Humans

by then. Geschwind, however, made me see that my two real interests — biology and the workings of the human mind — could be combined quite effectively under the same roof. It was only a glimpse of a far away horizon, but the sight was so attractive that I never looked back. If you knew what you know today, would you still pursue the same career? I would like to think so, yes, with some variations of emphasis and method. When I began work on experimental neuropsychology, modern neuroimaging had not yet been invented and we relied on indirect brain measures. It took some fortitude to keep working on a field that many regarded as unfashionable. But I stuck with it (and so did my wife, Hanna) and when brain scanners were invented in short order, we were ready to use them. I wonder if I would have had the wisdom — or guts — to stick to my choice if I was starting today, in comparable circumstances. What is the best advice you have ever been given? Work on problems that you really enjoy and dedicate yourself to questions you really care to see answered. Don't follow fashion. Unfortunately, more often than not, young scientists are advised to follow fashion, go where the money is, and so forth. Awful advice. What is your greatest ambition in research? To contribute to the comprehensive elucidation of the biology of emotions and feelings — which requires linking up molecular and cellular mechanisms to larger systems, connecting them to behavioral and mental descriptions, and in turn to social and cultural phenomena. The task is rather daunting, and it is not the job for one single team, let alone a single person. But given a proper amount of healthy collaborations I believe it is doable. The impact could be enormous, beginning with a more effective biomedical management of mental diseases and ending with biologically grounded and truly liberating conceptions of human nature. The latter could have a major social and cultural impact. The effective solution of human conflicts requires knowledge that can only come from a better understanding of the biology of emotions. Do you have a scientific hero, dead or alive? Most of my scientific heroes are alive, fortunately, but perhaps I should not offend their modesty by naming them (not to mention irritating those who would not be named). I do have …