Michael Gazzaniga

Michael S. Gazzaniga is an American cognitive neuroscientist and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Gazzaniga received a Ph.D. in psychobiology from the California Institute of Technology, where he conducted research on human split-brain patients under Roger Sperry. As a graduate student, Gazzaniga initiated the first lateralized testing of human split-brain patients, contributing to a fundamental shift in the understanding of functional lateralization in the brain and interhemispheric communication.

Gazzaniga's pioneering analysis of patient responses to visual and tactile tests established the foundation for split-brain research, a field central to neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology. Alongside George A. Miller, Gazzaniga introduced the term "cognitive neuroscience," shaping the direction of brain science and interdisciplinary research. He founded the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis; the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College; the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute; the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience; and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society.

Gazzaniga has served as president of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, founding director of the MacArthur Foundation's Law and Neuroscience Project and the Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience, and as a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. He has advised various brain research institutes and served on the President's Council on Bioethics. Gazzaniga received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association and has held leadership roles in the American Psychological Society and major journals in cognitive neuroscience.

As an author, Gazzaniga has contributed to public understanding of neuroscience through books such as "The Social Brain," "Mind Matters," "Nature's Mind," "The Ethical Brain," and "Who's in Charge?" He is editor of "The Cognitive Neurosciences" book series, a key resource in the field, and author of "The Consciousness Instinct: Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes Mind." His memoir, "Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience," details his research on brain hemispheres and communication.

Gazzaniga has mentored numerous postdoctoral scholars and graduate students who hold prominent positions in neuroscience. His work spans consciousness, free will, and the architecture of the human mind, contributing to the advancement of cognitive neuroscience and public engagement with brain science.