Who we are
The Brain and Creativity Institute was founded by Antonio Damasio and Hanna Damasio in 2006. Since ancient times, thinkers and scientists have sought to explain how we perceive, interpret, and shape our existence. However, until very recently, researchers interested in these questions have had to rely entirely on conjecture or indirect evidence. Now, recent technological advances in brain imaging and fresh insights into the functioning of the human brain at the level of systems, cells and molecules, provide extraordinary new opportunities for uncovering the neurological underpinnings for a large array of mental functions – from emotion and decision-making to innovation and creativity.
Why is it important to take advantage of these opportunities? First, because of what it can tell us about human nature, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Second, and perhaps most urgently, because understanding the neurological basis of mental phenomena turns out to be indispensable for both medical and social progress, particularly in a globalized society defined by the most dramatic and rapid changes recorded in human history. The value of the resulting knowledge is beginning to be recognized.
For example, a significant part of the devastation caused by the most frequent brain disorders (from stroke and head injury to Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders) results from a compromise of emotion, decision-making, memory and communication, separately or cumulatively. Gathering new knowledge regarding the mechanisms behind these critical functions is thus indispensable to progress in medical diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of many brain conditions.
It is also apparent that emotion, decision-making, memory and communication, are central to our most fundamental socio-cultural endeavors. Understanding the neurological workings of these functions within their sociocultural niche is likely to lead to novel practices in a variety of fields: education, business management, international relations and social communication, and technical and artistic innovation. Moreover, there is a growing awareness that a host of sociocultural factors (e.g., education; the use of advanced technologies; patterns of employment and migration), interacting with genetics and other biological factors, not only affect well-being but play a role in the development of several diseases. A deeper understanding of brain function will open the way for investigating the largely unexplored interaction of “biological” and “sociocultural” phenomena in the mechanisms of human disease. This applies to traditional “physical” conditions, such as hypertension and infectious diseases, and to “mental” conditions, such as depression, sociopathy, and drug addiction. The relevance of such understanding to public health is apparent.
Seizing these opportunities, and drawing on partners from the social sciences, the humanities, and several professional disciplines, the Brain and Creativity Institute is launching a unique, framework for tackling issues ranging from the personal (such as individual health problems), to the societal and global (such as education as well as political and ethnic conflict). The Institute is a groundbreaking effort to make use of important new discoveries from the mind and brain sciences and confront pressing issues of our time.
