We use behavioral, electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques to study the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes, such as language, memory, attention and emotion, as well as neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and depression. Furthermore, we interpret our findings in the context of evolutionary theory, attempting to unveil the origins of higher cognitive functions in non-human species.
Ongoing projects on language are aiming to study the neural dynamics involved in the multimodal integration of speech. A special emphasis is made on visemic processing and the recruitment of the speech motor system. As for memory, we have made valuable contributions respect to the neural implementation and evolutionary origin of the phonological loop from networks present in the monkey brain. Current developmental studies are being conducted to investigate the neural effect of an intervention memory promoting working memory among children with ADHD. Our work on attention tries to unveil how different attentional networks (DAN, VAN and DMN) are spontaneously organized and the role of local (within) and global (between) organization and connectivity. Finally, we seek to study emotional regulation and how this cognitive functions is affected in psychiatric disorders, mainly through the study of recognition of emotional stimuli.
Along with our collaborators at the UC University Hospital and Clínica Alemana, we hope to make a contribution in the development of potential treatments by expanding the existing knowledge and by providing a more detailed and precise description of the origins, functioning and evolution of diseases such as Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis and Depression. One of our objectives in this line is to describe the role of intracranial oscillatory dynamics as a functional localizer tool useful for mapping cognitive functions and propagation of seizures in patients with refractory epilepsy . Additionally, we attempt to describe the function and anatomy of the lesioned brain and its cognitive mapping in Multiple Sclerosis. Finally, in collaboration with the Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality (MIDAP), we are exploring new genetic, electrophysiological and psychophysical neuro - markers that contribute to the early diagnosis of Depression.
The human brain is the most complex structure in the universe and is the organ that allows our mental capacities, including consciousness. The history of this organ is one of the biggest enigmas in evolutionary biology, especially regarding fundamental milestones such as the origin of language and consciousness. Our group has studied the evolution of the brainfrom the emergence of the cerebral cortex in the first mammals to the expansion of the human brain and the origins of speech and human language. Moreover, we propose the study of neuropsychiatric disorders from a perspective associated to the fast transformation of the human brain during its evolution.
