Congratulations to Dr. Ceci Qing Cai who has been awarded the British Psychological Society Neil O’Connor Award for her publication titled “Mapping the Differential Impact of Spontaneous and Conversational Laughter on Brain and Mind: An fMRI Study in Autism.”

The British Psychological Society Neil O’Connor Award is given to those who have published research on cognitive conditions that appear in development and persist throughout life.

She wishes to express her heartfelt thanks to Sophie K Scott, Sarah J White, Sam J Gilbert, Nadine Lavan, and the many dedicated students who supported this work! Special appreciation also goes to the incredible staff at ICN and BUCNI, whose efforts made it possible to carry out testing during the challenging times of the COVID pandemic. Deepest thanks are also extended to the autistic and non-autistic participants, whose time, trust, and insights made this research possible. Thank you!

Read the award-winning paper here!

Cai CQ, Lavan N, Chen SHY, Wang CZX, Ozturk OC, Gilbert SJ & White SJ (2024). Mapping the differential impact of spontaneous and conversational laughter on brain and mind: A fMRI study in autism. Cerebral Cortex, 34, Article bhae199.

To find out more about the British Psychological Society Neil O’Connor Award, click here.