The CIMCYC is a research center of reference for studies on mental functions and their applications in various fields, featuring renowned researchers in the Areas of Memory, Learning and Decision-Making, Language and Thinking, Reasoning, Numerical Cognition, Attention and Cognitive Control, Consciousness, Emotion and Motivation.
For example, we have devised experimental procedures to measure attention in different populations and to dissociate the mechanisms underlying attentional orienting triggered by social and non-social cues. We have also characterized the interactions between different types of attention and perceptual awareness. We studied how memory- and language-related tasks involve executive control to manage interference between mental contents, and explored how we think about abstract concepts, as well as the role of culture in this process.
Another fruitful line of research employs associative learning models and experimental protocols to understand the etiology of addictive processes, which has led to influential theoretical proposals on the nature and causal mechanisms of addiction. Related applications focus on risky decision making or the susceptibility of learning processes to nutritional interventions.