Psychology department facilities

Using Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) we can see which parts of the brain light up during certain activities such as dreaming, or can recognise patterns associated with psychiatric conditions. Brunel is a member of the Combined Universities Brain Imaging Centre (CUBIC), and so jointly owns and operates a 3T Siemens MAGNETOM TIM Trio MRI scanner with Royal Holloway, Surrey and Roehampton. Installed in a purpose-built lab suite and run with the support of a specialist MRI technician, it offers high resolution, real-time fMRI, MR spectroscopy (3D Chemical Shift Imaging), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for 3D white matter tractography.

Electroencephalography (EEG) uses electrodes to measure electrical activity in certain psychological states. Our dedicated EEG lab houses 32- and 64-channel (MRI compatible) Neuroscan EEG systems.

Using the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, we can measure changes in blood volume showing when parts of the brain are activated.

Utilising electromagnetism, transcranial magnetic stimulation can measure activity between the nervous system and the muscles. Brunel has a Magstim BiStim2 TMS and tDCS systems for brain stimulation/modulation research. 

Body scanners can provide more accurate measurements of muscle and body fat than relying on a person’s BMI, and can help with realistic representations when treating body dysmorphia. You will find a NX12 [TC]² 3D Body Scanner in our labs.

A fusion of psychology and physics that tracks the measurable effect of physical stimuli on the senses. We have a dedicated visual psychophysics laboratory equipped with display systems and a VSG 2/5 stimulus generator (Cambridge Research Systems).

We use Eye Link 1000 eye trackers in our dedicated cubicles. By tracking the eyes, we can study the effect that brain process have on behaviour, language, attention span, memory and perception. 

Brunel’s BITLab is a virtual reality centre with facilities for motion capture and animation.

Brunel holds an extensive collection of AV, laboratory and computing hardware resources, psychometric test library, specialist equipment and laboratories for participant photography/video, and infant research.