Antonio and Hanna Damasio, professors of neurology from the University of Iowa College of Medicine, will come to USC in fall 2005 to help launch the Institute of the Study of Brain and Creativity.
The institute will research how people react in social situations, said Alan Watts, director of the neuroscience program.
This ranges from governance, artistic and scientific creativity to education.
For example, the institute will find out how social emotions contribute to the understanding of economics, business and political institution, wrote Joseph Aoun, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, in an e-mail.
Other areas of research will include discovering why some people are more creative in arts than others and how to improve the classroom curriculum by studying the learning process from the neurobiology perspective.
The new institute will work in concert with the existing imaging center program, Watts said.
The Damasios' expertise will give the neuroscience program a new component, he said.
"The Damasios understand both experimental and clinical neuroscience, they can bridge the gap between these two fields," Watts said.
The Damasios, who are married, will work on research at the institute.
Antonio Damasio will head the new institute while Hanna Damasio will co-direct the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, which is located near Seeley G. Mudd Building.
Antonio is currently the head of neurology while Hanna is the director of the Laboratory for Human Neuroanatomy and Neuroimaging at the University of Iowa.
The new institute will focus on the study of mind and behavior and try to relate neuroscience with humanity. This new branch of the study of brain and creativity hopes to develop intercampus research, Aoun wrote.
"Because the study of mind and human 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," Aoun wrote.
Of all areas of research, scientists do not know much about the brain, but much progress has been made in neuroscience within the last 20 years, Watts said.
"We did not know that genes are involved with the controlling and development of brain in the past, but now we are sure about this," Watts said.
In the future, neuroscience could possibly unlock the mysteries of the intricacies on how exactly mind works.
"In order to generate (an) image, the brain does that by millions of neurons talking to each other, exchanging information," Watts said.
"We are looking for the ability to determine what is going on with this large group of neurons," he said.
Aoun also sees the capability for the institute to possibly be able to make large strides in the research of neuroscience.
"The possibilities for exploration in this area are practically limitless," Aoun wrote.
The Damasios are currently in Europe and could not be reached for comment.
