IIIT-Hyderabad launches advanced EEG lab for cognitive neuroscience research
Hyderabad, Oct 5 (TNT): The International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-Hyderabad) has launched BrainLab, an advanced human electroencephalography (EEG) research facility aimed at studying how the human brain processes information, attention, perception and behaviour.
The facility has been established with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (DST-FIST) programme, the Institute said on Monday.
The institute’s Cognitive Science Lab received the grant in 2024 under the Life Sciences FIST (FIST-LS) programme.
The BrainLab is equipped with a 128-channel high-density EEG system, a 32-channel mobile EEG system and a digitiser for precise electrode-position tracking.
An advanced research-grade eye-tracking system has also been integrated with the EEG setup to synchronise brain activity with gaze patterns and pupil-based measures of attention.
The facility can additionally record physiological measures such as galvanic skin response (GSR), the institute said.
The new infrastructure will enable controlled cognitive neuroscience experiments involving Indian populations and support the creation of original datasets.
Research areas will include cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, language, perception, attention, learning and human-computer interaction.
Dr Vishnu Sreekumar, faculty in-charge of the facility, said the infrastructure would enable researchers to generate high-quality data from Indian populations and promote interdisciplinary research across cognitive science, neuroscience and technology.
The EEG lab will function as a shared research facility for IIIT-Hyderabad faculty and students, as well as startups, industry and external research groups, subject to an access charge covering consumables and maintenance.
The facility will also support training and capacity building through courses, workshops and summer schools.
The first workshop is scheduled for December 10-11 as part of the pre-conference activities of the Annual Conference of Cognitive Science 2026.
The institute said the EEG lab was the first step in expanding its experimental cognitive science infrastructure, with future plans for facilities focused on neuromodulation and sleep research.
Prof Bapi Raju, Head of the Cognitive Science Lab, said the grant was awarded under the DST’s Life Sciences FIST programme, which traditionally supports core life sciences research, and described it as recognition of the interdisciplinary scope of cognitive science.
TNT TS
