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The goal of cognitive neuroscience is to understand how the physical
mechanisms of the brain give rise to the functions of the mind.
The emergence of this new field represents the convergence of two
disciplines that, over the past several decades, have functioned
relatively independently of one another, with neuroscientists focusing
on the brain, and psychologists on the mind. The recent convergence
of their efforts has occurred as the result of remarkable new developments
in technologies for investigating the functioning brain:
(1) We can manipulate specific genes that regulate neural development
and function, and determine what effect such manipulations have
on behavior. (2) We are now able to record the activity of multiple
individual brain cells as an animal performs a complex task.
(3) We can now measure regional brain activity in normal, conscious
human subjects while they perform cognitive tasks. (4) We can
use dramatic increases in computing power to simulate the functioning
of neural networks, which allows us to analyze their behavior
and better understand how they give rise to cognitive processes.
These new methods are likely to produce dramatic advances in
our understanding of the brain mechanisms that allow us to learn
and remember, reason and solve problems, and make decisions
that are affected by both thought and emotion.
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Mission Statement
The fundamental goal of the Center for the Study of Brain, Mind, and
Behavior (CSBMB) is to establish an integrated continuum of research
on the relationship of brain and mind. In pursuing this scientific
mission, the CSBMB embraces a multi-disciplinary, multi-methodological,
and multi-institutional approach that draws on expertise and advances
in mathematics, physics, chemistry, molecular biology, neuroscience,
and psychology.
The specific scientific focus of CSBMB research is on the neural
bases of higher mental functions; that is, the brain mechanisms
by which memory, thought and action are integrated and controlled
by higher level goals, and modulated by states of arousal, motivation,
and emotion. These mechanisms of integration, control and modulation
are central to higher mental processes, such as our ability
to direct attention, hold information in short term memory or
retrieve it from long term memory, reason through a problem,
make complex decisions, and plan a course of future action.
By capitalizing on its existing strengths in the areas of attention,
memory, reasoning, and decision making, the CSBMB seeks to be
a leader in basic cognitive neuroscientific research on higher
mental function.
CSBMB investigators come from a broad community of academic
and industrial institutions, including Princeton
University, Rutgers University,
Bell Laboratories at Lucent
Technologies, the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and pharmaceutical
companies in the central and northern New Jersey area.
These investigators use diverse methods, including behavioral,
functional neuroimaging, neurophysiological, genetic, and computational
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techniques, coupled with the development of advanced methods for signal
processing, mathematical and statistical analysis. These methods are
described in greater detail on the Research Approaches
page, which provides pointers to pages for individual laboratories
describing their specific foci of scientific interest.
Some of the most important and exciting areas of progress in cognitive
neuroscience are developing at the boundaries between neuroscience
and psychology, driven by the new methodologies that are being generated
within these disciplines and related technical ones, such as physics,
chemistry, engineering and mathematics. Thus, there are two prerequisites
for successful efforts to integrate cognitive and brain research:
interdisciplinary collaboration, and the availability of advanced
technologies for studying the brain. The CSBMB is dedicated to meeting
both of these needs, through a rich program of interdisciplinary research
and activities, and the support of state-of-the-art facilities for
research at all levels of analysis. |
