Cognitive Neuroscience

The human mind is among the most fascinating products of evolution and has been studied from many different points of view – philosophical, psychological, computational, physical and biological. Cognitive Neuroscience is a relatively new and interdisciplinary approach that combines methodologies from all these fields to answer the ultimate question “how does the brain enable cognition?”

Modern brain imaging techniques offer a myriad of possibilities to study human cerebral architecture and physiology in relation to cognitive functions such as perception, attention, learning, memory, and language, as well as behaviors such as sleep. Cognition is not unique to humans, however, and many aspects are studied in animals using powerful experimental technologies. An insight into the neural underpinnings of cognition is of fundamental interest, but it also has many applications in fighting disease and dysfunction from brain damage, for example through brain-computer interfaces and other innovative medical technology, or in machine learning and artificial intelligence.