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Christine Norman

Christine Norman

Senior Lecturer

School of Social Sciences

Staff Group(s)
Psychology

Role

Christine's research and teaching interests are in the area of biological and cognitive psychology with application to psychiatric disorders, forensic psychology and behavioural addictions. At present on the undergraduate psychology degrees Christine teaches a year 3 option module on biological perspectives of psychiatric disorders, takes year one tutorials and SPSS support workshops. On the psychology masters degrees Christine lectures on biological and behavioural explanations of crime on the Forensic Masters degree and the biological psychology module and tutorials on the Masters in Psychology (conversion course). Christine supervises a PhD student on desistance in short term offenders.

Her particular research interests are in the role of associative learning and approach/avoidance in eating, obesity and eating disorders; the origins and development of sexual deviance and sexual preoccupation; the use of anti-libidinal medication in sexually preoccupied sex offenders; the role of traumatic brain injury in offending behaviour and associative learning in gambling behaviours.

Christine is the Employability Co-ordinator for the Psychology Division, Chair of the Staff Student Consultative Committee, a Member of the School of Social Sciences Academic Standards and Quality Committee, a Member of School Exceptional Circumstances Panel and a Member of School Academic Irregularities Panel. Christine is a member of two of the Psychology Division research Groups: The Sexual Offences Crime and Misconduct Unit and the Neuroscience Interest Group.

Career overview

Prior to working at NTU, Christine did post doctoral research for three years. She was a Research Associate in Psychology at University of Nottingham (funded by the Wellcome Trust) and subsequently a Research Fellow in Psychopharmacology in the Biomedical Science Department at University of Nottingham (funded by Jansen Pharmaceuticals).

Research areas

Currently Christine is researching the role of associative learning, approach avoidance and food reactivity in eating behaviours, obesity and eating disorders; associative learning in gambling; the origins of sexual deviance and sexual preoccupation in sex offenders, the use of anti-libidinals in the treatment of sexual preoccupation in sex offenders; the role of traumatic brain injury in offending behaviour.

Previously Christine has conducted pre-clinical research on the role of dopamine in associative learning; neurotensin as a potential antipsychotic and the role of neurotensin in cognition.

External activity

Christine is an external examiner at University of Chester.

Sponsors and collaborators

Christine currently collaborates in research on eating behaviours and on gambling with Dr Rachel Horsley at University of Aberystwyth; on using fMRI to establish neural substrates for a simple prediction task with Dr Jade Ngoc Thai at The Clinical Research and Imaging Centre Bristol University; with HMP Whatton on research with sex offenders and HMP Nottingham on short term offenders and desistance.

She has previously been sponsored by Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals R&D to look at neurotensin as a potential anti-psychotic; by The Wellcome Trust to investigate the role of nucleus accumbens dopamine in associative learning and attention.

Publications

(2012) Horsley, R.R., Osborne, M., Norman, C. & Wells, T. High-frequency gamblers show increased resistance to extinction following partial reinforcement, Behavioural Brain Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.01.024 (available online)

(2011) Benson, L., Norman, C. & Griffiths, M.D. The role of impulsivity, sensation seeking, coping and year of study in student gambling: A pilot study, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, DOI: 10.1007/s11469-011-9326-5

(2011) Norman, C. & Grimond-Billa, S.K. A neurotensin agonist and antagonist decrease and increase activity, respectively, but do not preclude discrete cue conditioning, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24, 373-381

(2009) Norman, C., Beckett, S.R.g., Spicer, C.H., Ashton, D., Langlois, X. & Bennett, G.W. Effects of chronic infusion of neurotensin and a neurotensin NT1 selective analogue PD149163 on amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 22:3, 300-307

(2008) Grimond-Billa, S.K., Norman, C., Bennett, G.W. & Cassaday, H.J. Selectively increased trace conditioning under the neurotensin agonist PD 149163 in an aversive procedure in which SR 142948A was without intrinsic effect, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 22:3, 290-297

(2008) Norman, C., Beckett, S.R.G., Spicer, D.H., Ashton, D., Langlois, X. & Bennett, G.W., Effects of chronic infusion of neurotensin and a neurotensin NT1 selective analogue PD149163 on amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion, Journal of Psychopharmacology, 22, 300-307

See all of Christine Norman's publications...