculty_%26amp%3B_
Researchers:M%26ordf%3B_Teresa_Bajo)
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada
Facultad de Psicología, Campus de Cartuja S/N, 18071 Granada, Spain
Tel: +34 958243769
Email: [email protected]