Dr. Peter Enticott BAppSc (Hons), PhD
Dr. Peter Enticott is a Research Fellow at MAPrc, a position he has held since 2006. Peter’s work examines the neurobiological basis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD, including autism and Asperger’s syndrome), which 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). To this end he 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 is a registered psychologist, and has worked in autism research since 2001. He has published over 40 scientific articles in the areas of autism, Asperger’s disorder, and schizophrenia, some of which are listed below. Peter is currently funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) training fellowship (2009-2012), and holds research grants from NHMRC, Australian Research Council (ARC), and NARSAD (US).
Selected recent papers:
Enticott, P. G., Kennedy, H. A., Rinehart, N. J., Tonge, B. J., Bradshaw, J. L., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (in press). GABAergic activity in autism spectrum disorders: An investigation of cortical inhibition via transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neuropharmacology.
Enticott, P. G., Arnold, S. L., Fitzgibbon, B. M., Hoy, K. E., Susilo, D., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (2012). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the inferior frontal gyrus disrupts interpersonal motor resonance. Neuropsychologia, 50, 1628-1631.
Enticott, P. G., Kennedy, H. A., Rinehart, N. J., Tonge, B. J., Bradshaw, J. L., Taffe, J. R., Daskalakis, Z. J., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (2012). Mirror neuron activity associated with social impairments but not age in autism spectrum disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 71, 427-433.
Enticott, P. G., Kennedy, H. A., Zangen, A., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (2011). Deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) associated with improved social functioning in a young woman with an autism spectrum disorder. The Journal of ECT, 27, 41-43.
Enticott, P. G., Rinehart, N. J., Tonge, B. J., Bradshaw, J. L., & Fitzgerald, P. B. (2012). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) improves movement-related cortical potentials in autism spectrum disorders. Brain Stimulation, 5, 30-37.
