Cusco as an Emerging Andean Research Hub

Neuroscience, territory, and situated science in the Andes

Before continuing, try a simple thought experiment.

Imagine two places where the human brain is studied.

The first:
a major research center in Europe or the United States.

The second:
a city in the Andes at more than 3,300 meters above sea level, surrounded by mountains, with thousands of years of cultural history.

That city is Cusco.

For much of modern scientific history, knowledge production has been concentrated in a small number of institutions in the Global North. However, in recent decades something new has begun to emerge:

regional scientific hubs are developing in different parts of the world.

In Latin America, one of the regions with growing potential is the Andean scientific corridor, where cities such as Cusco are beginning to develop interdisciplinary research initiatives linking neuroscience, anthropology, physiology, and environmental science.

The scientific context of Cusco

Cusco presents several unique characteristics that make it scientifically relevant.

Among them:

• high altitude (chronic moderate hypoxia)

• rich Andean cultural traditions

• historical continuity from pre-Columbian civilizations such as the Inca

• strong relationships between territory, ecology, and social organization

These conditions make the Andes a natural environment for studying interactions between:

• brain physiology

• environmental adaptation

• cultural cognition

• social organization

Recent analyses of scientific development in Peru suggest that universities and emerging research centers are expanding their capacity in fields such as cognitive science, neuroscience, and interdisciplinary environmental research (Gutiérrez & López, 2022).

Experiment 1 — The brain at high altitude

Imagine living permanently at 3,000–3,500 meters above sea level.

The air contains significantly less oxygen.

The human body must adapt.

Known physiological adaptations include:

• increased ventilation

• higher hemoglobin concentrations

• adjustments in cerebral blood flow

Research on Andean populations has shown long-term physiological adaptations to hypoxic environments, influencing oxygen delivery and metabolic regulation in the brain (Beall, 2021; Julian & Moore, 2023).

For neuroscience, this makes high-altitude regions particularly interesting for studying brain physiology under natural hypoxic conditions.

Experiment 2 — Culture, memory, and landscape

Cusco is not only a geographical environment.

It is also a deeply cultural territory.

Andean societies developed sophisticated systems of agriculture, architecture, and territorial organization centuries before European colonization.

Research in cognitive anthropology suggests that in many Andean communities, memory, identity, and knowledge are closely linked to the landscape and territorial practices (Allen, 2022).

In this perspective, territory is not merely physical space.

It becomes a relational system connecting community, environment, and knowledge.

Experiment 3 — Beyond WEIRD populations

For decades, much of psychology and cognitive neuroscience relied heavily on participants from WEIRD populations:

Western
Educated
Industrialized
Rich
Democratic

These populations represent only a small fraction of global human diversity.

Researchers in Latin America have increasingly emphasized the need to expand scientific research to include diverse cultural and ecological contexts (Ibáñez et al., 2023).

Regions such as the Andes offer important opportunities to investigate how cognition and physiology interact with:

• environmental conditions

• cultural practices

• social organization.

Cusco therefore represents an important location for developing situated neuroscience in Latin America.

Cusco and the future of Andean neuroscience

Strengthening research infrastructure in Andean cities could open new research directions in areas such as:

• cognition at high altitude

• human physiological adaptation

• cultural influences on cognition

• intercultural education and learning

Integrating neuroscience with anthropology, physiology, and environmental sciences may provide a broader understanding of how human cognition emerges in specific ecological and cultural contexts.

Such developments also contribute to strengthening Latin American scientific production and reducing the historical dependence on research models centered exclusively in the Global North.

A final experiment

Return to the beginning.

Imagine Cusco again.

The mountains.

The agricultural terraces.

The stone streets.

Now imagine researchers conducting experiments there using modern technologies such as:

• EEG

• fNIRS

• physiological monitoring of high-altitude adaptation.

The future of neuroscience may not exist only in large global laboratories.

It may also emerge in places where territory, culture, and science intersect.

And in that evolving scientific landscape, Cusco may become an important emerging Andean research hub.

References

Beall, C. M. (2021). Adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia in Andean populations. Annual Review of Anthropology.

Gutiérrez, M., & López, J. (2022). Scientific development and research capacity in Peruvian universities. Latin American Research Review.

Ibáñez, A., Sedeño, L., García, A. M., & Pineda, J. A. (2023). Neuroscience in Latin America: Toward a more inclusive and collaborative scientific landscape. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Julian, C. G., & Moore, L. G. (2023). Human genetic adaptation to high altitude. High Altitude Medicine & Biology.

Allen, C. J. (2022). The Hold Life Has: Coca and Cultural Identity in an Andean Community. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Valdés, J. L., et al. (2021). Neuroscience development in Latin America: Challenges and opportunities. Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Fernández-Theoduloz, G. (2024). Research in Latin America from a decolonial perspective: Challenges of producing socially situated knowledge. Latin American Research Review.