Carles Escera

Carles Escera is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona. He has directed major research institutes including the Institute of Neuroscience (accredited as a Maria de Maeztu Excellence Centre) and currently coordinates the Brainlab Research Group (SGR2017-974). His research focuses on auditory perception, attention mechanisms, and neurodevelopmental disorders, with a recent emphasis on subcortical speech encoding in neonates and its clinical implications. He has received the ICREA Academia Prize three times (2010, 2015, 2020).

Education: Licenciatura in Psychology (1987), PhD in Psychology (1993). Postdoctoral training at University of Helsinki (1993–1999). Visiting professorships at University of Bremen and Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg (2004–2005).

Research Interests: Investigates cerebral mechanisms of auditory perception, attention, and cognitive control. Explores subcortical auditory processing via FFR, clinical applications of MMN, and interdisciplinary studies on prehistoric rock art acoustics.

Grants & Awards: Lead researcher on projects funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, ICREA, and Alicia Koplowitz Foundation. Projects include FFR biomarkers for neurocognitive disorders and acoustic analysis of Neolithic rock art sites.

Lab Members & Collaborations: Directs Brainlab with over 20 researchers. Collaborates internationally with institutions in Finland, Germany, Israel, and Japan. Former members include prominent neuroscientists like Kimmo Alho and Manuel S. Malmierca.