In the same way that microscopes and telescopes have allowed scientists to explore the mysteries of cells and the cosmos more deeply, a new research instrument based in the College of Human Ecology promises to reveal many of the hidden factors driving human behavior. The device, a powerful 3-tesla MRI machine, is enabling new areas of research at the confluence of the social, biological, and physical sciences.

By allowing the college’s behavioral scientists to peer inside working brains, the technology will help them to generate new insights into the development and function of the brain—a massively complex organ that researchers are only beginning to decode. Cornell scientists, by linking the biological mechanisms of the brain to behavior, are making important discoveries related to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, risk-taking and decision-making, and overall cognitive health and development. Read more