Artists and philosophers have sought to explain human nature since antiquity. Today, new insights from biology and from the brain sciences bring us closer to that goal as we uncover the foundations for a large array of mental processes — from feelings, consciousness, language, and decision-making, to the invention expressed in the arts, sciences and technology. The Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) was founded to take advantage of such advances.
As envisioned by Antonio and Hanna Damasio, the design of the BCI reflects its mission. The faculty offices and research spaces sit next to the modern laboratories of the Dornsife Neuroimaging Center (DNI) which are dedicated to the scientific investigation of mind and brain, and to one of the oldest instruments used to explore the human mind: a classical auditorium (the Joyce J. Cammilleri Hall) devoted to music and theater performances, literary readings, scientific presentations, and also provides a unique setting for music-related research.
The BCI research program is organized around thematic Centers: the Center for Consciousness Studies which concerns the study of the neurobiological basis for human consciousness; the Center for the Study of Brain and Music which is responsible for the investigation of brain mechanisms underlying music processing and their relation to brain development; the Center for the Study of Brain and Society which concerns the investigation of brain processes responsible for social structures and behaviors such as ethics, law, economical and political systems.
Other research topics include the comparison of mechanisms responsible for Natural and Artificial Intelligences, and the investigation of language processing.
Results from the Institute’s ongoing research are relevant to elucidating the human condition but also have applications in (a) the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, (b) the study of child development, and (c) the vast field of education.