Research Groups
DIBS programmatic initiatives recognize the need to focus resources on key areas, to be broad enough to engage the full spectrum of the brain sciences that exist at Duke, and to be flexible enough to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise. To meet these objectives, the institute supports the development of DIBS Research Groups—which include faculty, postdocs, students and staff from across campus who are united by a common interest in an area of brain science that is especially suited to advancement by interdisciplinary study. Each research group is expected to develop a balanced program that promotes research addressing both fundamental and translational issues. Our vision is that successful research groups will develop into self-supporting centers that derive substantial funding for research and training from federal, private, and corporate sponsors.
We currently have three Research/Working Groups: Neurohumanities, Addiction, and Cognitive and Affective Control.
Neurohumanities Research Group
Co-Sponsored by DIBS and the Franklin Humanities Institute
Co-conveners: Deborah Jenson (Romance Studies), Michael Platt (Neurobiology, School of Medicine and the DIBS Center for Cognitive Neuroscience), Lasana Harris (Psychology & Neuroscience)
This research group brings humanists and neuroscientists into sustained dialogue on issues that concern both groups equally but are researched and taught with different discourses, methodologies, and technologies. Although the divide between the humanities and the biological sciences is beginning to be crossed, the ultimate form and canon of what neurohumanities might be remains to be determined. We believe that Duke can be an international leader in this enterprise and powerfully shape the definition and scope of this new trans-discipline. The Neurohumanities Research Group (NRG) capitalizes on Duke’s strengths in humanities, including the Franklin Humanities Institute, and the neurosciences, including the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, to develop a common language of discourse, generate new research questions, and create new educational initiatives exploring this now-approachable frontier. Membership in the NRG is open to faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and staff at Duke.
To subscribe to the NRG listserv: “neurohumanities@duke.edu” please do the following:
Go to https://lists.duke.edu/sympa/subscribe/neurohumanities,
DIBS Addiction Research Group (DIBS-ARG)
A group promoting interactions among basic, clinical, behavioral, epidemiological, sociological, and public policy scientists who are engaged in research or clinical intervention and treatment of any form of addiction: substances, food, gambling, etc.
Addiction in its many forms has adverse consequences for individuals, families and society. A highly complex behavioral disorder, addiction is mediated by and has effects on diverse processes including learning, memory, motivation, reward, affect, and decision making. Moreover, addiction results from a diverse array of interacting causal factors including genes, socioeconomic status, drug availability, cultural practices, family, and peers. Finally, addiction is a dynamic process that unfolds across development and involves multiple stages ranging from initiation, maintenance, dependence, quitting, lapse and relapse. The DIBS-ARG is the first step in helping to build a community of scientists with shared interests in the neural mechanisms responsible for addictive behaviors, the development of effective treatments for these disorders, and the design of effective prevention programs. Membership in DIBS-ARG is open to faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and staff at Duke.
- DIBS-ARG has an active monthly Translational Addiction Seminar Series.
Join DIBS-ARG! As a subscriber, you will be informed about upcoming DIBS/Duke events—workshops, seminars, journal clubs—that are especially relevant to addiction research. In addition, the DIBS-ARG plans to build a communication tool that will facilitate the sharing of equipment, reagents, techniques and ideas among addiction investigators at Duke. Fill out the form here.
DIBS Cognitive and Affective Control Research Group (DIBS-CAC)
A group for those interested in cognitive and affective control, including memory, attention, perception, decision making, emotion, and motivation.
The study of control processes has become a common theme across cognitive, affective, and translational neuroscience. Although researchers in these domains investigate important aspects of memory, emotion, attention, and other functions in terms of different bottom-up, relatively automatized processes, a recent major focus of all these fields is the study of the top-down mechanisms coordinated by frontal and parietal regions that control, monitor, and modulate these cognitive functions. As a result, concepts and theories regarding cognitive and affective control processes are becoming the lingua franca that allows communications across different research domains in cognitive and affective neuroscience, as well as with translational and clinical applications. Thus, the study of control processes provides an ideal overarching framework for fostering synergies across these domains, which is the main goal of the DIBS-CAC Research Group. This group has an active seminar series and a bi-weekly journal club, with membership open to anyone (students, staff, and faculty) interested in this aspect of the brain sciences.
- For 2011-2012, the Cognition and Its Disorders seminar/journal club series sponsored by DIBS will join forces with the Cognition: Then and Now seminar series sponsored by P&N in an interleaved format on Fridays at noon, and is now called “Cognitive Fridays.” Lunch will be provided. Check back soon for the new schedule.
Join DIBS-CAC!
To subscribe to “dibs-cac@duke.edu”, please do the following:
Research Themes
Our four research themes are:
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