We are committed to working in an evidence-based way, and have been involved in carrying out research, alongside our clinical and teaching responsibilities. Findings from many of the studies we have worked on, have been published in books and academic journals.
Bryony’s research interests focus on understanding and addressing gender-specific traits and experiences that might contribute to psychological wellbeing and distress, developing group psychological interventions for common mental health conditions, and evaluating policies to enhance care.
Debbie’s research interests focus on examining factors that might increase vulnerability for mental health conditions, understanding the needs of families, and developing adapted psychological interventions for people who have autism and ADHD. She has been funded twice, by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), to conduct research about social anxiety in adults with autism.
Chaplin, E., Spain, D. & McCarthy, J. (editors) (2019). Common mental health conditions in adults with autism spectrum disorders: Assessment and intervention. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Spain, D., Chaplin, E. & McCarthy, J. (2019). In Chaplin, E., Spain, D. & McCarthy, J. (editors). Common mental health conditions in adults with autism spectrum disorders: Assessment and intervention. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Spain, D. (2019). Social anxiety. In Chaplin, E., Spain, D. & McCarthy, J. (editors). Common mental health conditions in adults with autism spectrum disorders: Assessment and intervention. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Spain, D. (2019). Cognitive behaviour therapy. In Chaplin, E., Spain, D. & McCarthy, J. (editors). Common mental health conditions in adults with autism spectrum disorders: Assessment and intervention. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Rumball, F. & Spain, D. (2019). Post-traumatic stress disorder. In Chaplin, E., Spain, D. & McCarthy, J. (editors). Common mental health conditions in adults with autism spectrum disorders: Assessment and intervention. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Chaplin, E., McCarthy, J., Hardy, S., Underwood, L., Spain, D., Cronin, P., ... & Henry, J. (2014). Guided self-help for people with intellectual disabilities and anxiety and depression. London: Pavilion.
Spain, D. & Robertson, D. (2013). Assessment and diagnosis of autism spectrum conditions. In Chaplin, E., Underwood, L. & Hardy, S. (eds). Autism spectrum conditions: A guide. London: Pavilion.
Spain, D., Zivrali, E. & Happé, F. (2020). Social anxiety in adults with autism: A qualitative study. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-being. In Press
Trakoshis, S., Martinez-Canada, P., Rocchi, F., Canella, C., You, W., Chakrabarti, B.,... & Lombardo, M. (2020). V. Intrinsic excitation-inhibition imbalance affects medial prefrontal cortex differently in autistic men versus women.
Bedford, S., Park, M., Devenyi, G., Tullo, S., Germann, J., Patel, R., ... & Chakravarty, M. (2020). Large-scale analyses of the relationship between sex, age and intelligence quotient heterogeneity and cortical morphometry in autism spectrum disorder. Molecular Psychiatry, 25, 614-628.
Górriz, J., Ramirez, J., MRC AIMS Consortium & Suckling, J. (2019). On the computation of distribution-free performance bounds: Application to small sample sizes in neuroimaging. Pattern Recognition, 93, 1-13.
Guo, X., Simas, T., Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Ruigrok, A., ... & MRC AIMS Consortium. (2019). Enhancement of indirect functional connections with shortest path length in the adult autistic brain. Human Brain Mapping, 40, 5354-5369.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Ruigrok, A., Bullmore, E., Suckling, J., ... & MRC AIMS Consortium (2019). Neural self-representation in autistic women and association with ‘compensatory camouflaging’. Autism, 23, 1210-1223.
Milner, V., Edwards, A. & Bell, V. (2019). Mindfulness and rehabilitation: an evaluation in routine clinical practice. Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care, 15, 31-36.
Milner, V., McIntosh, H., Colvert, E. & Happé, F. (2019). A qualitative exploration of the female experience of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49, 2389-2402.
Spain, D. & Happé, F. (2019). How to Optimise Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): A Delphi Study. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 38, 184–208.
Johnston, K., Murray, K., Spain, D., Walker, I. & Russell, A. (2019). Executive function: cognition and behaviour in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 49, 4181-4192.
Spendelow, J., Joubert, H., Lee, H. & Fairhurst, B. (2018). Coping and adjustment in men with prostate cancer: a systematic review of qualitative studies. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 12, 155-168.
Furuta, M., Horsch, A., Ng, E., Bick, D., Spain, D. & Sin, J. (2018). Psychological therapies for treating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in women following childbirth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 5,591.
Horder, J., Andersson, M., Mendez Hernandez, A., Singh, N., Tangen, A., Lundberg, J., ... Borg, J. (2018). GABA receptor availability is not altered in adults with autism spectrum disorder or in mouse models. Science Translational Medicine, 10, eaam8434.
Sin, J., Henderson, C., Spain, D., Cornelius, V., Chen, T. & Gillard, S. (2018). eHealth interventions for family carers of people with long term illness: A promising approach? Clinical Psychology Review, 60, 109-125.
Spain, D., Sin, J., Linder, K., McMahon, J. & Happé, F. (2018). Social anxiety in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 52, 51-68.
Mann, C., Bletsch, A. Andrews, D., Daly, E., Murphy, C., MRC AIMS Consortium ... &. Ecker, C. (2018). The effect of age on vertex-based measures of the grey-white matter tissue contrast in autism spectrum disorder. Molecular Autism, 9, 49.
Spendelow, J., Adam, L. & Fairhurst, B. (2017). Coping and adjustment in informal male carers: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 18, 134.
Andrews, D., Avino, T., Gudbrandsen, M., Daly, E., Marquand, A., Murphy, C., … Ecker, C. (2017). In vivo evidence of reduced integrity of the gray-white matter boundary in autism spectrum disorder. Cerebral Cortex, 27, 877–887.
Ecker, C., Andrews, D., Gudbrandsen, C., Marquand, A., Ginestet, C., Daly, E., … MRC AIMS Consortium. (2017). Association between the probability of autism spectrum disorder and the normative sex-related phenotypic diversity in brain structure. JAMA Psychiatry, 74, 329-338.
Martinez-Murcia, F., Lai, M., Górriz, J., Ramírez, J., Young, A., Deoni, S., ... Williams, S. (2017). On the brain structure heterogeneity of autism: Parsing out acquisition site effects with significance-weighted principal component analysis. Human Brain Mapping, 38, 1208-1223.
Murphy, C., Christakou, A., Giampietro, V., Brammer, M., Daly, E. M., Ecker, C., ... Rubia, K. (2017). Abnormal functional activation and maturation of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and cerebellum during temporal discounting in autism spectrum disorder. Human Brain Mapping, 38, 5343-5355.
Zeestraten, E., Gudbrandsen, M., Daly, E., de Schotten, M., Catani, M., Dell'Acqua, F., ... Murphy, D. M. (2017). Sex differences in frontal lobe connectivity in adults with autism spectrum conditions. Translational Psychiatry, 7, e1090.
Murray, K., Johnston, K., Cunnane, H., Kerr, C., Spain, D., Gillan, N., ... & Happé, F. (2017). A new test of advanced theory of mind: The “Strange Stories Film Task” captures social processing differences in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Research, 10, 1120-1132.
Sin, J., Henderson, C., Spain, D., Gamble, C. & Norman, I. (2017). What factors influence successful recruitment of siblings of individuals with first episode psychosis to e‐health interventions? A qualitative study. Health Expectations, 20, 696-704.
Sin, J., Gillard, S., Spain, D., Cornelius, V., Chen, T. & Henderson, C. (2017). Effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions for family carers of people with psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 56, 13-24.
Sin, J., Spain, D., Murrells, T., Norman, I. & Furuta, M. (2017). Psychological interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people with severe mental illness: Review. The Cochrane Library.
Spain, D. & Blainey, S. (2017). Enhancing self-esteem in adults with autism spectrum disorders: A pilot cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) group intervention. Advances in Autism, 3, 66-75.
Spain, D., Blainey, S. & Vaillancourt, K. (2017). Group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for social interaction anxiety in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 41, 20-30.
Spain, D., Rumball, F., O'Neill, L., Sin, J., Prunty, J. & Happé, F. (2017). Conceptualizing and treating social anxiety in autism spectrum disorder: A focus group study with multidisciplinary professionals. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30, 10-21.
Spain, D., Sin, J., Harwood, L., Mendez, A. & Happé, F. (2017). Cognitive behaviour therapy for social anxiety in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Advances in Autism, 3, 34-46.
Spain, D., Sin, J., Paliokosta, E., Furuta, M., Prunty, J., Chalder, T., ... & Happé, F. (2017). Family therapy for autism spectrum disorders: Review. The Cochrane Library.
Sin, J. & Spain, D. (2017). Psychological interventions for trauma in individuals who have psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychosis, 9, 67-81.
Ashwood, K., Gillan, N., Horder, J., Hayward, H., Woodhouse, E. L., McEwen, F. S., ... Murphy, D. (2016). Predicting the diagnosis of autism in adults using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire. Psychological Medicine, 46, 2595-2604.
Furuta, M., Spain, D., Bick, D., Ng, E. S. W. & Sin, J. (2016). Effectiveness of trauma-focused psychological therapies compared to usual postnatal care for treating post-traumatic stress symptoms in women following traumatic birth: A systematic review protocol. BMJ Open, 6, e013697.
Durieux, A., Horder, J., Hernandez, A., Egerton, A., Williams, S., Wilson, C., ... McAlonan, G. (2016). Cortical and subcortical glutathione levels in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 9, 429-435.
Russell, A., Murphy, C., Wilson, E., Gillan, N., Brown, C., Robertson, D., ... Murphy, D. (2016). The mental health of individuals referred for assessment of autism spectrum disorder in adulthood: A clinic report. Autism, 20, 623–627.
Sin, J., Murrells, T., Spain, D., Norman, I. & Henderson, C. (2016). Wellbeing, mental health knowledge and caregiving experiences of siblings of people with psychosis, compared to their peers and parents: An exploratory study. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 51, 1247-1255.
Spain, D*., Happé, F.*., Johnston, P., Campbell, M., Sin, J., Daly, E., … Murphy, D. (2016). Social anxiety in adult males with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 32, 13-23.
Spain, D., O'Neill, L., Harwood, L. & Chaplin, E. (2016). Psychological interventions for adults with ASD: Clinical approaches. Advances in Autism, 2, 24-30.
Spain, D., Sin, J. & Freeman, D. (2016). Conceptualising paranoia in ASD: A systematic review and development of a theoretical framework. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 25, 97-111.
Spain, D., Sin, J., Paliokosta, E., Furuta, M., Prunty, J., Chalder, T., ... & Happé, F. (2016). Family therapy for autism spectrum disorders: Protocol. The Cochrane Library.
Tropeano, M., Howley, D., Gazzellone, M., Wilson, C., Ahn, J., Stavropoulos, D., ... Murphy, D. (2016). Microduplications at the pseudoautosomal SHOX locus in autism spectrum disorders and related neurodevelopmental conditions. Journal of Medical Genetics, 53, 536-547.
Wilson, C., Murphy, C., McAlonan, G., Robertson, D., Spain, D., Hayward, H., … Murphy, D. (2016). Does sex influence the diagnostic evaluation of autism spectrum disorder in adults? Autism, 20, 808-19.
Catani, M., Dell'Acqua, F., Budisavljevic, S., Howells, H., Thiebaut De Schotten, M., Froudist-Walsh, S., ... Williams, S. (2016). Frontal networks in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Brain, 139, 616-630.
Ecker, C., Andrews, D., Dell’Acqua, F., Daly, E., Murphy, C., Catani, M., …MRC AIMS Consortium (2016). Relationship between cortical gyrification, white matter connectivity, and autism spectrum disorder. Cerebral Cortex, 26, 3297-3309.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Ruigrok, A., Chakrabarti, B., Auyeung, B., Szatmari, P., … MRC AIMS Consortium, (2016). Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism. Autism, 21, 690-702.
Lombardo, M., Lai, M., Auyeung, B., Holt, R., Allison, C., Smith, P., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2016). Unsupervised data-driven stratification of mentalizing heterogeneity in autism. Scientific Reports, 6, 35333.
Balardin, J., Sato, J., Vieira, G., Feng, Y., Daly, E., Murphy, C., ... MRC AIMS Consortium (2015). Relationship between surface-based brain morphometric measures and intelligence in autism spectrum disorders: Influence of history of language delay. Autism Research, 8, 556-566.
Balardin, J., Comfort, W., Daly, E., Murphy, C., Andrews, D., Murphy, D., … Sato, J. (2015). Decreased centrality of cortical volume covariance networks in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 69, 142-149.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Ecker, C., Chakrabarti, B., Suckling, J., Bullmore, E., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Neuroanatomy of individual differences in language in adult males with autism. Cerebral Cortex, 25, 3613-3628.
Larson, F., Lai, M., Wagner, A., MRC AIMS Consortium, Baron-Cohen, S., & Holland, A., (2015). Testing the ‘Extreme Female Brain’ theory of psychosis in adults with autism spectrum disorder with or without co-morbid psychosis. PLoS ONE, 10: e0128102.
Deoni, S., Zinkstok, J. R., Daly, E., Ecker, C., Williams, S. C. R., Murphy, D., Bailey, A., ... Williams, S. (2015). White-matter relaxation time and myelin water fraction differences in young adults with autism. Psychological Medicine, 45, 795-805.
Cadman, T*., Spain, D*., Johnston, P., Russell, A., Mataix-Cols, D., Craig, M., … Murphy, D. (2015). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: What does self-report with the OCI-R Tell Us? Autism Research, 8, 477-485.
Sin, J., Spain, D., Murrells, T, Norman, I. & Furuta, M. (2017). Psychological interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people with severe mental illness: Protocol. The Cochrane Library.
Spain, D. & Blainey, S. (2015). Group social skills interventions for adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Autism, 19, 874-886.
Spain, D., Harwood, L. & O'Neill, L. (2015). Psychological interventions for adults with autism spectrum disorders: A review. Advances in Autism, 1, 79-86.
Spain, D., Sin, J., Chalder, T., Murphy, D. & Happé, F. (2015). Cognitive behaviour therapy for adults with autism spectrum disorders and psychiatric co-morbidity: A review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 9, 151-162.
Blainey, S. and Spain, D. (2014). CBT-based groups for women on the autistic spectrum. Network Autism.
Daly, E., Ecker, C., Hallahan, B., Deeley, Q., Craig, M., Murphy, C., ... Murphy, D. (2014). Response inhibition and serotonin in autism: A functional MRI study using acute tryptophan depletion. Brain, 137, 2600–2610.
Daly, E., Ecker, C., Hallahan, B., Deeley, Q., Craig, M., Murphy, C., ... Murphy, D. (2014). Serotonin, the neural processing of response inhibition and restricted, stereotyped and repetitive behaviours in autism: A functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study using acute tryptophan depletion. Brain, 137, 2600–2610.
Sin, J., Spain, D., Jordan, C. & Griffiths, C. (2014). Siblings of individuals with severe mental illness. Journal of Mental Health Training, Education & Practice, 9, 215-221.
Maltezos, S., Horder, J., Coghlan, S., Skirrow, C., O'Gorman, R., Lavender, T., ... Murphy, D. (2014). Glutamate/glutamine and neuronal integrity in adults with ADHD: A proton MRS study. Translational Psychiatry, 4, e373.
Wilson, C., Happé, F., Wheelwright, S. J., Ecker, C., Lombardo, M., Johnston, P., ... Murphy, D. (2014). The neuropsychology of male adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. Autism Research, 7, 568-581.
Chantiluke, K., Christakou, A., Murphy, C., Giampietro, V., Daly, E., Ecker, C., Brammer, M., … Rubia, K. (2014). Disorder-specific functional abnormalities during temporal discounting in youth with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism and comorbid ADHD and autism. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 223, 113-120.
Murphy, C., Christakou, A., Daly, E., Ecker, C., Giampietro, V., Brammer, M., … MRC AIMS Consortium (2014). Abnormal functional activation and maturation of fronto-striato-temporal and cerebellar regions during sustained attention in autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171, 1107-1116.
Suckling, J., Henty, J., Ecker, C., Deoni, S., Lombardo, M., Baron-Cohen, S., … MRC AIMS Consortium (2014). Are power calculations useful? A multicentre neuroimaging study. Human Brain Mapping, 35, 3569-3577.
Christakou, A., Murphy, C., Chantiluke, K., Cubillo, A., Smith, A., Giampietro, V., … Rubia, K. (2013). Disorder-specific functional abnormalities during sustained attention in youth with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and with autism. Molecular Psychiatry, 18, 236-244.
Ecker, C., Ginestet, C., Feng, Y., Johnston, P., Lombardo, M., Lai, M., … MRC AIMS Consortium (2013). Brain surface anatomy in adults with autism: the relationship between surface area, cortical thickness and autistic symptoms. JAMA Psychiatry, 70, 59-70.
Ecker, C., Ronan, L., Feng, Y., Daly, E., Murphy, C., Ginestet, C., … Murphy, D. (2013). Intrinsic gray-matter connectivity of the brain in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110, 13222–13227.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Suckling, J., Ruigrok, A., Chakrabarti, B., Ecker, C., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2013). Biological sex affects the neurobiology of autism. Brain, 136, 2799-2815.
Sato, J., Hoexter, M., Oliveira Jr, P., Brammer, M., MRC AIMS Consortium, Murphy, D. & Ecker, C. (2013). Inter-regional cortical thickness correlations are associated with autistic symptoms: A machine-learning approach. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 47, 453-459.
Wilson, E., Gillan, N., Spain, D., Robertson, D., Roberts, G., Murphy, C., … Murphy, D. (2013). Comparison of ICD-10R, DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 in an adult autism spectrum disorder diagnostic clinic. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 43, 2515-2525.
Ecker, C., Suckling, J., Deoni, S., Lombardo, M.V., Bullmore, E., Baron-Cohen, S., … the MRC AIMS Consortium (2012). Brain anatomy and its relationship to behavior in adults with autism spectrum disorder: a multicenter magnetic resonance imaging study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 195-209.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Ecker, C., Sadek, S., Wheelwright, S., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Individual differences in brain structure underpin empathizing-systemizing cognitive styles in male adults. Neuroimage, 61, 1347-1354.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Ruigrok, A., Chakrabarti, B., Wheelwright, S., Auyeung, B., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Cognition in males and females with autism: Similarities and differences. PLoS ONE, 7, e47198. 302.
Langen, M., Leemans, A., Johnston, P., Ecker, C., Daly, E., Murphy, C., … Murphy, D. (2012). Fronto-striatal circuitry and inhibitory control in autism: Findings from diffusion tensor imaging tractography. Cortex, 48, 183-193.
Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Lai, M., MRC AIMS Consortium & Baron-Cohen, S. (2012). Self-referential and social cognition in a case of autism and agenesis of the corpus callosum. Molecular Autism, 3, 14.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Pasco, G., Ruigrok, A., Wheelwright, S., Sadek, S., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2011). A behavioural comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions. PLoS ONE, 6, e20835.
Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Bullmore, E., MRC AIMS Consortium & Baron-Cohen, S. (2011). Specialization of right temporo-parietal junction for mentalizing and its relation to social impairments in autism. Neuroimage, 56, 1832-1838.
Ecker, C., Rocha-Rego, V., Johnston, P., Mourao-Miranda, J., Marquand, A., Daly, E., … MRC AIMS Consortium (2010). Investigating the predictive value of whole-brain structural MR scans in autism: A pattern classification approach. Neuroimage, 49, 44-56.
Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Sadek, S., Pasco, G., Wheelwright, S., … Suckling, J. (2010). A shift to randomness of brain oscillations in people with autism. Biological Psychiatry, 68, 1092-1099.
Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Bullmore, E., Sadek, S., Pasco, G., Wheelwright, S., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Atypical neural self-representation in autism. Brain, 133, 611-624.
Lombardo, M., Chakrabarti, B., Bullmore, E., Wheelwright, S., Sadek, S., Suckling, J., … Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Shared neural circuits for mentalizing about the self and others. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 277, 1623-1635.
Bramham, J., Young, S., Bickerdike, A., Spain, D., McCartan, D. & Xenitidis, K. (2009). Evaluation of group cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 12, 434-441.
If you would like to find out more about some of the research studies we are doing or colleagues are running, with no obligation to participate, you can find more information here.