{"id":135,"date":"2023-01-19T22:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T06:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bci\/?page_id=135"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:24:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:24:29","slug":"home-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bci\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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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 \u2014 from feelings, consciousness, language, and decision-making, to the invention expressed in the arts, sciences and technology. Antonio and Hanna Damasio founded the Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI) to capitalize on such advances.<\/p>\n

The BCI research program is organized around thematic centers and laboratories as noted below. The respective leaders are noted in brackets.<\/p>\n

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  1. The Center for Consciousness Studies<\/em>, which investigates the neurobiological basis for human consciousness. It includes studies on the comparison of natural and artificial intelligences (A and H Damasio);<\/li>\n
  2. The Center for Music, Brain and Society<\/em>, which focuses on the mechanisms underlying music processing and their relation to brain development (Assal Habibi);<\/li>\n
  3. The Addiction and Self Control Laboratory<\/em>, dedicated to the individual and social aspects of the addictions (John Monterosso);<\/li>\n
  4. The Center for the Neuroscience of Embodied Cognition<\/em> explores the neuroscience of human\/Artificial Intelligence interactions; the fact that metaphors are embodied; and the relationships of the gut microbiome to brain function (Lisa Aziz-Zadeh);<\/li>\n
  5. The Center for Brain and Society<\/em>, which addresses the neurobiology related to ethics and the law, <\/em>as well as the biological processes related to economical and political systems (Jonas Kaplan and Antonio Damasio);<\/li>\n
  6. The Center for <\/em>Psychedelic Science <\/em>is dedicated to understanding how psychedelic compounds and contemplative practices transform the mind and reshape the brain, both as therapeutic tools and as windows into the nature of human consciousness (Rael Cahn, Jonas Kaplan and Assal Habibi).<\/li>\n
  7. The BCI Center for Education (CANDLE)<\/em>: A science-informed center dedicated to innovative teaching practices and the transformation of adolescent education (MH Immordino-Yang).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Results from the Institute\u2019s ongoing research are relevant to elucidating the human condition but also have applications in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, the study of child development, and the vast field of education. For example:<\/p>\n