Research information:
Since 2008 I have been a PhD student working on a thesis titled “Genetics, development and training of cognitive functions in children”. I previously obtained a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of St Andrews, Scotland in 2006. I thereafter completed a Master’s degree in public health at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.

My main research interests are development of cognitive functions and interventions that can improve such functions. In particular I am interested in working memory and its development, which I study using mainly behavioural and genetic methods. I have a great interest in cognitive training and have studied this both in typically developing children and children with mental retardation. Currently I am working on connecting the two fields of interest by studying gene-environment interactions. Using cognitive training as a controlled (positive) environmental manipulation we study how certain genes influence the responsiveness to such interventions.


Refereed journal articles:

Söderqvist S , Bergman Nutley S, Peyrard-Janvid M, Matsson H, Humphreys K, Kere J, Klingberg T (2011). Dopamine, working memory, and training induced plasticity: Implications for developmental research. Developmental Psychology, in press.

Bergman Nutley S, Söderqvist S , Bryde S, Thorell LB, Humphreys K, Klingberg T (2011). Gains in fluid intelligence after non-verbal reasoning training in 4-year-old children - a controlled, randomized study. Developmental Science, 14(3): 591-601.

Söderqvist S , McNab F, Peyrard-Janvid M, Matsson H, Humphreys K, Kere J, Klingberg T (2010). The SNAP25 gene is linked to working memory capacity and maturation of the posterior cingulate cortex during childhood. Biological Psychiatry, 68: 1120-1125.

Nutley SB, Söderqvist S , Bryde S, Humphreys K, Klingberg T (2010). Measuring working memory capacity with greater precision in the lower capacity ranges. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35(1): 81-95.