Antonio Damasio

Originally educated at the University of Lisbon medical school, Antonio Damasio is the current David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at University of Southern California, where he also acts as director of the Brain and Creativity Institute. Most notably, Damasio is credited with formulating what is known as the Somatic Marker Hypothesis. Contrary to dominant 20th-century ideas of psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Damasio’s hypothesis suggests that emotions play an important role in high-level cognition. Therefore, much of his research aims to find a relationship between human emotions, human rationality, and the underlying biology.