Aron K. Barbey

Aron Keith Barbey (born January 6, 1977) is an American cognitive neuroscientist, who investigates the neural architecture of human intelligence and brain plasticity. Barbey is the Emanuel Donchin Professorial Scholar of Psychology and a Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois. He is director of the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and founding director of the Center for Brain Plasticity at the Beckman Institute, where he leads the Intelligence, Learning, and Plasticity (ILP) Initiative.

He has used both classical lesion methods and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques to better understand neural architecture and its relationship to intelligence. Barbey used lesion mapping to study Vietnam veterans who had suffered brain trauma. He was able to record diagnostic images of their brains and relate this anatomical data to their documented problems, creating a "brain atlas" linking cognitive functions to neural organization. He has suggested a framework called “structured event complex theory” that describes the inferential architecture of the prefrontal cortex.

His research group examines the effects of physical fitness, nutrition and cognitive neuroscience interventions (including TDCS) on brain health and intelligence across the human lifespan. In 2019, Barbey was awarded the Mensa Foundation Prize for his neuroscientific work studying human intelligence. Provided by Wikipedia