Igor Riečanský

Igor Riečanský, MD, PhD, serves as Head of the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience at the Center for Experimental Medicine of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) since its establishment in 2018. He maintains active teaching roles at the medical faculties of both Slovak Medical University and Comenius University in Bratislava, contributing to neuroscience and psychiatric education across Slovakia's academic landscape.

Education:

• Graduated in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, with international semester stays at medical faculties in Naples (Italy) and Vienna (Austria).
• Completed doctoral studies in Neuroscience at the International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), researching neural processes of visual perception under Prof. Klaus-Peter Hoffmann.
• Finished psychiatry specialization at the Psychiatric Clinic of Slovak Medical University and advanced clinical training at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry (UK).

Research Focus: Dr. Riečanský's work bridges experimental neuroscience and clinical psychiatry through Behavioral Neuroscience. His investigations into neural mechanisms of visual perception inform understanding of behavioral pathologies, with emphasis on translating basic research into psychiatric applications. The department he leads employs interdisciplinary approaches combining neuroimaging, physiological measurements, and clinical observation.

Current Leadership: As founding head of the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience within SAS's Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, he directs research operations at the Center for Experimental Medicine (Sienkiewiczova 1, Bratislava). His prior academic engagement includes visiting professorships at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Psychology (SCAN-Unit under Prof. Claus Lamm), where he contributed to cross-cultural neuroscience research.