Sapien Labs is Transforming Global Neuroscience from India

Dr. Shailender Swaminathan, spokesperson and head of the lab, and his team are reimagining how the world understands the human mind—not from elite labs or Western institutions, but by embedding neuroscience into the daily lives of ordinary people.

The lab’s flagship initiative, “Mental Health Million”, has already become a global authority on population-level mental wellbeing, spanning more than 70 countries. But its most radical work is happening in India, where thousands of EEG scans are collected not in labs, but in real-life settings—from rural villages to urban slums—across all income groups and occupations. The goal: to map how lifestyle, diet, and digital behavior shape the brain.

“Our environment shapes our brain. Studying only Western undergraduates misses the real picture,” says Dr. Shailender Swaminathan, a trained economist turned neuroscientist, leading one of the largest global datasets connecting human experience to brain function.

Sapien Labs is proving that neuroscience is not just for the wealthy or elite. With a cost of under ₹10,000 per participant—compared to over ₹3 lakh in studies like ABCD in the U.S.—they show that rigorous, large-scale brain research is feasible in low- and middle-income countries.

Their research reveals troubling links: ultra-processed foods, low intake of fruits and vegetables, and excessive smartphone use are not just lifestyle choices—they directly influence brain function. Yet global mental health policies rarely consider these environmental factors.

Sapien Labs is challenging conventional thinking. Instead of simply asking, “Are you depressed?”, their studies examine attention, connection, self-worth, sleep, and trauma, creating a holistic picture of mental wellbeing.

Beyond India, the lab is piloting low-cost, high-quality EEG data collection in Tanzania, democratizing neuroscience for the Global South, while offering scalable alternatives to Western lab-focused research. In the U.S., they have tested EEG before and after phone-free summer camps for teenagers, showing the impact of interventions in real time. In India, their next goal is influencing public policy, not just therapy access, but preventing mental breakdowns before they start.

“We’re aiming to do for mental health what the Framingham Study did for heart disease,” says Dr. Shailender Swaminathan. With over 4,300 EEG scans already collected in India and 10,000 more projected annually, Sapien Labs is building the subcontinent’s largest neurophysiological dataset.

They argue that mental wellbeing should be considered critical infrastructure, as important as roads, water, and electricity. “Imagine if every country had a brain health dashboard. Mental resilience would be a civic asset,” adds Dr. Shailender Swaminathan.

In a world increasingly burdened by anxiety, digital overload, and isolation, Sapien Labs is redefining mental health. Their work blends science with empathy, data with human experience, and shows that wellbeing is shaped not just by therapy, but by how we live, eat, connect, and interact with the world.