This is one of the most profound remaining scientific mysteries of the 21st century. We are currently at a crossroads, with new tools and techniques available in the cognitive neurosciences providing unprecedented opportunities to make headway in answering this fundamental question about the very nature of what it means to be human.

The research focus of the Institute for Mind and Brain at the University of South Carolina is to understand the structural and functional bases of higher cognitive processes (e.g., attention, perception, language and communication, memory, executive functions, thinking, action, motor control) in the human brain. Although members of the institute cover all of these topics, many members have interests in two particular areas: language and attention.

A complementary focus of the institute is the extension of basic findings in cognitive neuroscience to deficits in brain function resulting from a variety of types of cognitive impairment, including those due to stroke, closed-head injury, aging, and developmental disorders such as autism and dyslexia. Many institute members have special interest and expertise in stroke and stroke recovery.