Gregory Berns

Gregory Berns, MD, PhD is the Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University, where he directs the Center for Neuropolicy and Facility for Education & Research in Neuroscience. He is also a Professor in the Psychology Department and a founding member of the Society for Neuroeconomics. He is the author of Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment (Henry Holt & Co., 2005) and Iconoclast: What Neuroscience Reveals About How To Think Differently (Harvard Business School Press, 2008), which was named one of the best business books of 2008 by Fast Company. Berns’ latest book, How Dogs Love Us, was published in October 2013 and became a WSJ and NYT bestseller. His next book, What It's Like to Be a Dog, will be released in September 2017.

Dr. Berns specializes in the use of brain imaging technologies to understand human – and now, canine – motivation and decision-making. He has received numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense and has published over 70 peer-reviewed original research articles. Dr. Berns’ research is frequently the subject of popular media coverage including articles in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Money, Oprah, Forbes, The Financial Times, The New Scientist, Wired, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times.

For the last 3 years, Berns has pursued his dream of using fMRI to decode what dogs really think. Partnering with a dog trainer, Berns’ group has trained a team of volunteer dogs to hold still in the MRI. The data they are collecting is revealing startling insights about how our the brains of our canine friends work, and they are finding proof that they really do love us. In the process, they have broken new ground in elevating the rights of dogs.

Berns is the co-founder of Dog Star Technologies – a company using neuroscience to enhance the dog-human partnership.