Anjan Chatterjee, M.D.

Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania

Undergraduate Institution

Haverford College, B.A. in Philosophy (1980)

Post-Baccalaureate Institutions

University of Pennsylvania,
M.D. (1985)
University of Chicago,
Neurology Residency (1986-1989)
Case Western Reserve University,
Dementia Fellowship (1989-1990)
University of Florida,
Behavioral Neurology Fellowships (1990-1992)
University of Alabama, Birmingham,
Faculty (1992-1999)

Awards/National Committees

Elected to the American Neurological Association (1997)
Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology (2002)
National Institute of Health, Sensory Disorders and Language (CMS) Study Section, member (1996-98)
National Institute of Health, Cognitive Neuroscience (IFCN-8) Study Section, member (1998-2000)
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. Neurology Part I B "question makers"
The Neuroethics Society (Founding member, Board of Governors) (2006-present)

Editorial Boards

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
Cognitive Neuropsychology
Behavioural Neurology
Empirical Studies of the Arts
Policy Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology

 

Research Interests

My area of interest is in Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology. My research is directed at understanding the architecture and neural bases for human cognition. The structure of cognition is at present (and perhaps in principle) not reduced easily to cellular or molecular explanations. The study of how the brain mediates cognition, while constrained by micro-neural facts, is more directly investigated at higher levels of organization by studying cognition in humans. We use experimental and neuroimaging techniques in normal subjects and examine the neuro-psychological effects of brain damage. A clear understanding of cognitive systems and their breakdown is essential in educating patients and families and critical in designing rational treatment strategies.

    My research program addresses the following questions:

    * Language and meaning. How are language and space related? Do we use simple schematic structures across different cognitive domain?

    * Visual, spatial and temporal processing. How does the brain direct attention in and to space and time? How do these processes influence consciousness?

    * Visual aesthetics. Do fundamental principles drive visual aesthetics?

    * Neuroethics. What ethical dilemmas arise from advances in clinical and basic neurosciences?

    * Detailed investigation of rare or unique cases. How is it possible for a person to think that their limb has become "alien" as it performs purposeful acts without apparent volition? Why should a patient find it is easier to write and read mirrored than normally written words?

Representative Recent Publications:

Language/Space

Attention

Snyder J, Chatterjee A. The Frontal Cortex and Exogenous Attentional Orienting. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2006, 18(11):1913-1923.

Ricci R, Genero R, Colombatti S, Zampieri D, Chatterjee A. Visuomotor links in awareness: evidence from extinction. Neuroreport, 2005, 16(8): 843-847.

Snyder J, Chatterjee A. Spatial-temporal anisometries following right parietal damage. Neuropsychologia, 2004, 42: 1703-1708.

Ricci R, Chatterjee A. Sensory and response contributions to visual awareness in extinction. Experimental Brain Research, 2004, 157: 85-93.

Olson E, Stark M, Chatterjee A. Evidence for a unimodal somatosensory attention system. Experimental Brain Research, 2003, 151: 15-23.

Ricci R, Chatterjee A. Context and crossover in unilateral neglect. Neuropsychologia, 2001, 39: 1138-1143.

Vaishnavi S, Calhoun J, Chatterjee A. Binding personal and peripersonal space: Evidence from tactile extinction. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2001, 13: 181-189.

Chatterjee A, Ricci R, Calhoun J. Weighing the evidence for cross over in neglect . Neuropsychologia, 2000, 38: 1390-1397.

Aesthetics

Chatterjee A. The Neuropsychology of visual art: conferring capacity. International Review of Neurobiology, 2006, 74: 39-49.

Wilson A. & Chatterjee A. The assessment of preference for balance: introducing a new test. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 2005, 23(2): 165-180.

Chatterjee A. The neuropsychology of visual artistic expression. Neuropsychologia, 2004, 42: 1568-1583.

Chatterjee A. Prospects for a Cognitive Neuroscience of Visual Aesthetics, Bulletin of Psychology and the Arts, 2003, 4(2): 55-60.

Chatterjee A. Portrait profiles and the notion of agency. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 2002, 20: 33-41.

Assessment of Preference for Balance: A New Test

Neuro Ethics

Chatterjee A.Cosmetic Neurology and Cosmetic Surgery: Parallels, Predictions and Challenges. Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2007, 16: 129-137

Chatterjee A. The promise and predicament of cosmetic neurology. Journal of Medical Ethics, 2006, 32: 110-113.

Chatterjee A. Cosmetic neurology: The controversy over enhancing movement, mentation, and mood. Neurology, 2004, 63: 968-974.

Miscellaneous

Chatterjee A. A Madness to the Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience? Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2005, 17(6): 847-849.

Biran I, Giovannetti T, Buxbaum L, Chatterjee A. The alien hand syndrome: What makes the alien hand alien? Cognitive Neuropsychology, 2006, 23(4): 563-582.

 

 

Contact Chatterjee Lab: (215) 614-1977

Contact Anjan Chatterjee: (215) 662-4265