By Dennis Molfese, Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology, Director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, Neuroscience and Behavior and Development Programs
Dennis Molfese, Thompson Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior
and Developmental Programs, Director of the Center for Brain, Biology and
Behavior, checks out the new Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging equipment.
The Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior (CB3) is an interdisciplinary research center that includes 46 state-of-the-art brain imaging, genetic, vestibular/balance, endocrine and behavioral research laboratories. The center houses three different brain-imaging systems, which include high-density electroencephalography (EEG), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The center’s MRI is the only system in the world that simultaneously records high-density EEG and eye tracking information.
The nine core faculty members housed within the center come from the Departments of Psychology, Political Science, and Children, Youth and Family Studies. The center also will accommodate up to 90 affiliated scientists from around Nebraska. These researchers are using state-of-the-art research tools to conduct pioneering research into areas such as concussion, autism, learning disabilities, social-cultural issues, Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.
The nearly 30,000-square-foot facility has faculty offices, communal laboratory spaces, meeting rooms and a conference center. The open, collaborative philosophy of the center is reflected in its design. The glass-walled offices and open floor plan allow easy access to colleagues and open working spaces for uninterrupted collaborative discussions.
Because the center is on the east side of Memorial Stadium, research efforts within the center will continue to foster collaborative academic research already underway with the University of Nebraska Athletic Department. The center is connected via a sky bridge to the new Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory, which also was constructed as part of the Memorial Stadium expansion project.