Mission of the Lab

Research in the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab examines the neurobiological, epigenetic, and psychological mechanisms underlying affective and social interpersonal processes. Specifically, we study the role of empathy, perspective-taking, moral decision-making, and emotion in social interaction. We also investigate the neuro-development of these processes in typically developing babies, children and adolescents using the latest brain imaging and electrophysiological techniques.

Because various psychopathologies are characterized by deficits in interpersonal sensitivity, we further explore dysfunctions in the biopsychological mechanisms underpinning social and emotional information processing in children and adults with developmental and personality disorders including aggressive conduct disorder, antisocial behavior, and psychopathy.

This multi-level integrative approach, bridging affective neuroscience, neurobiology, genetics, developmental science, social, and personality psychology, has the unique potential for generating new hypotheses concerning social emotional disorders and contributes to our understanding and treatment of abnormal human social behavior.