Joseph LeDoux is a Professor of Neural Science at New York University. His work, which has spanned the topics of emotion, memory, and consciousness, and their interaction in the brain. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received a numerous awards for his work and is the author of several acclaimed books, including The Emotional Brain, Synaptic Self, Anxious, The Deep History of Ourselves, and The Four Realms of Existence. He is also the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band, the Amygdaloids. His music has been the subject of a play, Map of Your Mind, and was featured in Werner Herzog’s 2024 film, Theatre of Thought. A documentary on Amazon, Neuroscience and Emotions, explores his life, work and music.
Joseph LeDoux
Professor of Neural Science, New York University
Participant In These Roundtable Discussions
Sat
Mar 9th
2013
Mar 9th
2013
Watch
The Topology of Fear
This roundtable will examine how fear shapes decision-making under extreme risk and consider how insights from economics, neuroscience, psychology, and topology can expand our understanding of rational choice in complex and uncertain situations.
Sat
May 18th
2013
May 18th
2013
Watch
Second Annual Heavy MeNtal Variety Show
This event will feature a performance combining music, neuroscience, and magic, with The Amygdaloids presenting songs about the mind and brain alongside brief talks by Joseph LeDoux, and interludes of magic by Mark Mitton.
Fri
Oct 11th
2013
Oct 11th
2013
Watch
The Amygdaloids Warburg Symposium Concert
This event will feature The Amygdaloids, a band of scientists and musicians, performing songs about the mind, brain, and behavior, each introduced with brief scientific context by Joseph LeDoux.
Sun
Oct 13th
2013
Oct 13th
2013
Watch
Aby Warburg: Art, Neuroscience, and Psychoanalysis: Day 2
This symposium will explore Aby Warburg’s ideas on memory, images, affect, creativity, and the dynamic unconscious, connecting his work to contemporary perspectives in art history, philosophy, and neuroscience.
Sat
May 7th
2016
May 7th
2016
Watch
Fear: Wherefore, Whence?
This roundtable explores fear and anxiety as multi-layered phenomena involving neurobiological, physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and unconscious processes. It examines how these states are generated and experienced, compares human expressions of fear with those observed in other animals, and considers how perspectives from neuroscience, psychology, and psychoanalysis contribute to understanding anxiety as a central aspect of mental life and its broader implications for cognition and behavior.
Sat
Feb 29th
2020
Feb 29th
2020
Watch
How Deep Do We Go? Behavior, Mind, and The 4-Billion-Year History of Life
This roundtable explores the evolutionary and biological roots of consciousness and emotion, drawing on Joseph LeDoux’s work to reconsider how emotions arise from fundamental survival processes rather than pre-formed states. It brings together perspectives from biology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and philosophy to examine how the brain constructs emotional experience and meaning.
Sat
Sep 23rd
2023
Sep 23rd
2023
Watch
Emotion
This roundtable explores the nature of emotion as a fundamental yet paradoxical aspect of human life, examining its roles in the brain, behavior, and evolution. It considers whether emotions can be understood, controlled, or even replicated in AI, and what they reveal about consciousness and human experience.
Sat
Mar 22nd
2025
Mar 22nd
2025
Watch
Music and Mind
This roundtable explores the profound connection between music and human experience, investigating its mathematical foundations, neurological impact, cultural significance, and ability to evoke emotion and community.