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Professor Liz Franz's research explores the psychological and neural processes associated with the action system, using scanning techniques such as MRI and fMRI, DTI, and EEG combined with laboratory protocols. Specifically, she is interested in the way the brain organises complex behaviours so that goal-directed actions can occur. Her laboratory has worked with over 20 different neurological disorders and has formed five different support groups in New Zealand with support from the Todd Foundation, Parkinson's New Zealand, the Neurological Foundation and the Health Research Council. In association with a Marsden Grant, she has also formed an international support group for people with mirror movements. She is Director of the Cognitive Science Program at Otago and also directs fMRIOtago, the first MRI-fMRI research programme in New Zealand.

Liz came to Otago following a PhD in Psychology at Purdue University. She worked for two years on a neurosurgical pallidotomy team investigating the neural basis of Parkinson's disease during her NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowships in Cognitive Neuroscience at UC Berkeley.

The Franz laboratory is investigating an action selection model where the basal ganglia and frontal-striatal circuitry play a critical role in what actions get selected and what actions get inhibited. Her neurological patient populations include people with Parkinson's disease, autism, congenital disorders like mirror movements, stroke and other conditions that affect the action system.

Using the techniques of FMRI, EEG, kinematic analysis, behavioural variables, TMS and gesture analysis, her research addresses questions such as: How and why do we perform a particular action at a specific time? Why not do something else? What are the influences on that choice of action? Did we consciously choose? She views bimanual actions as a window into the workings of the brain and has suggested that bimanual actions tell us about uniquely-human skills and capabilities.

Find out more about Professor Franz's research.

Publications

Ginieis, R., Fu, Y., Franz, E. A., & Peng, M. (2023). Contrasting frontal cortical responses to food versus money rewards across BMI groups. Nutritional Neuroscience, 2245212. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/1028415X.2023.2245212

Zhang, Y., Li, Y., Shi, Z., & Franz, E. (2022). Does acute exercise benefit emotion regulation? Electrophysiological evidence from affective ratings and implicit emotional effects on cognition. Biological Psychology, 172, 108375. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108375

Miasnikova, A., & Franz, E. A. (2022). Brain dynamics in alpha and beta frequencies underlies response activation during readiness of goal-directed hand movement. Neuroscience Research, 180, 36-47. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2022.03.004

Disbrow, E. A., Glassy, N. D., Dressler, E. M., Russo, K., Franz, E. A., Turner, R. S., … Sigvardt, K. A. (2022). Cortical oscillatory dysfunction in Parkinson disease during movement activation and inhibition. PLoS ONE, 17(3), e0257711. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257711

Dovenberg, E., Franz, L., & Miyahara, M. (2021). Experiences of autistic secondary schools participating in a weekly sports programme: A proposed study. Proceedings of the University of Otago Student Research Symposium: Te Wānaka Rakahau: Ākoka. (pp. 25). [Abstract]

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