University Kicks Off Decade of the Mind

This past May, Mason’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study hosted a two-day Decade of the Mind Symposium. The meeting brought together leading researchers from varied disciplines of brain study, including neuroscience, neurobiology, computer science, psychology, robotics, and economics, to discuss the urgent need for a long-term initiative regarding brain research.

As its name suggests, the Decade of the Mind will be an ongoing, significant project for Jim Olds, Krasnow director, and his staff.

“The brain is the seat of who we are as individuals. It is also the key part of the human body for defining whether we are alive,” says Olds. “If we want to understand how humans can create music, write plays, invent machines, and suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s, then we must study brain function.”

According to Olds, the university can play a key role in that study. “Mason has tremendous depth in the field of integrative or systems neuroscience, as recognized recently by a former president of the Society for Neuroscience,” says Olds. “Mason’s Krasnow Institute was founded by some of the world’s leading scientists to study brain function within the context of human cognition. In fact, Mason’s leadership in this area was what prompted federal agencies to ask the university to host the kickoff event for the Decade of the Mind.”