Sloan Scholar, Fulbright Fellow, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience, Jim Fallon looks at the way nature and nurture intermingle to wire up the human brain.

Why you should listen

Jim Fallon has taught neuroscience and psychiatry grand rounds at the University of California Irvine for thirty-five years. Through research he explores the way genetic and perinatal environmental factors affect the way the brain gets built -- and then how an individual's experience further shapes his or her development. He lectures and writes on creativity, consciousness and culture, and has made key contributions to our understanding of adult stems and stroke, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Only lately has Fallon turned his research toward the subject of psychopaths -- particularly those who kill. With PET scans and EEGs, he's beginning to uncover the deep, underlying traits that make people violent and murderous. In his talk at TEDDIY at TED@PalmSprings, he shared a surprise discovery about his own family that prompted him to bring his work home.

Watch his followup talk from The Moth at the 2011 World Science Festival >>

What others say

“I am interested in the neural circuitry and genetics of creativity, artistic talent, psychopathology, criminal behavior, and levels of consciousness.” — Jim Fallon

Jim Fallon’s TED talk

More news and ideas from Jim Fallon

Jim Fallon on CBS' Criminal Minds tonight!

November 18, 2009

Via the TEDActive Blog: At last year’s Palm Springs experience, neuroscientist Jim Fallon gave a chilling talk on the biology of psychopathic killers. Tonight he will appear in an episode of the popular CBS series Criminal Minds, playing himself and addressing the potential for genetic tragedy in chronically war-torn areas of the world. The episode, […]

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