Held at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Viña del Mar, the seminar brought together perspectives from neuroscience and psychology to explore vulnerability, empathy, and prosocial behavior

Dr. Sebastián Contreras-Huerta, Research Director of ESDLab, participated in a seminar held at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar campus, focused on social adaptation, socioemotional skills, and inequality from a neuroscience and psychology perspective

During the event, Dr. David Huepe—faculty member at the UAI School of Psychology, researcher at the Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, and Director of the PhD Program in Social and Cognitive Neuroscience at UAI—presented his FONDECYT Regular project (No. 1231117) on the relationship between empathy and vulnerability. His presentation addressed how socioemotional processes can help us better understand experiences of disadvantage and social adaptation

Paola Solano, a PhD student in Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, also contributed to the presentation, discussing interoceptive awareness, perspective-taking, and anxiety in vulnerable populations with experiences of intimate partner violence

Dr. Sebastián Contreras-Huerta then shared part of the findings from his FONDECYT Initiation project (No. 11250611) on prosocial behavior and empathic motivation, highlighting the importance of understanding the mechanisms that facilitate—or hinder—people’s willingness to engage with others’ distress and needs and to act prosocially

The discussion was further enriched by comments from Isabel Benjumea—faculty member at the UAI Faculty of Liberal Arts and Director of Outreach and Engagement—and Valentina Vallejo—faculty member at the School of Psychology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso—who offered additional perspectives that deepened the dialogue between neuroscience, psychology, and pressing social issues

These kinds of academic gatherings reinforce ESDLab’s commitment to interdisciplinary, socially relevant research that is closely connected to contemporary challenges surrounding care and vulnerability