
Background
I was born and raised in Viña del Mar, Chile. I did my undergraduate studies in Valparaíso. I received a BSc (Hons) and M. Psych in psychology from the University of Valparaiso and a chartered certification in clinical psychology and cognitive behavioural therapy from the National Guild of Clinical Psychology of Chile. Later on, I received an MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Chile. I then moved to the United Kingdom to continue my postgraduate education. I conducted a masters research stay at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (University of Cambridge) in England and a doctoral research stay at the Center for Research in Cognition & Neurosciences (Université Libre de Bruxelles) in Belgium. In 2020, I received a PhD in psychology and cognitive neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in cognitive neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. My current research projects deal with consciousness and awareness in perception, for example how we become aware of human faces and their expressions, and the relationship between perceptual awareness and the experience of body ownership, i.e. how the brain creates the experience of owning our bodies.
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Old College, University of Edinburgh

Biomedicum, Karolinska Institutet
Education & Training
October 2020 -
Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Cognitive Neuroscience
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May 2020
University of Edinburgh, UK
PhD - Psychology, Human Cognitive Neuroscience
Research Stay at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
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November 2015
University of Chile
MSc - Neuroscience
Research Training at University of Cambridge, UK
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December 2013
National Board of Clinical Psychology, Chile
Chartered Specialisation - Clinical Psychology:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
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January 2009 -
University of Valparaiso, Chile
Professional Title (MPsych) - Psychology
BSc (Hons) - Psychology
Research interests
Consciousness and perceptual awareness
What is consciousness? What is the function of awareness in cognition? What is the extent of cognitive processing that can occur unconsciously?
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Face Perception and visual integration
Faces convey a wealth of information essential for social interaction. What brain systems are involved in face perception? Are facial features processed through a sequence of steps or all at once? Can we process the emotional information contained in faces unconsciously?
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Bodily self-consciousness
When we look at our body, we feel that it belongs to us. How does the brain create this sense of body ownership, and how central is it to our sense of self?
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Neural and cognitive underpinnings of hypnosis and hypnotic suggestion
What is hypnosis? What are the top-down brain mechanisms of hypnotic suggestion? What can hypnosis research teach us about cognition and consciousness? Is it useful in psychotherapy?
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Neurocognitive underpinnings of psychiatric disorders
What social and cognitive changes are involved in psychiatric disorders? What can cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology teach us about the development of mental disorders? How can we improve current treatments?


Funding institutions
My research is currently funded by the Swedish Research Council and Karolinska Institutet Strategic Research Area Neuroscience
