Center For Mind, Brain, And Culture

We now recognize that our brains are more plastic than once imagined.  Research in neurobiology has shown that how our brains function is shaped by reciprocal influences between genetics, development, behavior, culture, and environment.  However, much of this research has been done in laboratory and clinical settings, without concurrent examination of how brains vary in the wild.  This talk will outline the field of neuroanthropology using prominent examples including addiction and balance, and then reflect on how this synergy of neuroscience and anthropology emerged out of the biocultural approach pioneered at Emory. November 13, 2014


What does it mean for a musician to “think musical thoughts”?  How does such thinking interact with processes that seem more like “feeling” than thinking? And how do both relate in real time to pre-established habits of thought and feeling, communal conventions regarding interpretation and performance, one’s own highly trained but flexible motor routines, and feedback from hearing oneself?  We look at such questions (as time permits) from the perspective of music study, rehearsal and performance, especially in small ensembles, where awareness of other performers’ roles and a sense of the musical whole are additional crucial factors.   Finally, how are all these factors coordinated in real time performance?  Who or what—if anything--is in charge? October 16, 2014


Thursday, 4:00 pm, PAIS 290 We have known for more than forty years that the brains of humans and other animals are sexually dimorphic. That is, there are reliable differences in the average size, shape, and connectivity of male and female brains. While the existence of neural sex differences is beyond dispute, their significance is controversial. What do neural sex differences mean for social norms, mental health, and the perennial argument about “nature vs. nurture”? This talk will focus on the neuroscience of sex differences. The speaker will describe how sex differences in the brain are typically studied and how the factors that influence their development have been identified. Gonadal hormones such as testosterone and estrogen play a major role in establishing sex differences. Yet at the same time, sex-typical experiences are also important in the development of male and female brains. That is, both hormones and hormone-driven experience seem to be necessary for the normal development and expression of s

Over a decade ago, I proposed that memory errors can b e classified into seven fundamental categories or "sins": transience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and persistence. During the past decade, much has been learned about each of the seven sins, especially as a result of research that has combined the methods of psychology and neuroscience. This presentation will provide an update on our current understanding of the seven sins, with a focus on the sins of absent-mindedness (failures of attention that result in memory errors) and misattribution (when information is mistakenly assigned to the wrong source, resulting in memory distrotions such as false recognition). I will discuss recent research on absent-mindedness that has examined the role of mind wandering in memory for lectures, and will present evidence indicating that interpolated testing can counter such absent-minded lapses. I will also discuss recent research that has clarified both cognitive and neural

The development of psychopathology occurs through the complex interplay of genes, experience, and the brain.  In this talk, I will describe a developmental neurogenetics approach to understanding the development of psychopathology.  In this approach, individual variability in genetic background is linked to neural function and subsequent risk and resilience through interactions with the environment. Guided by a developmental psychopathology framework, I will give examples of approaches to link genes, brain, behavior, and experience, with a particular emphasis on studies from my lab aimed at understanding the development of antisocial behavior (e.g., aggression, theft, and violation of serious rules). These examples highlight the role of serotonin genes on amygdala reactivity, the role of amygdala reactivity in antisocial behavior, and the importance of identifying subtypes of antisocial behavior such as callous-unemotional traits and psychopathy that may have different etiologies. September 24, 2014


The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

The Social Mind: A Festschrift Symposium Honoring Prof. Frans B. M. de Waal (September 19, 2014) Sponsored by the Department of Psychology, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Emory University.

Some things are easier to mix together than others.  There is the proverbial problem of mixing oil and water, but then there is also the smooth blending of coffee and cream.  Bringing together students from film studies and psychology in order to study theory of mind might best be described as midway between these extremes—for us the best metaphor is peanut butter and chocolate—not always easy to integrate, but the result is well worth it (as the Reese’s candy folks have shown). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in collaboration between the social sciences and the humanities.  Venerable humanities journals such as Style now publish reports on digital analyses of modern and classic texts as well as writings discussing the evolutionary significance of fiction.  Publications such as The Scientific Study of Literature and The Journal of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts have appeared.   It should come as no surprise that there is controversy surrounding these new "Reese’s Peanut Butter

‘Willusionists’ argue that science is discovering that free will is an illusion. Their arguments take a variety of forms, but they often suggest that if the brain is responsible for our actions, then we are not.  And they predict that ordinary people share this view.  I will discuss some evidence that most people do not think that free will or responsibility conflict with the possibility that our decisions could be perfectly predicted based on earlier brain activity.  I will consider why this possibility might appear problematic but why it shouldn’t.  Once we define free will properly, we see that neuroscience and psychology can help to explain how it works, rather than explain it away.  Human free will is allowed by a remarkable assembly of neuropsychological capacities, including imagination, control of attention, valuing, and ‘self-habituation’. September 17, 2014