Overview
The Human Neuroimaging Laboratory (HNL) is part of the Department of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX. Research projects cover a wide variety of fields, including neuroscience, psychology, political science and economics. Particular areas of interest are hyperscanning (a means of exploring the brain activity that underlies human social interactions), social neuroscience, neural circuitry of valuation and decision-making, and disruptions of such processes associated with developmental and psychiatric illness.
In addition, the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory serves as the primary imaging facility of the Computational Psychiatry Unit (CPU). This is a newly form interdisciplinary group of independent investigators affiliated with the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry that is focused on neural computations underlying psychiatric and developmental disorders. As part of this new initiative, the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory has recently expanded to accommodate newly hired investigators, as well as the installation of 3 additional research-dedicated Siemens Trio MR scanners.
Currently, the HNL supports one principal investigator, 7 postdoctoral fellows, 4 graduate students, 5 research technicians, 4 software and hardware developers, 1 system administrator, and 1 administrative assistant. In addition, the laboratory hosts a visiting scientist program and seminar series, and provides imaging services for researchers at Rice University, the University of Houston, as well as the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston.