The Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit is a branch of the UK Medical Research Council, based in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The CBSU is a centre for

cognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental process ...

, with a mission to improve human health by understanding and enhancing cognition and behaviour in health, disease and disorder. It is one of the largest and most long-lasting contributors to the development of psychological

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be ...

and practice. The CBSU has its own magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 3T) scanner on-site, as well as a 306-channel

magnetoencephalography Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain, using very sensitive magnetometers. Arrays of SQUIDs (s ...

(MEG) system and a 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG) laboratory. The CBSU has close links to

clinical neuroscience Clinical neuroscience is a branch of neuroscience that focuses on the scientific study of fundamental mechanisms that underlie diseases and disorders of the brain and central nervous system. It seeks to develop new ways of conceptualizing and dia ...

research in the University of Cambridge Medical School. Over 140 scientists, students, and support staff work in research areas such as Memory, Attention, Emotion, Speech and Language, Development and Aging, Computational Modelling and Neuroscience Methods. With dedicated facilities available on site, the Unit has particular strengths in the application of

neuroimaging Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incr ...

techniques in the context of well-developed neuro-cognitive theory.

History

The unit was established in 1944 as the MRC Applied Psychology Unit. In June 2001, the

History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group (HoMBRG) is an academic organisation specialising in recording and publishing the oral history of twentieth and twenty-first century biomedicine. It was established in 1990 as the Wellcome Trust's ...

held a witness seminar to gather information on the unit's history. On 1 July 2017, the CBU was merged with the University of Cambridge. Coming under the Clinical School, the unit is still funded by the British government through

Research Councils UK Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body which coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils t ...

but is managed and maintained by Cambridge University.

List of directors

Kenneth Craik Kenneth James William Craik (; 1914 – 1945) was a Scottish philosopher and psychologist. Life He was born in Edinburgh on 29 March 1914, the son of James Craik, a solicitor. The family lived at 13 Abercromby Place in Edinburgh's Second N ...

, 1944–1945 *

Frederic Bartlett Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett FRS (20 October 1886 – 30 September 1969) was a British psychologist and the first professor of experimental psychology at the University of Cambridge. He was one of the forerunners of cognitive psychology as wel ...

, 1945–1951 *

Norman Mackworth Norman H. "Mack" Mackworth (1917–2005) was a British psychologist and cognitive scientist known for his pioneering work in the study of boredom, attention, and vigilance; the Mackworth Clock test has been used since the 1940s in the study of v ...

, 1951–1958 *

Donald Broadbent Donald Eric (D. E.) Broadbent CBE, FRS (Birmingham, 6 May 1926 – 10 April 1993) was an influential experimental psychologist from the UK His career and research bridged the gap between the pre-World War II approach of Sir Frederic Bartlett a ...

, 1958–1974 *

Alan Baddeley Alan David Baddeley CBE FRS, is a British psychologist. He is known for his research on memory and for developing the three-component model of working memory. He is a professor of psychology at the University of York. Biography Baddeley was ...

, 1974–1997 * William Marslen-Wilson, 1997–2010 * Susan Gathercole, 2011–2018 * Matthew Lambon Ralph, 2018–

References

External links

MRC CBU Home Page
{{authority control Cognitive neuroscience Neuroscience research centres in the United Kingdom Neuroimaging Cognitive science research institutes Cognitive psychology Medical research institutes in the United Kingdom Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) Research institutes in Cambridge Research institutes established in 1944 1944 establishments in the United Kingdom Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, MRC