Biography
Damien Wright is a FRAXA Research Fellow at The Patrick Wild Centre for research into Autism, Fragile X Syndrome and Intellectual Disabilities,
My research in a nutshell
Preliminary evidence from our lab in fragile X syndrome suggests that atypical touch reactivity may be strongly correlated with distress, anxiety and self-harm. Presently, there is a lack of treatments that successfully address these differences in touch processing, moreover, there are limited objective measures of touch which can be implemented in FXS.
This clinical study will therefore examine whether electroencephalography (EEG), combined with a commercially available touch stimulating device (Cortical Metrics Brain Gauge), is a suitable tool for objectively quantifying tactile impairments and measuring treatment success.
My previous research examined how SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability and fragile X syndrome relate to each other. This project used a combination of EEG, eye tracking and cognitive testing with the goal of making it easier for us to develop and test new therapies for Fragile X and other neurodevelopmental conditions in the future.
