About
Maria Hakonen is a Visiting Faculty member in the Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering at Aalto University, Finland. Her work bridges engineering and cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on brain responses to sensory and narrative stimuli.
Research Interests: Her research centers on neuroimaging, particularly magnetoencephalography (MEG), to study proprioception, auditory processing, and narrative comprehension. She investigates how cultural background and individual differences shape neural responses, especially during naturalistic listening tasks. Her work emphasizes ecologically valid paradigms and multimodal imaging (MEG, EEG, fMRI).
Publication Trends: Her recent publications (2021–2023) show a strong trend toward understanding social and cultural influences on brain function, cortical processing of proprioception, and neural synchrony. She frequently publishes in high-impact neuroscience journals such as NeuroImage and Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Scientific Activities:
- Presented multiple conference talks in 2019 on cultural neuroscience and narrative processing.
- Active in multimodal brain imaging research.
- Contributor to studies on neural and social synchrony.
Education:
- Doctor of Science (Tech.), Technical Physics, Aalto University (2020)
- Master’s Degree, Engineering and Technology, Aalto University (2012)
- Bachelor’s Degree, Engineering and Technology, Aalto University (2012)
Advising and Grants: No specific students or grants are listed in the provided text. However, her collaborative publications suggest involvement in funded research projects, particularly those involving MEG and cognitive neuroscience. She collaborates with prominent researchers such as I.P. Jääskeläinen, M. Sams, and H. Piitulainen.
Labs and Teams: Affiliated with the neuroscience and neuroimaging research groups at Aalto University, likely part of the MEG core facility or the Cognitive and Brain Research Unit. Her work contributes to Aalto’s expertise in multimodal brain imaging and human cognitive neuroscience.
