Welcome to The Centre for Brain and Behaviour
Our research focuses on the psychology and neurophysiology of human and non-human species: development, mechanisms, challenges (psychopathology), and triumphs (well-being). We emphasise an interdisciplinary approach focused on the interface between psychology (cognition, communication, and social life) and biology (genomics, neuroscience, and ethology).
Our translational research programs aim to address urgent societal challenges and needs: we are advancing interdisciplinary research in mental health, adaptive decision making and positive social interactions. Our Centre has access to specialised equipment for studying human cognition (electroencephalography, eye movement tracking, transcranial magnetic stimulation), sleep and exercise labs, a portable social observation lab, as well as wet lab facilities for studying animal behaviour and neuroscience using insect, zebrafish and mice models. Further strengthened by computational modelling and social psychology research, the Centre is particularly well placed for multidisciplinary translational science, building bridges from fundamental neuroscience to individual mental health research to the network science of social interactions.
Our research is supported by a broad range of funding bodies, including the UKRI Councils (BBSRC, MRC, ESRC, AHRC, EPSRC), major private foundations (the Wellcome Trust, the Leverhulme Trust) and other charitable funds.
News
Recent Publications
- The neurodevelopmental spectrum: phenotypic architecture, etiology, predictive utility, and specificity across development
Michelini G Liao W Lu SD Caserini C Eley TC Ronald A Wilson S Malanchini M et al.
Molecular Psychiatry, Springer Nature vol. 31 (11), 6445-6455.
01-07-2026 - Growth in early infancy drives optimal brain functional connectivity which predicts cognitive flexibility in later childhood
Bulgarelli C Blasi A McCann S Milosavljevic B Ghillia G Mbye E Touray E Fadera T et al.
, Elife vol. 13
05-06-2026 - Multiple weak biases support adaptive choices without prior experience: a self-supervised strategy
Versace E de Bivort BL
Proceedings of The Royal Society B, The Royal Society vol. 293 (2064)
04-02-2026
Recent Grants
- IGGI CDT Internship with thymia 2026
Guifen Chen
£2,975 THYMIA LIMITED
12-10-2026 - 31-12-2026 - A New Approach to Supporting WM in ADHD: Adjusting External Conditions for Cognitive Enhancement
Eda Mizrak, Jessica Agnew-Blais and Giorgia Michelini
£919,158 Medical Research Council
01-10-2026 - 30-09-2029 - Transforming medical device development for brain cancer through patient involvement and co-creation
Christopher Chapman and Giorgia Michelini
£101,650 Economic and Social Research Council
01-10-2026 - 31-03-2030





