Lauri Nummenmaa

Lauri Nummenmaa is a Professor at the Turku PET Centre and Department of Psychology, University of Turku. His research focuses on the neural mechanisms of emotions, social interaction, and cognition using advanced neuroimaging techniques including PET, MRI, and EEG. He leads the Human Emotion Systems laboratory and has authored over 100 scientific articles, securing over €4M in grants from organizations like the European Research Council and Academy of Finland.

Nummenmaa holds a PhD from the University of Turku (2006) and conducted postdoctoral research at the MRC CBU in Cambridge, UK. His career includes roles as an Academy of Finland Senior Fellow and Assistant Professor at Aalto University. He specializes in studying embodied emotions, reward systems, and social perception networks, with recent work exploring opioid receptors in altruism, dopamine receptor abnormalities in psychopathy, and seasonal neurochemical variations.

His research integrates interdisciplinary approaches, combining cutting-edge neuroimaging with behavioral studies. Notable projects include mapping emotional semantics in ancient texts and developing automated PET image processing tools. Though no explicit awards are listed, his sustained fellowships highlight recognition in his field.

Nummenmaa’s grants fund studies on obesity-brain glucose metabolism links, psychopathy neurobiology, and cultural universality of musical sensations. His lab trains PhD candidates in neuroscience and signal analysis, emphasizing reproducible methods and collaborative international studies.