Jonas Kaplan

Scientist

Jonas Kaplan is a cognitive neuroscientist whose research focuses on using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the cognitive and social aspects of brain function. He is an Associate Professor of Research at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute, where his work has explored issues relating to consciousness, identity, empathy, and social relationships. He uses functional neuroimaging combined with machine learning approaches to examine the neural mechanisms that underlie our sense of who we are, including research on how the brain processes stories, imagination, beliefs, and values. This work has focused in particular on how the brain deals with the beliefs that are most important to us such as those relating to religion and politics. He is currently the Co-Director of USC’s Dornsife Neuroimaging Center.