Brain Dynamics and Structure of Human Cognition (BRACO)
This programme focuses on studying the nervous system’s structural and functional reorganisation capacity, and its role in development, neurological injuries, learning, memory, attention, perception, neurorehabilitation and/or interventional processes. The research is carried out by combining neuroimaging techniques with specific experimental paradigms in order to understand the mechanisms of plastic changes in the brain and behaviour. The research interests include language learning and its dysfunctions, the dynamics of memory formation and reward processing, and motivation. Understanding the mechanisms and limits of neuroplasticity in adults’ and children’s cognitive functions through basic research will lead to improvements in intervention programs that ameliorate the sequelae induced by neurological diseases and improve cognitive capacities in healthy individuals.
Principal Investigators
Ruth de Diego-Balaguer
ICREA Researcher
Cedric Boeckx
ICREA Researcher
Josep Marco-Pallares
Full Professor
Lluís Fuentemilla
Full Professor
Cristina Baus
Associate Professor
Jordi Navarra
Associate Professor
Joanna Sierpowska
Assistant Professor
Ernest Mas-Herrero
Ramon y Cajal Researcher
Research Team
Francisco Contreras-Ruston
Early Stage Researcher
Jing Zhang
Early Stage Researcher
Brian Quintero
Early Stage Researcher
Gulsu Tecer
Early Stage Researcher
Josue Garcia
Early Stage Researcher
Alba Nuez
Early Stage Researcher
Marc Sabio
Early Stage Researcher
Pablo Marcos
Early Stage Researcher
Alberto Muñoz
Early Stage Researcher
Laura Muntaner
Early Stage Researcher
Lidia Izquierdo
Early Stage Researcher
Bianca Franzoia
Early Stage Researcher
Rebecca Divarco
Early Stage Researcher
Mar Dominguez Orfila
Early Stage Researcher
David Cucurell
Technician
Active Projects
Postdoctoral Junior Leader fellowship
Fundació Caixa de Pensions 'La Caixa'. Joanna Sierpowska.
Ajut per incentivar i consolidar la recerca d’excel·lència ja existent a les universitats públiques de Catalunya. Programa ICREA Academia 2018.
Fundació Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA). Lluís Fuentemilla.
Descifrando la transformación representacional de una memoria: una perspectiva basada en la reactivación de la memoria
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2022-140426NB-I00. Lluís Fuentemilla.
Predicciones temporales en el sistema motor y su relación con el aprendizaje del lenguaje
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2021-127146NB-I00. Ruth de Diego-Balaguer.
El papel de la incertidumbre en las propiedades reforzadoras de la información
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2021-126477NB-I00. Josep Marco-Pallares.
Investigación neurofisiológica de la interacción de la recompensa y la función inhibitoria en la formación de hábitos alimentarios no saludables en humanos adultos
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2021-127743OB-I00. Lluís Fuentemilla.
La enfermedad de Huntington como el modelo para estudiar la neurodegeneración del sistema del área (pre)suplementaria motora y su relación con lenguaje y el control cognitivo
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2022-141876OA-I00. Joanna Sierpowska.
Cognición estructurada en eventos
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. PID2019-111199GB-I00. Lluís Fuentemilla.
Contratos post-doctorales de investigación (Sara Borrell)
Instituto de Salud Carlos III. CD19/00093. Josep Marco-Pallares.
Brain Dynamics and Structure of Human Cognition (BraCo)
Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR). 2021 SGR 00352. Ruth de Diego-Balaguer.
The Adapting Brain: Preparing for Parenthood
Fundaçao BIAL. 184/20. Lluís Fuentemilla.
Selected publications
Mas‐Herrero, E., Ferreri, L., Cardona, G., Zatorre, R. J., Pla‐Juncà, F., Antonijoan, R. M., Riba, J., Valle, M., & Rodriguez‐Fornells, A. (2023). The role of opioid transmission in music‐induced pleasure. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1520(1), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14946
Santesteban, M., Duñabeitia, J. A., & Baus, C. (Eds.). (2023). Bilingualism through the Prism of Psycholinguistics (Vol. 17). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.17
Vicente, U., Ara, A., & Marco-Pallarés, J. (2023). Intra- and inter-brain synchrony oscillations underlying social adjustment. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 11211. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38292-6
Vives, M.-L., Frances, C., & Baus, C. (2023). Automating weighing of faces and voices based on cue saliency in trustworthiness impressions. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 20037. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45471-y