Nicolas Brunet
Contact
Education
Dr. Brunet earned a B.A. in Physics from the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics from Florida State University. Before joining CSUSB, he held research appointments at several R1 institutions, including the University of Washington (Seattle), the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour (The Netherlands), the University of Pittsburgh, and the State University of New York (Brooklyn). He also served as an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.
Research and Teaching Interests
Research
Dr. Brunet’s research lies at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience, visual perception, and physiological measurement. His work focuses on how visual information is transformed into perception and action, and how this process is shaped by attention, motivation, experience, and internal bodily signals.
The Neurophysiology Lab investigates the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying visual attention, eye movements (oculomotor behavior), face and object recognition, and brain–body interactions. A central goal of the lab is to identify objective physiological markers of cognitive and affective processes, with applications ranging from basic neuroscience to clinical and translational research.
Using a multimodal approach that combines eye tracking, electroencephalography (EEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), psychophysics, and computational analyses, the lab examines how neural, autonomic, and behavioral signals jointly contribute to perception and decision-making. Current projects include studies of eye-movement–based biomarkers for concussion and mild traumatic brain injury, as well as investigations of how the brain encodes and recognizes faces and objects under varying cognitive demands.
The Neurophysiology Lab is equipped with state-of-the-art EEG, eye-tracking, and fNIRS systems, along with physiological sensors for measuring autonomic nervous system activity.
Join the Neurophysiology Lab
Are you curious about how the brain turns visual input into perception and action? The Neurophysiology Lab actively recruits motivated undergraduate and graduate students interested in neuroscience, cognition, and human behavior.
Students in the lab gain hands-on experience with advanced neurophysiological methods and contribute to research projects that address fundamental questions in cognitive neuroscience and applied human performance. Interested students are encouraged to email Dr. Brunet to learn more about opportunities to get involved.