Helena Olraun received her BSc in Psychology cum laude at Radboud University in 2020. Her Bachelor’s thesis project focused on the effects of internal and external attention on perception. Additionally, in her honours thesis project, she investigated the mediating effect of cognitive reserve on the influence of subclinical depressive symptoms on anterior cingulate cortex volume

In 2020, Helena began pursuing a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience at Radboud University. She conducted her Master’s thesis project under the supervision of Dr. Hanneke den Ouden and Floortje Spronkers, examining the effects of dopamine on meta-decision making. In addition to her thesis project, Helena also worked as a Research Assistant for Johannes Algermissen. She graduated cum laude in July 2022 and supported the LDM lab as a lab manager and teaching assistant until August 2023.

Currently, Helena is working as a PhD candidate at the Donders Institute in the group of Roshan Cools. Her research is focused on the neural basis of working memory gating, using psychopharmacology and high-resolution fMRI.