Cynthia Cabañas

Cynthia Cabañas is a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London (UK) under the supervision of Dr Tim J. Smith and Dr Atsushi Senju. She studied bilingual Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid and a MA in Clinical Neuropsychology (UCJC) before completing a dual Masters in Brain and Mind Sciences at University College London and Université Pierre et Marie Curie and École Normale Supérieure. She has worked as a research assistant in the Motivation Brain and Behavior team at the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM) in Paris (France). In October 2020 she received funding from the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) to pursue her PhD in neurocinematics / film cognition. In 2023 she will carry out an international research visit at the Sagol Brain Institute in Tel Aviv (Israel). She is interested in the role of theory of mind and empathy in film narrative understanding in neurotypical and neurodiverse populations and the formal elements of film that filmmakers use to enhance these processes. As a researcher, she considers essential to promote and disseminate the role of women in research and provide tools and opportunities to the next generations of researchers.