01 / RESEARCH
Computational neuroscience
Quantitative frameworks for systems neurophysiology, nonlinear neural interactions, information processing and complex brain dynamics.
NeuroHeuristic Research Group · University of Lausanne
From neural signals to intelligent behavior.
We study how brain dynamics give rise to cognition, attention and decisions — bridging computational methods, electrophysiology, optical brain imaging and behavioral experiments.
Scientific leadership · Dr. Alessandra Lintas · Principal Investigator & Research Manager, LABEX, Faculty of Business and Economics
Explore our science ↗Meet the team
Scientific research programs
Explore our flagship projects
Dedicated scientific pages with computational methods, experimental context, representative publications and clearly attributed illustrations.
Research directions
Computation meets the brain.
Our research connects computational and systems neuroscience with experiments in decision-making, attention and multimodal brain imaging. Signal-processing methods—including higher-order spectral analysis, cross-bicoherence and spectral Granger causality—help us characterize nonlinear interactions in complex neural recordings.
02 / RESEARCH
Nonlinear neural signal analysis
Higher-order spectral methods, cross-bicoherence, spectral Granger causality and exploratory fuzzy clustering of EEG event-related potentials and other neural recordings.
03 / RESEARCH
Neuroeconomics & decision-making
Behavioral and electrophysiological analysis of risk, fairness, individual differences, emotional influences and social decisions in Ultimatum and Dictator Games.
04 / RESEARCH
Attention & cognitive control
Visual attentional capture and suppression, novelty detection, attentional networks, EEG/ERP measures and neural mechanisms of cognitive control.
05 / RESEARCH
Working memory & ADHD
Behavioral and electrophysiological approaches to adult ADHD, including adaptive dual n-back training, attentional plasticity and cognitive performance.
06 / RESEARCH
Translational brain health
Multimodal EEG and frequency-domain fNIRS/EROS of brain responses, neurovascular coupling and cognitive health, including exercise studies in peripheral arterial disease.
NHRG at the University of Lausanne
The NeuroHeuristic Research Group conducts computational and experimental neuroscience research within the University of Lausanne research environment. Dr. Alessandra Lintas serves as Principal Investigator and Research Manager at LABEX, Faculty of Business and Economics.
The group retains its original NHRG name and visual identity alongside its University of Lausanne affiliation.
Scientific achievements
From synaptic mechanisms to human cognition.
Dr. Lintas’s research spans experimental neuropharmacology, computational signal analysis, human decision neuroscience and multimodal neuroimaging. These complementary approaches provide a cross-scale perspective on cognition.
FOUNDATIONS
Reward circuits & neural mechanisms
Experimental investigations of dopamine-receptor pathways, opiate reward memory, basal ganglia and thalamic circuits, and parvalbumin-related neuronal physiology.
COMPUTATION
Beyond conventional spectra
Analysis of quadratic phase coupling and bifrequency interactions with cross-bicoherence and spectral Granger causality; fuzzy clustering for exploratory analysis of event-related potentials.
COGNITION
Fairness, risk & attention
ERP markers of fairness and selfishness in Dictator and Ultimatum Games; individual differences in decision strategies; ADHD and working-memory training.
MULTIMODAL METHODS
Electrical and optical brain signals
Combining event-related electrical responses with frequency-domain fNIRS and fast optical signals (EROS) to study prefrontal processing, auditory deviance and neurovascular dynamics.
TRANSLATION
Cognitive health in clinical populations
Clinical collaborations spanning adult ADHD, cerebral and cognitive responses to physical exercise in peripheral arterial disease, and sleep-related brain physiology.
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
International neural computation
Contributions to ICANN, Neural Coding and the European Neural Network Society through scientific organization, proceedings and community service.
Based on Dr. Lintas’s 2025 and 2026 scientific-achievements statements; descriptions are synthesized for web presentation, not verbatim quotations.
Scientific programs
Projects & research foundations.
Ongoing lines of inquiry and completed funded work, distinguished below. Some ongoing programs build on earlier SNSF grants whose original funding periods have ended.
Ongoing program
Neuroeconomics & brain dynamics
Computational models of decision behavior, risk sensitivity, social choice and coupled neural dynamics. This is an ongoing research program; linked earlier SNSF awards are completed.
Ongoing program
Attention & brain dynamics
Attraction and suppression of attention: combining EEG/ERPs, visual attention experiments and optical approaches to characterize attentional capture. SNSF 2025–2029.
Ongoing program
Peripheral arterial disease & cognition
Clinical study of cerebral and cognitive responses to physical exercise in symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD), supported by the Emma Muschamp Foundation in 2026.
Completed / foundational
Working-memory training & ADHD
NeurEcA: a neuroeconomic investigation of working-memory training, decision-making and brain plasticity in ADHD and control participants. SNSF grant 138032 (2012–2015).
Completed / foundational
Higher-order frequency analysis
Nonlinear brain-signal analysis using bispectral methods, cross-bicoherence, Granger causality and computational clustering of event-related potentials.
Completed / foundational
Optical imaging & social decisions
Fast optical imaging during the Ultimatum Game (SNSF 183401, 2019) and studies linking sleep patterns with risk preferences (SNSF 178329, 2018–2021).
Funding status reflects available SNSF records. The 2026 PAD study and current neuroeconomics program were supplied by NHRG and should be checked against final project descriptions before publication.
Our research community
People & collaborators.
Meet the NHRG research team and its international network of scientific collaborators.
Leadership & research team
People
Scientific leadership, researchers and students.
International scientific network
Collaborators
Researchers and partners across neuroscience, computation and clinical research.
Selected reading
Discoveries, methods & evidence.
A curated selection of NHRG publications appears here. The searchable Publications Explorer offers more records, topic filtering and verified DOI links; the complete historical bibliography remains a separate resource.
Explore the searchable publications database ↗
2026
Risk attitude and choice consistency identify robust behavioral profiles in decision-making under riskLintas & Villa · BioSystems 268, 105927
DOI ↗2022
Electrophysiological Markers of Fairness and Selfishness Revealed by a Combination of Dictator and Ultimatum GamesMiraghaie, Pouretemad, Villa, Mazaheri, Khosrowabadi & Lintas · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
DOI ↗2024
A Dual Role for the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) in Auditory Deviance DetectionJaquerod, Knight, Lintas & Villa · Brain Sciences
DOI ↗2011
Identification of a dopamine receptor-mediated opiate reward memory switch in the basolateral amygdala–nucleus accumbens circuitLintas et al. · Journal of Neuroscience
DOI ↗2024
Detection of quadratic phase coupling by cross-bicoherence and spectral Granger causality in bifrequencies interactionsAbe, Asai, Lintas & Villa · Scientific Reports
DOI ↗2021
Operant conditioning deficits and modified local field potential activities in parvalbumin-deficient miceLintas et al. · Scientific Reports
DOI ↗2020
Attention Networks in ADHD Adults after Working Memory Training with a Dual n-Back TaskDotare et al. · Brain Sciences
DOI ↗2025
Boosting Working Memory in ADHD: Adaptive Dual N-Back Training Enhances WAIS-IV Performance, but Yields Mixed Corsi OutcomesLintas et al. · Brain Sciences
DOI ↗2025
Neuroimaging Fairness in Economic Decisions: EEG and EROS Analysis in the Ultimatum GameLintas et al. · Brainiacs
DOI ↗No matching publications in this selection.
People, history & recognition
Beyond the laboratory.
Read scientific papers, university coverage and award announcements in a permanent, dated archive. Research evidence and institutional news are labeled separately.
Explore Research Highlights & Media ↗
ENNS Outstanding Service Award · 2025
Recognition of Dr. Lintas’s contribution and service to the European Neural Network Society.
University of Lausanne announcement ↗
NHRG at Kilimanjaro · February 2016
The group’s flag reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro — a distinctive milestone in NHRG’s history.
Collaborate
Curiosity, computation, collaboration.
The NeuroHeuristic Research Group welcomes scientific exchange across computational neuroscience, cognition and clinical research.
NHRG website ↗