The Colorado State University Center for Applied Cognitive Neuroscience is freshly painted, newly carpeted, and open for business.

The Department of Psychology hosted a Nov. 30 ribbon-cutting for the new center, a project about two years in the making led by psychology faculty members Lucy Troup and Don Rojas.

Imaging equipment, research space

The center is in the basement of the Clark Building C Wing. It houses imaging instrumentation including an electro-encephalogram (EEG) for temporal brain scanning and a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device for spatial resolution of the brain. The renovated space has a reception area for clinical patients in research projects and one-way glass for observation of that research.

“We wanted to create a center in which the psychology department could share expertise with the rest of the university,” Troup said.

Shared facility model

Rojas describes the vision for the center as moving beyond insular laboratories to a shared facility model, in which anyone from across the university can use the equipment and offset expenses.

“We want to make CSU a national player in brain imaging,” Rojas said.

Jan Nerger, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and a psychology faculty member, attended the ribbon-cutting and said it was exciting to see the center finally open. “I think this has really moved the department in a critical and important direction,” she said.

Applied cognitive neuroscience deals with the biological bases for behavior and applying those insights to real-world problems.

In addition to its graduate program in cognitive neuroscience, CSU also offers a four-year undergraduate degree in neuroscience, the first such degree offered at a public institution in Colorado.