Artin Arshamian

As the Principal Investigator of the Embodied Perception and Cognition group, my research focuses on two main areas: understanding the mechanisms that shape the olfactory system and exploring how breathing influences perception and cognition. We employ state-of-the-art methodologies from a wide range of disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, material science, anthropology, and linguistics.

A key strength of our research lies in our collaborations with diverse groups, allowing us to study previously inaccessible areas. For instance, through partnerships with field researchers, we investigate the commonalities and differences in human olfaction across various populations, from urban dwellers to hunter-gatherer communities around the world. We also conduct direct comparisons between our neural and behavioral findings in humans and animal models such as rodents.

A significant part of our work involves developing new electrophysiological brain imaging techniques, which enable us to study previously inaccessible areas of the olfactory and respiratory systems. For example, we investigate how breathing, odor perception, and cognition are encoded in the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex, as well as how these processes influence peripheral functions like pupil response.

Our advanced tools and interdisciplinary approach allow us to address emerging questions about the sense of smell in both health and disease, with a particular focus on conditions such as anosmia and Parkinson's disease.