The mindSPACE Lab is dedicated to understanding what gives rise to our perceptual experiences. Our research uses multiple methods to investigate the structure and function of visual, auditory, and multi-sensory cortex in normal, healthy adults and in patients with a variety of neurological disorders and damage. The tools we use for our investigations include neuroimaging techniques, such as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (s/fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), as well as behavioral/psychophysical measurements, genetic assays, psychopharmacology, mathematical modeling, and surveys.

The Primary Investigator (PI) of the mindSPACE Lab is Alyssa A. Brewer, M.D./Ph.D., a physician-scientist who graduated from Stanford University with degrees in Biological Sciences with Honors (B.S.), Comparative Literature with Honors in Humanities (A.B.), Medicine (M.D.), and Neuroscience (Ph.D.). Other laboratory members include postgraduate researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate research assistants, whose information can be found on the People page. Our subjects are human volunteers recruited from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) campus and surrounding communities for either course credit or a modest honorarium. We have also developed and actively participate in several educational outreach programs in the local community.