Summary
My main research interests focus on neurological responses to sensory stimuli, specifically what drives the system to over-respond (hyper-excitable) or to under-respond (hypo-excitable), and how this impacts sensory-related cognition. I am interested in what this can reveal 1) about early sensory processing in neurotypical individuals, and 2) about the underlying pathophysiology in certain clinical conditions, for example, schizophrenia, autism, migraine or traumatic brain injury. My aim is to establish if methods for improving sensory processing would then have cascading improvements on complex cognitive processing.
Courses taught
- PSY 240
- PSY 404
- PSY 762
Education
- Ph.D., Vision Science, University of Essex, 2012
- BSc (hons), Experimental Psychology from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, 2009
Selected publications
- Sarah M Haigh, Jasmine A Haggerty & Aimee Delgado (2025). Auditory Discomfort and Visual Sensitivity. Vision Research. 234, 108655.
- Caitlin A Laycox, Rory Thompson, Jasmine A Haggerty, Arnold J Wilkins & Sarah M Haigh (2024). Flicker Slows Reading Speed: Effects on Individuals with Visual Sensitivity. Perception. 53(8), 512-528.
- Sarah M Haigh, Anna M Haugland, Lourdes M Mendoza, & Mackenzie Montero (2023). Auditory discomfort in visually sensitive individuals. Frontiers in Psychology: Perception Science. 14, 1126481.
- Sarah M Haigh, Laura Van Key, Pat Brosseau, Shaun M Eack, David I Leitman, Dean F Salisbury & Marlene Behrmann (2023). Assessing Trial-to-Trial Variability in Auditory ERPs in Autism and Schizophrenia. S.I.: Developmental Approach and Targeted Treatment of Sensory Alterations. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 53(12), 4856-4871.
- Sarah M Haigh†, Marian E Berryhill†, Alexandrea Kilgore-Gomez, & Michael Dodd (2023). Working memory and sensory memory in schizotypy: an avenue for understanding schizophrenia? (†Joint first authors). European Journal of Neuroscience, 57, 1577-1596.