Aron Keith Barbey

Biography

Aron Keith Barbey is the Mildred Francis Thompson Professor and serves as Director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, as well as the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He began his academic career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011, where he was promoted to full professor in the Departments of Psychology and Bioengineering in 2019. During his tenure at Illinois, Dr. Barbey held several leadership roles, including Founding Director of the Center for Brain Plasticity, Director of the Intelligence, Learning, and Plasticity Initiative, and Chair of the Intelligent Systems Major Research Theme at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Dr. Barbey’s research investigates how intelligence emerges from the network organization and dynamics of the human connectome, applying methods from cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, and computer science. His work aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the neural foundations of intelligence and to enable scientific innovation in cognitive enhancement, neurorehabilitation, and biologically inspired artificial intelligence.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Barbey’s research group has won more than $26 million in research funding, with support from organizations including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the White House BRAIN Initiative, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and private industry sponsors such as Abbott Nutrition, Google Brain, and PepsiCo.

Dr. Barbey has been recognized with multiple research awards, including the Mensa Foundation Prize for innovation in the neuroscience of human intelligence. He is the co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience and The Sage Handbook of Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience and serves as editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Enhancement and Brain Plasticity. In 2023, he joined the Defense Science Study Group at the Institute for Defense Analyses. 

Dr. Barbey earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from Emory University and completed a research fellowship in the Cognitive Neuroscience Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health.

Research Interests

Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Intelligence

The human brain is a system like no other, capable of applying knowledge and experience to solve the infinite variety of problems we encounter in life. But the brain doesn’t only solve familiar problems – it adapts to new environments, learns to discover and understand what was once unknown, and creates truly original solutions. Our research aims to understand how this capacity for general intelligence emerges from the network topology and dynamics of the human connectome. We investigate the nature of intelligence through an interdisciplinary lens, combining cognitive experimentation, high-resolution neuroimaging (3T and 7T MRI), computational modeling, and neuropsychological patient studies. By integrating these methods, we seek to bridge cognitive neuroscience with applications that inform both theory and clinical practice.

Guided by this approach, our research pursues three core themes: (1) To understand the network topology and dynamics of human intelligence (Theme 1: Human Intelligence), (2) To identify principles of network organization and plasticity in traumatic brain injury (Theme 2: Traumatic Brain Injury), and (3) To translate advances in neuroscience into personalized interventions to promote cognitive performance and resilience across the lifespan (Theme 3: Scientific Interventions). 

By uncovering the neural foundations of general intelligence, our research provides new insights into this fundamental human capacity and drives innovation in cognitive enhancement, neurorehabilitation, and biologically inspired artificial intelligence. 

For further detail, please visit the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory. 

Academic Roles

• Director, Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior
• Director, Decision Neuroscience Laboratory  
• Editor, The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Enhancement and Brain Plasticity
• Co-Editor, The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Co-Editor, The Sage Handbook of Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Two Volume Set
• Co-Editor, Nutrion and the Brain: Exploring Pathways for Optimal Brain Health Through Nutrition
• Section Editor, Encyclopedia of the Human Brain, Environmental Influences on Brain Function
• Scientific Advisory Board, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, UK
• Faculty Affiliate, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois
• Faculty Affiliate, Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois
• Faculty Affiliate, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
• Faculty Fellow, National Strategic Research Institute
• Faculty Fellow, Defense Science Study Group, Institute for Defense Analyses

Publications

Books

1. Barbey, A. K. (Forthcoming). Redefining Intelligence: What Network Neuroscience Reveals about the Nature of Human Intelligence. MIT Press.

Edited Handbooks and Journal Special Issues

1. Barbey, A. K. (Forthcoming). The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Enhancement and Brain Plasticity. Oxford University Press.
2. Barbey, A. K. (Forthcoming). Environmental Influences on the Human Brain. Edited Section within The Encyclopedia of the Human Brain (Ed. J. Grafman). Elsevier Press.
3. Barbey, A. K., & Davis, T. A. (Forthcoming). Nutrition and the Brain: Exploring Pathways for Optimal Brain Health through Nutrition. The Journal of Nutrition, The American Society for Nutrition. 
4. Barbey, A. K., Schultz, D., Neta, M., & Higgins, K. (Forthcoming). The Psychology of Performance Optimization in Collegiate Athletes. Springer.
5. Barbey, A. K., & Koyejo, S. (2023). Advances in Human and Machine Intelligence. Patterns, Cell Press.
6. Boyle, G. J., Northoff, G., Barbey, A. K., Fregni, F., Jahanshahi, M., Pascaul-Leone, A., & Sahakian, B. J. (2023). The Sage Handbook of Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience (2 Volumes). Sage Publishing.
7. Tanprasertsuk, J., Barbey. A. K., Johnson, E. J. (2023). Age as an Effect Modifier of Nutrition and Health. Frontiers in Aging, Frontiers Media. 
8. Barbey, A. K., Karama, S., & Haier, R. J. (2021). The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence and Cognitive Neuroscience. Cambridge University Press.
9. Barbey, A. K., & Posner, M. I. (2020). Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Intelligence. Trends in Neuroscience and Education, Elsevier Press.
10. Barbey, A. K., Johnson, L., & Dauncey, M. J. (2017). Nutritional Cognitive Neuroscience: Research at the Crossroads of Nutrition, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Frontiers Media.
11. Barbey, A. K., & Patterson, R. (2015). Human Explanation: Psychology, Computation, and Neuroscience. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Frontiers Media. 

Peer-Reviewed Articles

• https://www.decisionneurosciencelab.org/publications/