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Systems Neuroscience Professor Iiro Jääskeläinen has received over EUR 1 million of research funding from Russia to cover three years as a part-time leading scientist at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. One aim is to study how cultural background affects brain activity.

‘Moscow is an ideal place to study the impact of cultural background. We will be setting up a social neuroscience laboratory for about ten researchers in Moscow for this project’, says Iiro Jääskeläinen.

Russia is a very multicultural country. This makes it an excellent environment for basic research of this kind that aims to increase understanding between different groups of people.

‘The goal is to make cross-cultural comparisons. We use stimuli that mimic natural experiences, such as films and stories, to explore how cultural background affects brain activity: thinking, emotional reactions, language, and interpreting information’, Jääskeläinen explains.

In this cooperative research project, Iiro Jääskeläinen's expertise in social neuroscience will be complemented with the expertise in decision-making, neuroeconomics and economics of the Higher School of Economics. Iiro Jääskeläinen will continue to spend most of his working time as a professor at Aalto University, and members of his research team will also cooperate with the research group of the Higher School of Economics to plan the research projects.