Bio

Emiliano Bruner

Hominid Paleoneurobiology
Research Group Leader
Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana
Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos (Spain)
email: emiliano.bruner@cenieh.es

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I was born in Rome in 1972. Since 2007, I am Research Group Leader in Paleoneurology at the National Research Centre for Human Evolution in Burgos, Spain. See our Lab Blog: The Skull Box. I am also adjoint researcher at the Research Center for Neurological Diseases in Madrid, Spain.

I got a University Degree in Biology and a PhD in Animal Biology, both at the University La Sapienza, Rome (Italy). My university career was mainly oriented in Zoology, but the final experimental thesis was in Human Ecology. Then, my PhD was on Human Paleoneurology, based on the application in paleoanthropology of the early toolkits in digital anatomy and computed morphometrics. I got post-doc grants in paleoneurology and human anatomy. As a student, I also received several grants as curator of osteological collections, in museums of zoology and anthropology. Although in the last twenty years I have been working mainly with modern humans and fossil hominids, I am still interested in zoology too, in particular in entomology and primatology.

My current research lines include comparative neuroanatomy (in particular, the morphology and evolution of the parietal cortex), functional craniology (brain-braincase integration), paleoneurology (fossil endocasts), the vascular system (craniovascular traits in present and past populations) and cognitive archaeology (visuospatial integration and attention). In anatomy, I employ distinct methods and techniques, including multivariate statistics, geometric morphometrics, digital anatomy, and network analysis. In cognitive sciences, I am using electrodermal activity, eye-tracking, ergonomics, and psychometrics, to investigate visuospatial integration and body perception. I am particularly interested in body cognition and mindfulness meditation.

I am also involved in dissemination, bridging anthropology and neurosciences. I write for several magazines, and have a personal column in Jot Down. I am also interested in the relationships between anthropology, neuroscience, and music.

I am a member of the Italian Institute of Anthropology and of the Italian Institute of Human Paleontology.

See also:

Lab Blog (English): The Skull Box
Personal blog (Italian): La Graticola di San Lorenzo
Jot Down (Spanish): Emiliano Bruner

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I have played and studied guitar since I was thirteen. I have also been playing bass guitar in hard rock, progressive rock, and funky rock bands. Then I moved to a jazz academy, eventually stepping into ethnic music, playing didgeridoo and percussions. I have also been studying wooden flutes (quenas) for ten years. And ukulele. I mainly play folk, jazz, blues, and tango.