About the Unit
The Computational Psychiatry Unit (CPU) combines state-of-the-art technology with neuroscience, economics, and behavioral methods to understand the neural computations involved in human cognition and psychiatric illness. We are sponsored by the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
What does it mean for a Psychiatry Unit to be Computational?
The human brain is a vast computational device - one that uses sophisticated algorithms to perceive the world, make decisions, and take actions. In some situations, these algorithms can go awry, contributing to what we recognize as psychiatric illness. The CPU uses diverse and innovative approaches to understand human cognition from the point of view of brain algorithms and the circumstances that can lead to their disruption. Among the tools we use are: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), including real-time and hyperscan-fMRI, computational models, electrophysiology, psychophysics, electroencephalography and virtual reality.