Luria Neuroscience Institute

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Luria Neuroscience Institute

State-of-the-art information and cutting-edge ideas about neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience Our activities take many forms.

Luria Neuroscience Institute (LNI) is an organization dedicated to advancing research and education in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology, and to disseminating knowledge about brain function and dysfunction. We support cutting edge research and disseminate state-of-the-art information about the brain. We foster and facilitate international and interdisciplinary colla

borations and scientific exchanges. Fostering cutting-edge research based on daring, innovative ideas and bridging the gap between neuroscientists, clinicians, and educators through a vigorous exchange of ideas and information is central to our mission.

06/24/2026

Webinar "Creativity and the Brain"
June 25 (Thursday) from 1pm to 4pm Eastern Time (noon–3pm Central Time, 10am–1pm Pacific Time)
Register: https://lninstitute.org/webinars-2026-june

Numerous claims have been made in the scientific and popular literature, linking creativity to specific brain structures. Which among these claims are accurate and which are tabloid oversimplifications? The multicomponential nature of creativity implies that multiple brain structures are involved. The right hemisphere has a preferential relationship to novelty-seeking. We will discuss the evidence for, and the mechanisms of this relationship. The prefrontal cortex is critical for decision making and for determining what is important. We will discuss the mechanisms of how this happens. Even the most original innovation is built on previously accumulated knowledge and concepts. The left hemisphere is particularly important as the “repository” of such knowledge. What is the relationship between the deliberate and effortful vs. the unconscious and spontaneous? These two complementary components of the creative process may be related to the hyperfrontal vs. hypofrontal brain states. We will discuss this relationship. Is there a genetic basis for creativity? This question is closely linked to another one: the genetic basis of intelligence. We will discuss both questions. The age of a solitary genius is mostly over. Increasingly the creative process is a team process both in science, industry, and the arts. We will discuss the nascent research into group creativity.

Topics to be covered:
Facts and fads of creativity. No single locus in the brain.
Creativity, novelty, and the right hemisphere.
Salience, decision making, and the frontal lobes.
“Standing on the shoulders of giants” and the left hemisphere.
Perspiration and inspiration: hyperfrontality and hypofrontality.
Creativity and the genes: candidate genes and whole genome.
Group creativity: How different brains can work better together.

06/23/2026

Webinar "Neuroethics and the Ethics of Neurocognitive Diagnosis"
June 24 (Wednesday) from 1pm to 4pm Eastern Time (noon–3pm Central Time, 10am–1pm Pacific Time)
Register: https://lninstitute.org/webinars-2026-june

Neuroethics is a new discipline addressing the ethical issues arising on the cutting edge of
neuroscience, both basic and applied. Neuropsychology is a discipline on the intersection of
psychology and neuroscience, with its own unique ethical issues. Some of these issues pertain
directly to the substance of neurocognitive evaluation and rehabilitation. In this webinar we will
examine the concept of neuroethics and its relationship to neuropsychology. First, we review
examples of neuroethics concerns from various aspects of neurosciences. We will then identify
and discuss a wide range of ethical issues specifically related to the substance and content of
neurocognitive assessment and rehabilitation. While these issues are not conventionally
regarded as part of neuroethics, in reality they are. It is important to bring neuropsychology into
neuroethics and neuroethics into neuropsychology. This is what this webinar aims to
accomplish.

Topics to be covered:
Neuroethics: definition, resources and examples of pertinent issues. Overdiagnosis driven by fads not facts. Example: ADHD overdiagnosis.
Misdiagnosis because no pigeonholes exist. Example: “memory based learning disability.” Perpetuating outdated notions. Example: “no dementia without memory impairment.”
Saying “somatoform” instead of saying “I don’t know.” Example: when “mild TBI “is not so mild.
Overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis. Example: -1 standard deviation is still normal.
Being a detective at the expense of being a clinician. A malingerer can also be genuinely sick. Overgeneralizing. Example: drawing sweeping conclusions based on a single test.
Cultural insensitivity. Example: giving culture-dependent tests inappropriately.
Fabulizing. Offering interpretations well beyond the data. Intellectual arrogance: not knowing what you don’t know.
Making hasty assumptions about what the patient’s words mean to you and yours to the patient. Example: when the patent complains of poor “memory” they may mean anomia.
Relying uncritically on canned interpretations.
Overpromising the results of intervention.

06/22/2026

Webinar "Autism Spectrum Disorder: Neurocognitive Characteristics, Assessment and Therapies"
June 23 (Tuesday) from 1pm to 4pm Eastern Time (noon–3pm Central Time, 10am–1pm Pacific Time)
Register: https://lninstitute.org/webinars-2026-june

This 3-hour webinar provides a focused overview of the neurocognitive characteristics, diagnostic assessment, and therapeutic approaches in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Building on sound understanding of neurobiological and syndromal foundations, this webinar emphasizes ASD as a behaviorally defined and highly heterogeneous spectrum, highlighting how core diagnostic features manifest across cognition, language, adaptive functioning, and psychiatric comorbidity. Participants will review DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria and specifiers, key differential diagnoses across the lifespan, and characteristic neuropsychological profiles, including executive dysfunction, social cognition, and perceptual processing styles. The webinar reviews evidence-based assessment practices, emerging biomarkers, and current intervention models, while addressing lifespan outcomes, health disparities, and contemporary ethical and neurodiversity-related considerations.

Topics to be covered:
1. Defining Autism Spectrum Disorder: Behavioral criteria, heterogeneity, and the current conceptual framework.
2. Diagnostic Criteria and Specifiers: Core domains, severity levels, and functional support needs.
3. Differential Diagnosis Across Development: Distinguishing ASD from other neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurological conditions.
4. Neurocognitive Profiles in ASD: Executive function, social cognition, perceptual processing, and “spiky” cognitive patterns.
5. Psychiatric and Medical Comorbidity: ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders, sleep, sensory, and medical co-occurrences.
6. Epidemiology and Diagnostic Trends: Prevalence estimates, s*x differences, and diagnostic ambiguities.
7. Assessment Tools and Biomarkers: ADOS-2, ADI-R, cognitive and adaptive measures, and emerging digital approaches.
8. Intervention Approaches: Behavioral, educational, pharmacologic, and experimental neuromodulation strategies.
9. Lifespan Outcomes and Disparities: Transition to adulthood, quality of life, and access to care.

06/21/2026

Webinar "Laterality and Functional Organization of the Brain"
June 22 (Monday) from 1pm to 4pm Eastern Time (noon–3pm Central Time, 10am–1pm Pacific Time)
Register: https://lninstitute.org/webinars-2026-june

Laterality is a fundamental feature of brain organization. In this webinar we will discuss why the traditional understanding of hemispheric specialization fails to capture all its essential aspects, and will introduce a new understanding of brain laterality which permits a broader evolutionary perspective. We will review the neuroanatomical and biochemical differences between the two hemispheres; their respective (and changing) roles in cognition across the lifespan; examine gender and handedness differences in laterality; as well as the relationship between hemispheric specialization and emotions. We will also review the nature of hemispheric specialization across species throughout evolution.

Topics to be covered:
Where the traditional notions of hemispheric specialization got it wrong.
Functional laterality and brain anatomy. Laterality throughout evolution.
Novel approaches to hemispheric specialization.
How the two hemispheres develop and age.
Laterality and gender and handedness differences.
Laterality and regulation of emotions.

06/20/2026

Webinar "Traumatic Brain Injury"
June 21 (Sunday) from 10am to 1pm Eastern Time (9am–noon Central Time, 7am–10am Pacific Time)

Register: https://lninstitute.org/webinars-2026-june

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a highly prevalent condition sometimes referred to as a “silent epidemic.” In this webinar we will review various types of TBI (closed, open, blast); various causes and unique characteristics of motor vehicle accidents, workplace-related, military and sports TBI; various mechanisms of TBI (diffuse axonal injury, contre-coup, neurometabolic cascade); cognitive characteristics (particularly executive and memory impairment); recovery from TBI and long-term outcomes; and forensic issues commonly associated with TBI.

Topics to be covered:
Epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Types of traumatic brain injury (TBI): closed, open (penetrating and perforating), blast. Severity and criteria of traumatic brain injury (TBI): mild, moderate, severe.
Causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Mechanisms of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Focal vs. diffuse components of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Neuroanatomical structures most vulnerable in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Natural course of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the multiple forms it may take.
Secondary complications in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Cognitive consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Executive deficit in traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Memory impairment in traumatic brain injury (TBI): anterograde and retrograde amnesia.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Military traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Forensic issues in traumatic brain injury (TBI).

06/17/2026

Webinar "Memory and Memory Impairments"

June 20 (Saturday) from 10am to 1pm Eastern Time (9am–noon Central Time, 7am–10am Pacific Time)

Register: https://lninstitute.org/webinars-2026-june

Memory is among the most important cognitive functions, and memory impairment is among the most common and most catastrophic consequences of neurological and psychiatric conditions. In this webinar we will review the basic neurobiology of memory and various forms of memory in normal cognition, including associative memory and working memory. We will then review various amnestic syndromes, e.g. anterograde and retrograde amnesias; and types of memory impairments across a wide range of brain disorders. These include Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias; Korsakoff syndrome; traumatic brain injury; temporal lobe epilepsy; viral encephalopathies including COVID-19, HIV encephalopathy, and herpes simplex encephalopathy; and other disorders, as well as usually ignored neurodevelopmental memory impairments. We will discuss memory changes in aging and efforts to protect it.

Topics to be covered:

Basic neurobiology of memory. Components of memory circuits and their neuroanatomy.
Types of memory from a cognitive standpoint: associative vs working; explicit vs implicit; intentional vs incidental.
Forgetting and why it is useful.
Amnesias: anterograde vs retrograde; general vs modality specific.
Assessment of memory and amnesias.
Memory and aging.
Memory impairment in dementias (Alzheimer’s and others).
Memory impairment in traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Memory impairment in viral encephalopathies (Herpes Simplex, HIV, COVID-19).
Memory and neurodevelopmental disorders: neglected condition.

05/13/2026

Webinar for Australasian Region "Autism Spectrum Disorder: Causes, Neurobiological Mechanisms and Controversies"
The webinar will be streamed live on May 14 (Thursday) noon – 3 pm Australian Eastern Time (Sydney time).
Register: https://lninstitute.org/

The program reviews how ASD is defined as a spectrum (including the shift from DSM-IV subcategories to DSM-5-TR criteria), then traces the historical evolution of autism concepts from early descriptions to today’s biologically grounded models. The core of the webinar explores what is known, and what remains uncertain, about ASD genetics and genomics (rare copy number variants, de novo mutations, common variants and polygenic risk, and why the same genetic findings can lead to different clinical outcomes). It also covers gene–environment interplay and selected prenatal and perinatal risk factors, alongside major neurobiological hypotheses, including synaptic dysfunction and pruning, excitation–inhibition imbalance, glial contributions, mitochondrial vulnerability, and large-scale brain network connectivity and development.

The session is designed to deepen participants’ understanding of the complex interplay among genetic, neurobiological, and environmental factors contributing to ASD.

The webinar is tailored to professionals in clinical neuroscience and mental health, including but not limited to psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, and other healthcare practitioners. The material is intended to be highly informative, scientifically rigorous, and intellectually engaging.

The webinar is presented by Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., ABPP., a clinical neuropsychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, and Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology. His critically acclaimed and bestselling books have been translated into 24 languages.

05/11/2026

Webinar "Autism Beyond the Checklist: Phenotypes, Mimics, and Debates Shaping 2026"
May 12 (Tuesday) from 1pm to 4pm Eastern Time
The webinar takes 3 hours, 3 CE Credits will be awarded.
Register: https://lninstitute.org/

This 3-hour webinar moves beyond a checklist approach to ASD by focusing on diagnostic complexities and why an autism label can be correct but clinically incomplete. It introduces “phenocopy logic” and diagnostic overshadowing, showing how neurological, genetic, and medical conditions can mimic or reshape an autism-like presentation. Using phenotype-focused examples, it reviews common mimics and “ASD-plus” patterns, and how to think about EEG and MRI findings without over-interpreting incidental abnormalities. The session closes with the debates shaping 2026, including neurodiversity, ethics, and psychosocial trends, with practical guidance for communicating uncertainty while keeping recommendations actionable.

05/10/2026

Webinar "Executive Functions and the Frontal Lobes"
May 11 (Monday) from 1pm to 4pm Eastern Time
The webinar takes 3 hours, 3 CE Credits will be awarded.
Register: https://lninstitute.org/

Executive functions represent the highest level of cognitive control and involve goal formation, planning, mental flexibility, impulse control, working memory. Executive functions are mediated by the prefrontal cortex and related structures. In this webinar we will examine their cognitive composition, neural mechanisms, changes throughout the lifespan, and gender differences. We will also examine how executive functions become impaired in a wide range of neurological, neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental, and neurogeriatric disorders.

05/09/2026

Webinar "Tourette and ADHD: A New Look at an Old Quandary"
May 10 (Sunday) from 10am to 1pm Eastern Time
The webinar takes 3 hours, 3 CE Credits will be awarded.
Register: https://lninstitute.org/

The ADHD diagnosis has acquired the status of a fad and is often given too casually and inclusively. Conflation between two distinct classes of clinical phenomena, hyperactivity and exploratory behavior, is a common source of ADHD overdiagnosis. Inspired by early insights by Oliver Sacks, we examine the relationship between frontal-lobe syndromes, Tourette syndrome, and Parkinson’s disease. This synthesis leads to a new understanding of Tourette syndrome and helps identify its distinct subtypes. These subtypes are caused, respectively, by predominant dysregulation in the left vs right fronto-striatal systems, and result in the preponderance of tics vs excessive exploratory behaviors. We examine the difference between hyperactivity and excessive exploratory behavior, and the potential for diagnostic confusion between ADHD and Tourette if this difference is ignored.

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Website

http://lninstitute.org/

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