Computational Cognition Laboratory
At Krea University, students studying Psychology have opportunities to move beyond the classroom and engage directly with the tools and methods used in contemporary psychological research. The Computational Cognition Laboratory, one of the areas of specialisation available to Psychology majors, brings together cognitive psychology, computational modelling and empirical research, using methods such as psychophysics and electroencephalography (EEG) to study perception, memory, attention, language and social cognition.
Led by Dr Rakesh Sengupta, Assistant Professor, Psychology and Discipline Coordinator – Psychology, SIAS, the lab also creates opportunities for students to develop practical research skills alongside their theoretical understanding. The EEG Analysis Bootcamp, held on 12 September 2026, was one such initiative.
Learning EEG analysis through a real dataset
As part of PSYC239: Programming for Psychologists and open to interested students, the one-day bootcamp introduced participants to the complete process of working with EEG data, from raw recordings to a finished event-related potential (ERP). The first in a series of bootcamps, it sets the stage for the second edition, scheduled for 31 October and 1 November on the topic Social Network.
Rather than working with a prepared or simulated dataset, students worked with a real 64-channel EGI EEG recording from a study conducted by members of the Computational Cognition Laboratory on covert and overt articulation. Over six contact hours, they worked through the analysis twice: first using Python with MNE, and then using MATLAB with EEGLAB.
The aim was not simply to learn the steps involved in EEG pre-processing and analysis, but also to understand the choices behind them. By working through the same dataset using two different toolboxes, students could compare how each approached the analysis, examine where the outputs differed and think critically about the methods used in a research study.
The bootcamp was conducted through Google Colab, allowing students to work on their own laptops without needing to install software. The day was organised across three sessions, with a checkpoint at the end of each session so that students could follow the analysis from one stage to the next.
Learning from research conducted at Krea
An important part of the experience was the dataset itself. The recording used during the bootcamp came from research undertaken at Krea by members of the lab and its students. The study, on alpha-band activity during covert and overt articulation, has Lekhana Priya Gundapaneni as its first author and is currently in press.
This meant that students were not only learning how EEG data is analysed, but were working with data collected through research within their own academic community. They could see how the recording they were analysing connected to the study’s research questions, methodology and eventual findings.
The bootcamp was led by Dr Rakesh Sengupta, along with Lekhana Priya Gundapaneni Teaching Fellow, Psychology, SIAS and Rakshitaasai Karthinarayanan and Arush Menon as Teaching Assistants. The student-led teaching team supported participants throughout the sessions, helping them work through the analysis and troubleshoot along the way.
By the end of the day, students had taken a real EEG recording from the file on disk to a finished ERP, while gaining experience with two commonly used approaches to EEG analysis. More importantly, they had the opportunity to see how computational tools, research methods and psychological questions come together in practice.
