Juan Carlos Mendez Nunez

The aim of my research is to unravel the role that the thalamus and the frontal cortex, two interconnected brain structures, play in supporting different cognitive abilities, mainly memory and decision-making.

The relevance of this research is highlighted when we consider that human patients who sustain injuries to these structures show deficits in memory, motivation, language, decision-making, multitasking and many other brain functions. Our expectation is that our findings will ultimately contribute to the development of treatments tailored to these patients.

To this end, we use different methodological approaches, including pharmacological interventions, neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques, to assess the specific contributions of the thalamus and the frontal cortex to the mechanisms behind memory and decision-making.

Besides this ongoing research, I also have a keen interest in science communication and the role of science in society.