Professor Veena Kumari
Professor - Psychology

Research Interests

• Cognitive and affective deficits in schizophrenia and personality disorders
• Neurobiological effects and predictors of outcome following drug and psychological treatments
• Neurobiology of violence and addiction
• Sleep deprivation and mental health
• Neuroscience of mindfulness
• Cognitive psychopharmacology, particularly the effects of psychostimulants, antipsychotics, nicotine and anxiolytics
• Neurobiology of sex and sexual-orientation related differences
• Personality neuroscience  

Project details

Research Projects – Select

Childhood Maltreatment: Emotional Consequences and Potential Intervention

Funded by Medical Research Council, UK (Newton Fund)

Lau, J., Kumari, V.

14/07/2015-13/07/2018

Effect of D-Serine on Social Threat Processing

Funded by - Biomedical Research Centre, SLAM & KCL    

Kumari, V. (PI), Peters, E., Williams, S, Mehta, M.

£19,990                

01/10/2015-01/09/2017

Imaging Avatar Therapy for Hallucinations in Psychosis (PI)          

Funded by - Biomedical Research Centre, KCL     

Kumari, V. (PI), Craig, T., Garety, P.

£34,880 (fMRI scanning)

01/04/2014-01/06/2016

Cognitive and Neural Processes in the Pathway to Psychosis

Funded by - Biomedical Research Centre, KCL     

Kumari, V. (PI), Simmons, A., Peters, E.

£10,900 (fMRI scanning)

01/04/2014-01/06/2016

The Mindful Eye: Smooth Pursuit and Saccadic Eye Movements in Meditators and Non-meditators

Funded by - BIAL Foundation, Portugal

Kumari, V. (PI), Antonova, E.

£36,098.00

01/04/15 – 31/03/16

One ear is better than two; but why and when?

Funded by - BIAL Foundation, Portugal

Kumari V. (PI), Antonova, E.

£32,229.61

01/04/13 – 31/12/14

Neural Effects of Mindful Attention on Sensory Information Processing

Funded by - John Templeton Foundation, USA

Antonova, E. (PI), Chadwick, P., Kumari, V., Williams, S.

£108,277.00

01/01/11 – 31/12/12

Biosocial Basis of Violence in Mental Disorders

Funded by - British Academy, UK

Kumari, V. (PI), Gudjonsson, G.

£7,441.00

01/03/10 – 28/02/11

A Pharmacological Validation of the Joystick Runway Task as a Repeatable and Objective Behavioural Assay of Anxiety in Humans

Funded by - Medical Research Council (MRC), UK

Perkins, A. (PI), Kumari, V., Williams, S.

£55,128.00

01/10/10 – 31/08/11

Personality and Reproductive Fitness

Funded by - British Academy, UK

Kumari, V (PI), Ettinger, U.

£7,316.00

01/02/09 – 31/07/09

The Neurobiological Aetiology of Emotional Dysfunction in Reactive and Instrumental Violence

Funded by - Department of Health, UK

Blackwood, N., Ffytche, D., Hodgins, S. (PI), Kumari, V.

£332,991.00

01/09/06 – 31/07/10

The Neuroanatomical Basis of Frontal Lobe Cognitive Dysfunction in Frontal Lobe and Idiopathic Generalised Epilepsies

Funded by - Wellcome Trust, Uk

Richardson, M. (PI), Barker, G., Kumari, V.

£224,741.45

01/07/06 – 31/05/10

Sex Differences in Sensory Processing

Funded by - British Academy, UK

Kumari, V. (PI), Cleare, A.

£7,104.00

01/04/05 – 30/06/07

Neural Correlates of Response to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in Schizophrenia: A Functional MRI Investigation

Funded by - Wellcome Trust, UK

Kumari, V. (PI)

£1,019,332.98

01/10/02 – 31/ 05/09

Insight in Schizophrenia: Relationship to Deficits in Brain Functions and Structures, and Responsiveness to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Funded by - Wellcome Trust, UK

Kumari, V. (PI, Prize PhD studentship for Cooke, M.), Peters, E., Williams, S.

£77,178.00

01/06/03 – 31/05/06

Neural Correlates of Deficient Information Processing in "Psychosis-Prone" Healthy Individuals: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Funded by - British Academy, UK

Kumari, V. (PI)

£4,980.00

01/06/02 – 31/05/03

Cognitive Enhancement with Rivastagmine in Schizophrenia

Funded by - Stanley Foundation, USA

Kumari, V., Sharma T

$150,000.00

01/02/01 – 31/01/04

Information Processing Deficits in Schizophrenia: Effects of Atypical as Compared to Typical Antipsychotics

Funded by - Beit Memorial Foundation, UK

Kumari, V. (PI)

£108,754.00

01/10/99 – 30/09/02

Differential Efficacy of Atypical and Conventional Antipsychotics in Normalising Information Processing Deficits in Schizophrenia: A Functional MRI Investigation

Funded by - NARSAD (Brain and Behavior Research Foundation), USA

£37,000.00

Kumari, V. (PI)

01/07/99 – 30/06/02

Schizophrenia and Violence - a Whole Brain functional MRI study

Stanley Foundation

Kumari, V., Sharma, T.

£88,442.00

1/10/1998-31/01/2004