Marco Iacoboni, M.D. Ph.D., is an Italian neurologist and neuroscientist that studied at the University “La Sapienza” in Rome, Italy. In 1999 he joined the faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and became Director of the Neuromodulation Lab at the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center. He is currently Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He combines brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to study neural systems and mechanisms in humans for sensory-motor integration, higher cognitive functions, and social cognition. His longstanding interest in the role of the body in shaping human cognition led him to explore the role of the human mirror neuron system in imitation, empathy and social communication, in health and disease. He is the author of the book for general readers Mirroring People, The Science of Empathy and How We Connect with Others (Picador). The book is the culmination of years of research on neural mirroring in humans and the implications of this brain mechanism for understanding human nature.
