Areas of Focus

Behavioral Neuroscience
The department’s behavioral neuroscience research delves into the neural foundations and computational models that drive critical processes such as interval timing, emotional development, and auditory perception. Faculty explore the complexities of memory and higher cognitive functions. Their work also extends to understanding the intricacies of canine communication and social cognition, offering insights that bridge human and animal behavior.

Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience research uncovers the neural mechanisms underlying essential cognitive functions such as attention, perception, and learning. Investigations into how the brain manages memory, regulates emotions, and exercises executive control, all of which are crucial for decision-making, provide a deeper understanding of the intricate processes that shape thoughts and behaviors.

Development
Research on development explores the foundations of cognition in both human and animal models, including how visual attention, learning, and memory evolve, as well as the development of causal reasoning, pretend play, social behavior, language, and perception. The research provides valuable insights into the processes that shape cognitive development across species.

Higher-Level Cognition
The higher-level cognition research delves into the complexities of human memory, learning, and cognitive control. Faculty explore how people make inductive inferences, reason causally, and navigate decision-making. The work also examines the development of moral reasoning, social cognition, and theory of mind, shedding light on the intricate processes that underpin human thought and social interactions.

Neural/Computational Models of Mind, Brain, and Behavior
Research on computational models focuses on creating neural and computational frameworks to understand key processes such as motor control, vision, categorization, learning, reasoning, and language. These models provide powerful insights into the mechanisms that drive human cognition, enabling researchers to simulate and predict complex mental functions with precision.

Perception and Action
Research on perception and action combines computational, psychophysical, and ecological approaches to unravel how we perceive shape and motion, recognize objects and scenes, and process auditory events. Investigations into the mechanisms behind attention, perceptual learning, and the control of action enable comprehensive insights into how we interact with and interpret the world around us.

Social Psychology
Social psychology research delves into how we understand and navigate the social world; it includes social cognition, theory of mind, and moral judgment, as well as how we perceive personality and interact with different situations. The research also examines self-image, social projection, intergroup perception, and strategic behavior, providing deep insights into the complexities of human social behavior.

CoPsy Researchers

David Badre
Professor and Chair of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
david_badre@brown.edu
David Badre's research focuses on the cognitive neuroscience of cognitive control, which concerns how the brain translates goals and plans into concrete behaviors. 

Ruth M. Colwill
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
ruth_colwill@brown.edu
Ruth M. Colwill uses primarily behavioral methods to examine how information is represented by the animal mind. Topics include animal learning and behavior; the effects of anthropogenic pollutants on behavior, cognition, and development; canine communication systems and aggressive behavior; instrumental learning; Pavlovian conditioning; and habituation.

Fulvio Domini
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
fulvio_domini@brown.edu
Fulvio Domini investigates how human survival capabilities depend on a fundamental skill of the visual system: interpreting retinal images to extract knowledge about the 3D structure of the surrounding environment. He investigates what kind of mathematical analysis of different properties of retinal images can be considered biologically plausible. 

Serra Favila
Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
serra_favila@brown.edu
Serra Favila's research focuses on the neural basis of episodic memory. Her lab investigates the brain mechanisms that allow humans to form flexible but durable memories from their experiences, with a particular focus on how memory traces are shaped to support adaptive behavior. Her work draws on a variety of methods, including functional neuroimaging, intracranial recordings, behavioral measurements, eye-tracking, and computational modeling.

Roman Feiman
Thomas J. and Alice M. Tisch Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Assistant Professor of Linguistics
roman_feiman@brown.edu
Roman Feiman investigates how we systematically combine concepts to create complex thoughts, how we systematically combine words to create complex sentences, and what these two abilities have to do with each other. His work draws on a variety of approaches and methods from cognitive developmental psychology, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and formal semantics. 

Oriel FeldmanHall
Associate Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
oriel_feldmanhall@brown.edu
Merging multiple fields, including behavioral economics and social psychology, with imaging and psychophysiological techniques, FeldmanHall studies the cognitive and neural processes behind the complex choices that form the basis of human social behavior. She investigates how the brain detects, values, and assesses reward and punishment contingencies during moral dilemmas, as well as the role of emotion in shaping these social interactions.

Michael Frank
Edgar L. Marston Professor of Psychology, Professor of Brain Science
michael_k@brown.edu
Michael Frank combines computational modeling and experimental work to understand the neural mechanisms underlying reinforcement learning, decision making, and cognitive control. He develops neural circuit and algorithmic models of systems-level interactions between multiple brain areas and then tests theoretical predictions of the models using various neuropsychological, pharmacological, genetic, and imaging techniques.

William Heindel
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
william_heindel@brown.edu
William Heindel studies human memory, attention, and perception in both neurologically intact individuals and brain-damaged patients with neurocognitive disorders. He is working on the development of novel neurocognitive markers and therapeutic approaches for detecting and treating Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

David Levari
Lawrence A. Rand and Tiina Smith Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences and Entrepreneurship
david_levari@brown.edu
David Levari uses behavioral laboratory experiments, field studies, and formal computational models to study how people try to assess and improve the performance of themselves and others, and how those efforts often go astray. 

Bertram F. Malle
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
bfmalle@brown.edu
Bertram F. Malle studies the cognitive tools that humans bring to social interaction, in particular, how those tools figure in moral judgments, emotions, and trust. He also applies theories and experimental methods to questions of human-robot interaction and the appropriate design of robots adapted to human psychology.

Julia Marshall
Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
julia_marshall1@brown.edu
Julia Marshall's research focuses on the foundations of human moral and social cognition, with a particular emphasis on how these processes develop in childhood. In addition to her work with children, she studies adult populations to trace the developmental trajectory of moral and social understanding.

Jason Okonofua
Associate Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
jason_okonofua@brown.edu
Jason Okonofua’s research focuses on the processes by which behavioral economics and social psychology can be leveraged to shift mindsets and in turn human behavior, especially in high-stakes relationships. His lab then designs and tests cost-efficient and scalable tools or procedures to meaningfully improve real-world outcomes of great significance. The real-world contexts and outcomes span schools, jails, workplaces, hospitals, and more.

Thomas Serre
Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Professor of Science and Professor of Computer Science., Professor of Computer Science
thomas_serre@brown.edu
Thomas Serre investigates the neural computations supporting visual perception. Even a partial solution to the question of which computations are carried out by the visual cortex would open doors to other aspects of intelligence such as language, planning, or reasoning. It would also help connect neurobiology and mathematics, enabling computer algorithms that follow the information-processing principles used by biological organisms.

Steven Sloman
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
steven_sloman@brown.edu
Steven Sloman’s research focuses on collective cognition and decision-making, informed by his work on causal reasoning. He studies the basis of our attitudes and beliefs, especially political attitudes and beliefs.

Dave Sobel
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
David_Sobel_1@brown.edu
Dave Sobel studies the ways children learn and reason. He focuses on how preschoolers' causal reasoning connects with their scientific thinking in elementary school; how young children learn from parent-child interaction and what parents can do to foster children's STEM learning and engagement; and children's social cognition, particularly as it relates to their pretend play and understanding of fairness norms.

Joo-Hyun Song
Associate Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
joo-hyun_song@brown.edu
Joo-Hyun Song studies the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying the integration of higher-order cognitive processes with visually guided actions, a process essential for real-world interactions. Her research employs diverse methodologies, including psychophysics, neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI, EEG), and continuous action-tracking techniques, such as the tracking of eye movements and limb movements, and pupillometry.

Elizabeth Thompson
Assistant Professor of the Practice in Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research)
elizabeth_thompson@brown.edu
Elizabeth Thompson’s research focuses on understanding the risk factors for psychosis-spectrum disorders in adolescence, improving methods of screening and assessment for early psychosis across settings, and developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate mental health and safety-related risk for this population.

Jamie Trost
Lecturer in Statistical Methods
jamie_trost@brown.edu
Jamie Trost is a lecturer of statistics whose roots lie in cognitive psychology. She is interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), particularly in regard to teaching quantitative statistics and methodologies. In addition to her teaching duties, Jamie serves as a consultant in CoPsy, connecting graduate students and upper-level RAs with resources and strategies surrounding analytics, theory, and computation. 

William Warren
Chancellor’s Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
william_warren_jr@brown.edu
William Warren’s research focuses on the visual control of action, in particular, human locomotion, navigation, and crowd behavior. Using immersive virtual reality (VR), he investigates problems such as the visual control of walking, collision avoidance, spatial navigation, and collective crowd dynamics. His work has applications to assistive technology for those with visual impairments, the development of social robots, as well as crowd simulation and evacuation planning.  

Takeo Watanabe
Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
takeo_watanabe@brown.edu
An expert in visual perception, Takeo Watanabe studies the psychology and neuroscience behind perceptual learning.

Research Faculty

Apoorva Bhandari
Assistant Professor (Research)
apoorva_bhandari@brown.edu 
Apoorva Bhandari’s research focuses on understanding the psychological, computational, and neural principles that govern human flexible cognition and applying those principles outside the laboratory, particularly in educational settings. In studying the neural representations of diverse forms of knowledge, he employs behavioral methods, functional MRI, computational modelling, and machine learning.

Drew Linsley
Assistant Professor (Research)
drew_linsley@brown.edu
Drew Linsley builds computational models of biological vision that serve the dual purpose of explaining how brains work and automating humanlike perception of the world around us.

Yuka Sasaki
Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences (Research)
yuka_sasaki@brown.edu
Yuka Sasaki examines the relation between sleep and learning in the context of human brain plasticity.

CoPsy Research Centers and Initiatives

Carney Institute for Brain Science
The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science advances multidisciplinary research, technology development, and training in the brain sciences. The institute unites more than 100 faculty from diverse departments at Brown, spanning basic and clinical departments, as well as the physical and biological sciences. The Carney Institute provides essential support to obtain and administer multi-investigator grants for research, infrastructure, and training. 

Data Science Institute
The Data Science Institute is a cross-disciplinary collaboration of Applied Mathematics, Biostatistics, Computer Science, and Mathematics, whose purpose is to catalyze data-enabled science and scholarship across the campus. It provides essential tools and methodologies that Brown faculty and students use in analyzing complex psychological and neurological data to address pressing societal challenges​. The institute includes two research centers: the Center for Computational Molecular Biology and the Center for Technological Responsibility, Re-imagination, and Redesign.

Annenberg Institute
Dedicated to advancing equity and excellence in education, the Annenberg Institute provides a platform for Brown faculty to investigate cognitive and psychological aspects of learning and educational practices. Fostering collaborations with educators, policymakers, and community leaders, the institute supports research that informs policy and improves educational outcomes, to create a more equitable and effective educational system.

Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship
The Nelson Center fosters innovation and entrepreneurial thinking, offering students and faculty unique opportunities to translate their research into real-world applications and entrepreneurial ventures. The center supports the development of solutions to complex problems through mentorship, funding, and educational programs. By connecting academic research with industry and providing resources for startup creation, the Nelson Center helps to cultivate a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem at Brown University.

Center for Vision Research
The Center for Vision Research promotes interdisciplinary research on visual perception and its underlying neural mechanisms. Faculty members collaborate with the center to explore a wide range of research topics, including the neural basis of visual processing, the development of visual perception, the impact of visual disorders on cognition and behavior, and how visual information can be restored or enhanced in individuals with visual impairments. 

Center for Computational Brain Science
Housed within the Carney Institute, the multidisciplinary Center for Computational Brain Science (CCBS) uses computational models  to investigate the brain's complex functions. CCBS focuses on three primary research areas: computational psychiatry/neurology; computational vision; and neural computation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The center fosters collaborations, offers cross-training in computational methods, and supports high-risk, high-gain projects with potential for commercialization, with the goal of improving brain health.

Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research
The Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research focuses on the early detection and individualized treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Bridging foundational and clinical research, it integrates expertise from various disciplines to accelerate the discovery of treatments. The center collaborates closely with Brown’s affiliated hospitals and research facilities to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and to develop innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative
The multidisciplinary Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative (HCRI) uses robotics to address global challenges and to ensure that technological advancements are economically and socially beneficial. Integrating insights from cognitive science, engineering, and human-computer interaction, HCRI's research focuses on developing intuitive and safe robots for a wide range of human activities, promoting ethical and responsible use of robotic technologies, and exploring the impact of robotics on society.