Center for Law, Brain & Behavior

The impact of neuroscience on law, mental health care, finance and public policy has increased exponentially and eventually will touch each and every one of us. The Center for Law, Brain & Behavior (CLBB) at Massachusetts General Hospital promotes the sound translation of brain-based and behavioral science into law, finance and public policy. The center maximizes its impact through engagement with the brightest researchers across many disciplines to work collaboratively on these problems.

Neuroscience is transforming our ability to fundamentally understand ourselves and one another. The CLBB brings together research from the following fields to increase our understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships between brain functioning and behavior:

• Neurology
• Psychiatry and psychology
• Cognitive neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

As our findings accumulate, judges and policymakers, looking for clear answers and practical metrics, will be asked to draw conclusions about personal responsibility and individual decision-making capacity using this new information.

The Center for Law, Brain and Behavior addresses these challenges by:

• Monitoring relevant brain discoveries
• Promoting neuroscience that is responsible, ethical and scientifically sound
• Discouraging premature or inappropriate use of scientific findings

CLBB Newsletters Archive