Dr David Palmer

PhD Student

Supervisors

Professor Mark Edwards

Professor Paul Dux

Current Research

I am a neurologist, with particular interest in a condition called functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition where abnormalities of brain processing cause physical symptoms. My research focuses on trying to understand the difference between people who get FND and people who do not as a way to find the brain mechanisms which cause the condition, with the goal of using this understanding to create better treatments. I am currently investigating a theory that a subtle difference in the way different people’s brains weigh up new information against existing information could account for that difference. I also run a website called FND Research Connect (fnd-research.org), which allows people with FND to register their interest in participating in research so that FND researchers can contact them to invite them to participate in studies.

Research interests

Functional neurological disorder pathophysiology and treatment
Predictive coding and active inference
Computational neurology/psychiatry

Conference Presentations

Beharry, J., Palmer, D., Wu, T., Wilson, D., Le Heron, C., Mason, D., Reimers, J., Fink, J., Mulder, R., & Duncan, R. (2021). Functional neurological disorders presenting as emergencies to secondary care. European Journal of Neurology, 28(5), 1441–1445. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.14728

Lagrand, T. J., van der Hoeven, I., Vaezipour, A., Palmer, D. D. G., Hill, A., Horswill, M. S., & Lehn, A. C. (2024). Lived experience of driving in individuals with functional neurological disorder. Brain and Behavior, 14(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.3652

Palmer, D. D. G., Gamble, M., Higgins, M., Maley, J., & Watson, E. (2023). Outcomes of an Integrated Multidisciplinary Clinic for People with Functional Neurological Disorder. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 10(6), 967–973. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.13757

Palmer, D., Soule, S., Gaddam, R. R., Elder, P., Chambers, S., & Doogue, M. (2020). Unbound Vitamin D Concentrations Are Not Decreased in Critically Ill Patients. Internal Medicine Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.15096

Senadeera, S. C., Palmer, D. G., Keenan, R., Beharry, J., Lim, J. Y., Hurrell, M. A., Mouthaan, P., Fink, J. N., Wilson, D., Lim, A., & Wu, T. Y. (2020). Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Detected During Hyperacute Stroke Imaging Is Associated With Atrial Fibrillation. Stroke, 51(12), 3760–3764. https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.120.030258

Wu, T. Y., Myall, D., Palmer, D., Beharry, J., Lim, J. Y., Mason, D. F., Reimers, J., Duncan, R., Weaver, J., Collecutt, W., Mouthaan, P., Lim, A., Hurrell, M. A., Barber, P. A., Ranta, A., Fink, J. N., & Heron, C. L. (2020). Increased Large Vessel Occlusive Strokes After the Christchurch March 15, 2019, Terror Attack. Neurology, 96(4), 171–174. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000011341