A/Prof. Peter Enticott is Discipline Leader in Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Unit (CNU) in the School of Psychology, Melbourne Burwood campus. He is a cognitive neuroscientist and registered psychologist. Peter’s work examines the neurobiological basis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD, including autism and Asperger’s syndrome). These are highly-prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders that affect social functioning, communication, and behaviour, and for which there is currently no biomedical treatment. Related to this, Peter is also interested in the way that the human brain allows us to understand other’s thoughts and emotions (e.g., empathy).

Peter uses a combination of cutting-edge neuroscience techniques (e.g., functional neuroimaging, electroencephalography, non-invasive brain stimulation) and clinical/neurobehavioural assessment among both healthy and clinical populations. Peter is also committed to the translation of this work to the development of a first biomedical treatment for ASD, and a large part of his research involves world-first clinical trials assessing whether non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation) can be used to improve both clinical and neurophysiological aspects of ASD.

In 2006 Peter completed a PhD at Monash University, where he examined neuropsychological factors associated with impulsivity and aggression among violent offenders. Prior to this he completed his undergraduate studies in psychology at Deakin University.

Peter has worked in autism research since 2001. He has published over 60 scientific articles in the areas of autism, Asperger’s disorder, and schizophrenia. Peter is currently funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) career development fellowship (2013-2016), and holds additional research grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation (US).