Research
The Digital Neuroscience program draws on research expertise across neuroscience, informatics, and psychology at the University of Fribourg. Students engage directly with active research groups and the program's own experimental platform.
Research Questions & Developments
How does the brain construct visual experience? 2 labs
Advances in neural imaging and eye tracking are revealing how visual circuits encode the world around us — from low-level feature detection to face recognition and social perception. Cortical prosthetics are beginning to restore sight in patients with visual cortex damage, while cross-cultural studies show that even basic perceptual strategies differ between populations. Understanding these mechanisms is critical for developing brain-computer interfaces, assistive technologies, and adaptive display systems.
Visual Neuroscience Lab
Prof. Michael C. Schmid
Brain circuit operations in the visual system — vision in health and disease, brain plasticity, cortical prosthesis for blindness, and developmental dyslexia.
Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab)
Prof. Roberto Caldara
Visual and social neuroscience, face recognition, eye tracking, and cultural differences in visual perception.
What governs memory, attention, and cognitive states? 2 labs
Sleep is now understood as an active process that replays and consolidates memories, not merely a period of rest. Meanwhile, optogenetics and multi-electrode recordings are mapping how the basal forebrain orchestrates attention and arousal. These findings are opening new avenues for cognitive enhancement, sleep-based interventions, and neurofeedback systems that monitor and modulate brain states in real time.
Cognitive Biopsychology Lab
Prof. Björn Rasch
How thoughts, emotions, and psychological factors affect sleep and memory consolidation. ERC Starting Grant recipient.
Rainer Lab — Systems Neuroscience
Prof. Gregor Rainer
Neural mechanisms of cognition and learning, basal forebrain in attention, and brain state regulation. Uses multi-electrode recordings, optogenetics, and calcium imaging.
How should technology adapt to human behavior? 1 lab
As AI systems become embedded in everyday environments — from smart buildings to clinical decision support — the challenge shifts from raw capability to human-centered design. Multimodal interfaces that combine gaze, gesture, speech, and physiological signals are enabling more natural interaction, while information visualization techniques make complex data actionable. The goal: technology that augments human cognition rather than replacing it.
Human-IST Institute
Prof. Denis Lalanne
Human-computer interaction, multimodal interaction, information visualization, human-building interaction, and human-centered AI. Swiss representative at IFIP TC13.
What computational tools will drive neuroscience forward? 2 labs
Modern neuroscience generates data at unprecedented scale — from whole-brain calcium imaging to millions of clinical records. Topological data analysis reveals structure in high-dimensional neural data that traditional statistics miss. Knowledge graphs connect fragmented biomedical knowledge into queryable networks. Geometric deep learning respects the non-Euclidean structure of brain connectivity. Together, these methods are transforming how we extract meaning from neural and clinical data.
AIDOS Lab
Prof. Bastian Grossenbacher
Geometric and topological deep learning, topological data analysis, and foundations of machine learning. ERC Starting Grant recipient.
eXascale Infolab
Prof. Philippe Cudré-Mauroux
Big Data management, knowledge graphs, semantic web, and AI infrastructures. ERC Consolidator Grant and Google Faculty Research Award recipient.