Department of Neurobiology and Behavior

The Department of Neurobiology and Behavior (NBB) was among the first to combine the study of animal behavior with its neural basis. Our faculty and students are dedicated to exploring a wide range of scientific topics, from single neurons and complex circuits to whole organisms and their societies. Central to our mission is the quest to unravel the profound mysteries of how nervous systems generate behavior, including the evolutionary pathways that have shaped brains and behavior over time. We believe these scientific frontiers are not just fascinating but also critical for understanding the intricacies of the brain, the least understood organ that underlies human experience. As a community we adhere to Cornell's Founding Principle of "... any person ... any study".

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Recent Stories

Screaming into the Void

"Musicians have told me it sounds like a - a didgeridoo", quoted by Andrew Bass, Horace White Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior in the neurobiology and behavior department at Cornell University. Andrew Bass is being interviewed on the Little Island in NYC about a fish that sings in the night a...

2025 Nexus Scholars talk about academic growth, transformation

Ten students who participated in this summer's Nexus Scholars Program share their stories..

Neurobiology professor named Pew Scholar

Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz, assistant professor and Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a biomedical sciences grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.