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About the Unit
Established in 1944, the Unit is one of the largest and most long-lasting contributors to the development of psychological theory and practice.
The Unit's research programme investigates fundamental human mental processes such as attention, memory, communication and emotion. We conduct behavioural experiments to determine how these processes work, build computer models of their operation, study how they could arise from the neural mechanisms of the brain, and explore the clinical implications of all our studies for patient therapy and rehabilitation.
Research at the Unit
Full information on research at the Unit is available.
History of the Unit
You can look at a short account of the history of the Unit, explore significant parts of it more extensively via an interactive timeline, or browse the content of our electronic archive by visiting the History of the Unit pages.
Relationship with the University of Cambridge
The Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBU) has long-standing links with the University of Cambridge dating back to its foundation as the 'Unit for Research in Applied Psychology' within the Psychological Laboratory of Cambridge University during the Second World War. The Unit, which since 1953, has been located in its own self-contained premises, is fully funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), whose research mission is to improve human health.
Although not a part of the University, for the last 50 yrs the CBU has maintained substantial contacts and collaborations with other experimental, clinical and neuroscience groups in the University of Cambridge, including the Departments of Experimental Psychology, Neurology, and Psychiatry, and more recently the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre (WBIC) at Addenbrooke's Hospital. The extensive synergies that such close links with other departments brings facilitates advances in the field of neuroscience and its clinical translations.
Because of its excellent facilities and considerable research training experience, the CBU is recognised by the University as a "Non-University Institution" for the purposes of graduate study. This means that students can undertake their research at the Unit, while being registered for their degrees at the University of Cambridge and can enjoy all the benefits of University and College membership.