My current research project aims to unravel the complex mechanisms of multi-sensory integration in near-body space (peripersonal space). I use neuro-imaging techniques (fMRI, EEG) to investigate the neural processing of touch and the way that this is influenced by social and affective visual information.
Before I was a PhD-student at the Helmholtz Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands. My PhD project concerned the fascinating way that our brain organizes and interprets visual information. Particularly, I studied perceptual memory using fMRI, scalp EEG, intracranial EEG and psychophysical techniques. I have also worked at the University Medical Centre Utrecht on visual perception in autism. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience (cum laude, GPA=4.0).
Publications
M.C. de Jong, J.W. Brascamp, C. Kemner, R. van Ee, F.A.J. Verstraten. Implicit perceptual memory modulates early visual processing of ambiguous images. [submitted]
M.C. de Jong, Z. Kourtzi, R. van Ee. Perceptual experience modulates cortical circuits involved in visual awareness. European Journal of Neuroscience [accepted]
M.C. de Jong, T. Knapen, R. van Ee. Opposite influence of perceptual memory on initial and prolonged perception of sensory ambiguity. PLoS ONE (2012), 7(1):e30595. [link] [PDF]
T.A. de Graaf, M.C. de Jong, R. Goebel, R. van Ee, A.T. Sack. On the functional relevance of frontal cortex in bistable vision and voluntary control. Cerebral Cortex (2011), 21(10):2322-31. [PDF]
M.C. de Jong, C.H. Boersma. Device-guided breathing as a possible tool to improve the outcome of exposure therapy. Mental Illness (2010), 2:e6. [link] [PDF]
This article was translated into Ukrainian [read here]
M.C. de Jong, H. van Engeland, C. Kemner. The attentional effect of gaze shifts is influenced by emotion and spatial frequency, but not in autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry (2008), 47:443-454. [PDF]