
Dr Pascal Vrticka (PhD, FHEA)
Assistant Professor / Lecturer in Psychology

Short Bio

Dr Pascal Vrticka is a social neuroscientist with strong ties to developmental & social psychology.
He currently is an Assistant Professor / Lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Essex (Colchester, UK).
Dr Vrticka held previous positions at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig, Germany), Stanford School of Medicine (California, USA), and University of Geneva (Geneva, Switzerland). A complete CV is available here.
Academic Roles

Dr Vrticka is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment (SoNeAt) Lab.
He also is the Coordinating Board President of the Special Interest Research Group on the Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment (SIRG SoNeAt) within the Society for Emotion and Attachment Studies (SEAS), where he also is an associate member of the coordinating board.
Dr Vrticka also is a trustee of the UK Charity Babygro.
Research

Dr Pascal Vrticka’s research focuses on the psychological, behavioural, biological, and brain basis of human social interaction, attachment, and caregiving. He is advancing a new area of research: the Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment (SoNeAt).
Dr Vrticka combines traditional attachment tools with state-of-the-art social neuroscience methods, particularly (f)MRI, EEG and fNIRS hyperscanning, most recently with a special focus on parent-child interaction including fathers.
Last name pronunciation: pas.kal vr – cɪ t͡ʃ – ka
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Recent Highlights
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TEDx Talk
Caring Dads: The Making of Involved and Confident Fathers
On May 14th 2022, Dr Pascal Vrticka participated in the TEDx University of Essex event and gave a talk on “Caring Dads: The Making of Involved and Confident Fathers”. You can now watch the recording on YouTube.
Babygro Book for Parents
Evidence-based information in an accessible format
How do our babies’ brains develop, and how does responsive communication between parent and baby lead to later life (mental) health and wellbeing? The Babygro Book for Parents is based on Dr Vrticka’s research and theory. Available online (free) and in print (£10) here.
Is your brain securely attached?
A social neuroscience perspective on attachment
Do you want to read a concise and accessible summary of the social neuroscience of human attachment? Then this series is made for you! So far, there are two posts available – Volume 2 published on 07 December 2022 and Volume 1 published on 19 May 2022.
The link between attachment, energy conservation and co-regulation
Newest theory as part of the social neuroscience of human attachment (SoNeAt)
How are attachment, social connection and energy conservation through social allostasis all linked to one another? Check out this accessible summary of our newest theory as part of SoNeAt.
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SoNeAt Lab
The Social Neuroscience of Human Attachment Lab (SoNeAt Lab): How to become involved (prospective students), current students & research topics, and student alumni & research topics
Talks & Presentations
List of Dr Pascal Vrticka’s talks and
other presentations –
check out the recordings &
posters available online
Babygro Book for Parents
Free book for parents – including dads – based on Dr Vrticka’s functional neuro-anatomical model of human attachment (NAMA)
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