Embodied Neural Computation and Awareness Lab
Most cognitive neuroscience research, especially concerning humans, treats the brain as if it were a standalone computer. In reality, neural “computation” both influences and is itself influenced by biological processes throughout the body. At the ENCAL, we study how the brain-body axis shapes our conscious subjective experience of ourselves and of the world around us. To this end, we integrate computational and empirical experimental approaches to concretely link biological mechanisms with downstream psychological manifestations (e.g., what we see or hear, whether we feel a sense of agency over an action, etc.). Our lab space is located in the basement of the Skaggs Research Building, where we host (or are about to… the lab is brand new!) a state-of-the-art facility for behavioral/psychophysical testing, non-invasive brain measurements (electroencephalography, a.k.a. EEG), cardiography, beat-to-beat blood pressure monitoring, electrical stimulation (e.g., muscle or nerve stimulation, galvanic vestibular stimulation, transcranial brain stimulation), and more! We are recruiting new graduate students! The deadline to apply is December 1st.
Highlights
Our Research
Some current focus areas include motor control (moving the body), interoception (sensing the body), and conscious self-awareness. Check out some of our work!
Our Projects
We are committed to doing open and reproducible science, which is why we believe sharing not just our research findings (i.e., publications) but also the tools we develop for our research is critical. We develop new quantitative methods for experimental design and statistical inference from behavioral and neuroimaging data, and we build open source software tools for other scientists.
Our Team
The ENCAL is led by Dr. John Veillette. The lab is brand new, and we’re recruiting our first members!