The Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience was established within the Faculty of Psychology in 2002. It now comprises the Departments of Biopsychology, Neuropsychology and Cognitive Psychology as well as the research group Neural Basis of Learning and the Department of Computational Neuroscience at the Institute of Neuroinformatics.
Cognitive neuroscience is a new and fast-growing field of research that has emerged from the integration of psychology, neuroscience and computer science. The explanatory potential of neuroscience has grown so rapidly that completely new and more solid explanations of mental functions have become possible. This scientific revolution has not only changed psychological theories, but has also opened up completely new insights into clinical problems. While psychology did not contribute significantly to neuroscientific research until the 1980s, it is now a central component of cognitive research within the neuroscientific community.