Research
We are interested in the neural basis of emotion processing and its interactions with perception and awareness. More specifically, we investigate amygdala function and its mutual influences with the sensory systems, mainly in the healthy brain. We use human electrophysiology (scalp-EEG, intracranial EEG), neuroimaging (MRI), behavioral and other physiological (peripheral) measures.
Current projects
Subcortical threat processing in the auditory system
Our new project, HumanSUBthreat, recently funded by the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grants; PI: Judith Domínguez-Borràs), aims at studying the subcortical neural pathways for threat detection within the auditory system. The project involves state-of-the-art electrophysiological and neuroimaging techniques to identify neural routes to the amygdala, and to test their anatomo-functional properties and temporal dynamics in humans.
Discover the project website here, developed in collaboration with European Dissemination Media Agency: https://www.europeandissemination.eu/humansubthreat-by-judith-dominguez-borras/24380
Team
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Martina-Trisia Cinca-TomásEarly Stage Researcher -
Emmanouela Kosteletou KassotakiEarly Stage Researcher -
Mara CeanEarly Stage Researcher -
Debora LombardoEarly Stage Researcher -
Katrin NiisukeEarly Stage Researcher -
Despoina KartsakiResearch Assistant -
Anna Ortiz BarraganResearch Assistant
PhD theses (defended)
Knowledge transfer and innovation
Team
Collaborators
Most recent
Despina Antypa, University of Western Macedonia (Greece)
Kepa Paz-Alonso, Liu MengXing, Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language
Guadalupe Soria, Federico Varriano, Alberto Prats-Galino, University of Barcelona
Patrik Vuilleumier, University of Geneva (Switzerland)
Selected publications
A full list of publications is available in Scopus and Google Scholar.
[Preprints]
Cinca-Tomás, M. T., Kosteletou-Kassotaki, E., & Domínguez-Borràs, J. (2026). Distinct associations between thalamo-amygdala pathways and state anxiety. bioRxiv.
