Antonio and Hanna Damasio
Photo Credit: Tom Langdon
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Creative Minds
Damasios join faculty
By Nicole St. Pierre
January 2005
When it comes to creativity, USC College has the market cornered.
In fall 2005, Antonio and Hanna Damasio, two eminent neuroscientists,
will join USC as professors of psychology and neuroscience where they
will lead a new institute devoted to the study of the brain and human
creativity.
Scholars have long researched how creativity can be taught and
nurtured, but the Damasios have expanded the definition of “creative”
to include some unexpected concepts.
“Creativity is not just about the creation of an art object, or a piece
of music, or a film, or the creation of a scientific project, but also
about the creation of social relations and of cultural institutions,”
says Antonio Damasio. “People rarely associate these latter areas with
creativity, but anytime we produce something new, be it an
architectural drawing, classroom curriculum, or a new approach to a
business problem, the creative process is at work.”
Studying things like economics, education and governance from a
neurobiological perspective has rarely been done. But pioneering
something new, be it a concept, a research finding, or another
best-seller, is what the Damasios are known for.
Their professional careers have been steeped in creative moments. A
distinguished physician, Antonio Damasio’s research on the neurobiology
of the mind has had a major influence on our current understanding of
the neural systems that underlie emotion, memory, language,
decision-making and consciousness. His work has shown that
emotions play a central role in human decision-making. His books on the
mind include Descartes' Error; The Feeling of What Happens; and Looking for Spinoza. They are widely read by the lay public as well as by scientists.
Through basic research, medical case studies and philosophical
analysis, he has investigated the biological roots of consciousness and
helped to reveal its role in survival. His work has spanned many fields
and includes studies of Alzheimer’s and other human diseases.
And there’s his equally creative wife Hanna Damasio, a neurologist and
neuroscientist acclaimed for developing new brain imaging techniques
and imaging methods in the study of brain lesions. She is the author of
the first atlas of the brain based on computerized images, Human Brain Anatomy in Computerized Image. A second edition is due for release in early 2005. Her award-winning book Lesion Analysis in Neuropsychology is widely used in brain imaging work.
They come to USC College from the University of Iowa College of
Medicine, where Hanna Damasio, Distinguished Professor of Neurology,
directed the Laboratory for Human Neuroanatomy and Neuroimaging and
developed a prominent research center dedicated to the investigation of
language and other aspects of behavior and cognition.
"The Damasios’ vision, scientific leadership and breadth of knowledge
in modern neurobiology will allow us to ask and answer new questions
about the human mind and behavior," says Joseph Aoun, dean of the
College. “They will be vital catalysts in our quest to unlock the
mysteries of the mind and to better understand higher brain functions,
including creativity, learning, memory, consciousness and language."
Both Damasios are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences;
he is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Sciences, the Neurosciences Research Program and the European Academy
of Arts and Sciences. Individually and together they have
received numerous scientific awards.
“USC College has the sort of vibrant academic environment where
one can dream of brain science and the humanities coming together to
produce a better future,” says Antonio Damasio, who will direct the USC
Institute for the Study of the Brain and Creativity.
The interdisciplinary institute will examine how knowledge from modern
neurobiology can contribute to the elucidation of the creative process
and how such knowledge can assist individuals and institutions in the
betterment of human affairs—namely through the resolution of human
conflict and through education.
The core of the institute is a laboratory focused on mind and behavior.
Hanna Damasio will direct the laboratory and work closely with the USC
Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, which
she will co-direct.
"The new brain imaging methods offer unprecedented possibilities for
the study of human nature,”she says. “But for those studies to
succeed neuroscience must form partnerships with, for example, the
social sciences, engineering, and psychology. The structure and
faculty of USC are ideal for such collaborations.”
The institute will approach three themes from a neurobiological perspective.
By looking at the broad topic of governance, scientists will examine
how social emotions contribute to the understanding of economic,
business and political institutions, including their ethical dimensions
in the age of globalization.
The theme of artistic and scientific creativity will analyze the
creative process that goes into the production of films, music,
literature, the visual arts and architecture. By approaching this area
from a neuroscience standpoint, the Damasios may look at why some
people are more creative in certain areas than in others.
Under the theme of education, scientists will investigate how
neuroscience can be applied to improve the way classroom curriculum is
designed. By studying the learning process from a neurobiological
perspective, they may gleam new insights that teachers can then adapt
to their educational technique and curriculum.
“The possibilities for exploration are practically limitless,” says Antonio Damasio.
Adds Dean Aoun, "Because the study of the mind and human behavior does
not fall within the domain of a single discipline, scholars from across
the USC campus, from neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, and the
schools of cinema, education and communication, will be actively
involved in this cutting-edge area of research that has important
societal implications.”
Both Damasios are graduates of the University of Lisbon Medical School
and adjunct professors at the Salk Institute in La Jolla. They
join USC as part of the College’s Senior Faculty Hiring Initiative, a
drive to bring 100 senior level scholars to USC. Just two years
after announcing the bold initiative, the College has recruited 55
senior scholars to campus.
“This highly interdisciplinary approach to brain science will no doubt lead to extraordinary discoveries,” says Aoun.
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