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Joseph E. LeDoux, Ph.D.

Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science; Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, New York University; Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine; Director, The Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research
Joseph E. LeDoux, Ph.D.

Specialty Area(s): Neural basis of emotion and memory.

A world renowned researcher in the study of the brain mechanisms of emotion, Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D. is the Director of the Emotional Brain Institute at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research. His work at the EBI aims to build on his past groundbreaking research using animal models to unlock the secrets of emotions, especially fear and anxiety. He currently serves on numerous editorial boards including Annual Review of Psychology, Behavioral Brain Research, Cognitive Systems Research, Journal of Neuroscience, Learning and Memory, Brain and Mind, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Neuron, Neuro-Psychoanalysis, and Neuropsychologia. His books, The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self, have been translated into numerous languages and are used to guide researchers and clinicians in their efforts to understand and treat emotions. 

Dr. LeDoux is the recipient of several awards including the Fyssen Foundation International Prize, Research Scientist Award (KO5) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Paul Hoch Award from the American Psychopathological Association, the Merit Award from the NIMH, the Research Scientist Development Award (KO2) from the NIMH, the Margaret and Louis Sokol Faculty Award in the Sciences from New York University, and the Jean Louis Signoret Prize from the NIMH.

He received his B.S. and M.S. from Louisiana State University and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York.

In the News

Erase Traumatic Memories (and Achieve Your Own "Eternal Sunshine")
Dr. LeDoux spoke to Big Think about his research into memory formation, including his findings targeting and eliminating certain memories in rats. (August 4, 2010)

Rockin' Scientists: NYU Brain Researchers Put Down Their Data Sets, Then Get Down With Their Rock Band

Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., writes about playing in a rock band with his NYU colleagues for Scientific American. (June 28, 2010)

Snakes on the Brain 

Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., spoke to US News & World Report about an experiment where researchers convinced volunteers to bring a slithery serpent within centimeters of their heads while they lay trapped in a brain scanner, offering a glimpse into the courageous brain. (June 24, 2010)