David Eagleman, Director, Department of Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry; Founder/Director of BMC's Initiative on Neuroscience and Law, Baylor College of Medicine.

"The Brain and the Law"

Emerging questions at the interface of law and neuroscience challenge our fundamental notions of free-will and the presumptions that lie at the heart of criminality and punishment. Is it a legitimate defense, for example, to claim that a brain tumor or unique neural wiring "made you do it"? Will neuroscience inform sentencing decisions by offering a better prediction of recidivism? Can novel technologies such as brain imaging be leveraged for new methods of rehabilitation? If most behaviors are driven by systems of the brain that we cannot control, how should the law assess responsibility? Dr. Eagleman directs Baylor College of Medicine's Initiative on Neuroscience and Law , which brings together a unique collaboration of neurobiologists, legal scholars, and policy makers, with the goal of building modern, evidence-based policy.