Maël Mauchand

Maël Mauchand is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva, affiliated with the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from McGill University (2023) and a Bachelor's in Cognitive Science (2017), both in Canada. His research focuses on the neural basis of empathy, prosody's role in emotional communication, and cultural influences on vocal interactions. Methodologically, he employs EEG, fMRI, and meta-analytic techniques.

Education

• Bachelor in Cognitive Science, McGill University (2014–2017)
• Ph.D. in Neuroscience, McGill University (2017–2023), supervised by Prof. Marc D. Pell

Research Interests

Maël’s work explores how prosody (pitch, rhythm, intonation) shapes empathic responses in social contexts. He investigates neural mechanisms underlying the perception of emotive voices, the interplay between vocal production and perception, and the impact of accent and cultural background on emotional communication. His studies highlight the cognitive and neural underpinnings of intergroup attitudes, such as how speaker accents influence social judgments.

Key Themes in Publications

His articles address prosody’s role in conveying suffering, the neurobiology of complaint processing, and how accents modulate empathy. He combines behavioral and neuroimaging methods to map brain regions involved in affective vocal processing and social evaluation.

Affiliations

Current: Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva.

Labs/Teams

Participates in interdisciplinary teams studying affective neuroscience and communication at McGill and Geneva.