Oscar Vilarroya, M.D Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), where he is the director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Unit (URNC) as well as director of the “Social Brain” Chair. He is also the coordinator of the Neuroimaging Research Group (NRG) at the Fundació IMIM.
Vilarroya has made contributions in three different areas: theoretical neurobiology, neuroimaging and scientific dissemination. Concerning theoretical neurobiology, Vilarroya has developed theoretical models applied to the study of normal and abnormal cognition that, apart from this book, have been presented in numerous articles and conferences.
In the area of neuroimaging, the URNC and the NRG are considered expert groups in ADHD neuroimaging, having pioneered one of the first neuroimaging diagnostic techniques for detecting psychiatric signs of ADHD. In the field of scientific networking, the UAB “Social Brain” Chair widened and deepened the understanding of neurobiology from the viewpoint of social phenomena, cognition and behavior. The Chair has played an important role in high-level scientific meetings, such as the “Social Brain” meeting at the Barcelona Universal Forum of Cultures, whose contributions were published in the book Social Brain Matters (Rodopi), as well as the international conferences “Values, Empathy, and Fairness across Social Barriers,”, and “Neuroethics: from Lab to Law. A Scientific Scrutiny of Sociability, Responsibility and Criminality”, whose communications have been published as special issues of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Finally, in the domain of scientific popularization, Vilarroya has been a regular contributor in the health and science sections of the national newspapers “La Vanguardia” and “El Periodico”, and editor of the radio program "Sorbets de ciència"on Catalunya Radio. Vilarroya has also published popularization books on neuroscience, such as “Palabra de robot” (PUV), for which he was awarded the European Scientific Award, and he has been the scientific script writer of the documentary “Bajo la piel del conflicto,” which won Ronda’s International Science Award.
Vilarroya has also contributed to the dramatic arts, as the libretto writer for the opera “Casparo” (Palau de la Musica, Barcelona), and the scientific advisor for the choreographic production of “Orion” (Teatre Lliure). His play “De botxins i gots d’aigua” won the Micalet Award and his novel “Joc net”, a cognitive science thriller, won the Ferran Canyameres Award.
