Center for Affective Neuroscience and Computation (CAN-C)

Welcome to the Center for Affective Neuroscience and Computation page!

The brain has fascinated the human species from time immemorial. Since the invention of the MRI in 1972, researchers have stared at pictures of the brain longing to better understand how each structure in the brain connects and functions in elegant harmony. When brain structures and functions are in disharmony, the individual can experience emotional and behavioral dysregulation.

At the Center for Affective Neuroscience and Computation (CAN-C), we are driven to learn about the brain, but we do not stop there. We are curious about the specifics of fear–how we learn to fear, how we regulate fear, and how we stop fearing what is no longer fearful. Building upon a foundation of Pavlovian conditioning, Dr. Mohammed Milad, Center Director, has developed an emotional learning task that we, and others in the field, have incorporated into research design in order to study fear conditioning and extinction.

Our ultimate goal is to help advance the field of neuroscience and computation. More importantly, we hope that our findings inform treatment approaches to help individuals recover from fear and to (re)gain a sense of mastery over their lives.