3. Juni 2026
“Roma non fu fatta in un giorno”, they say.
“Nor is the path of research”, we might add.
We find ourselves in a city that for centuries stood as one of the beacons of Western knowledge, a city now opening its doors to the 8th edition European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Meeting (ESCAN), bringing together nearly 900 researchers and more than 750 scientific contributions in the field of social and affective cognitive neuroscience.
ESCAN itself began modestly. A small initiative group of researchers convened a kick-off meeting in Amsterdam in December 2009, wanting to bring together scientists living in Europe who shared an interest in the neural basis of how we think, feel, and connect with one another.
And they made it happen.
After 17 years, seven researchers from our group – Gaia, Laura, Christina, Anna, Nils, Sofia and Carmen – travelled to Rome for the ESCAN 2026. Over four days, we had the chance to attended very inspiring symposia, talks, and poster sessions. We took the opportunity to present our own work as well, spanning emotion regulation and its cognitive and training-related aspects to the role of nature, stress, frustration and intimate partner violence. This also opened the door to closer conversations with other researchers, an exchange of opinions, ideas, and proposals.
But that wasn't all. The conference also made room for moments beyond the science, where we got to know new people, reconnected with colleagues now living across different countries, and simply enjoyed each other's company.
We had always heard that conferences are among the most fun parts of a research career. This one only confirmed it, and left us looking forward to the next.
Our presentations at ESCAN included:
S. Amaoui, C. Morawetz. From beliefs to brain: attitudes toward intimate partner violence against women modulate neural response to violence.
L. Gervais, D. Lang, A. Gmeiner, C. Morawetz. Which psychological processes support emotion regulation? A mechanistic fMRI approach.
A. Gmeiner, C. Morawetz. Boosting nature’s regulatory effects on emotion: An fMRI investigation of guided nature exposure.
C. Grammenou, C. Morawetz. Strengthening cognitive control to improve emotion regulation.
G. Lapomarda, C. Morawetz. Emotion regulation as a proactive buffer: behavioral and neural effects on subsequent stress responses. 8th European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Meeting.
C. Morawetz. Emotion regulation in social contexts: When we turn to others.
C. Morawetz, L. Marchesini. The E2 Atlas: A large-scale normative database of self-transcendent emotions in nature imagery.
N. Wehner, C. Morawetz. Navigating Frustration: Neural insights into emotion regulation mechanisms.
Paiva, Tiago O.; Amaoui, Sofia; Pasion, Rita; Dugré, Jules; Pérez-Garcia, Miguel; Morawetz, Carmen; Lozano-Ruíz, Alvaro; Ferreira-Santos, Fernando; Sánchez-Rodriguez, María Dolores; Pérez-Cámara, Noelia; Marín Morales, Agar; Hoffmann, Teresa; Verdejo-Román, Juan; Buades-Rotger, Macià; Brazil, Inti
