The Human Brain and Neuroplasticity

Jordan Grafman, PhD, is Director of Brain Injury Research and Chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University. He served as Chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for several decades. With more than 600 publications, Dr. Grafman currently focuses his research on the brain bases of belief and the brain networks supporting reward and reinforcement. He also provides leadership of the Vietnam Head Injury Study. Dr. Grafman is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Defense Meritorious Service Award, the National Institutes of Health Award of Merit, the National Institutes of Health Directors Award, and the Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.



Paolo Nichelli, MD, is a retired Full Professor of Neurology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Modena, Italy, and former Clinical Director of the Neuroscience Department at the SantAgostino-Estense Modena Hospital. Since the beginning of his career, his research has focused on clinical and experimental neuropsychology. As a Visiting Scientist in the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the early 1990s, Dr. Nichelli became interested in using functional neuroimaging methods, which he later helped implement in Modena. A founding member and past president of the Italian Society of Neuropsychology, Dr. Nichelli has published over 280 scientific articles and book chapters.