For millennia, the relationship betweenreason and emotion and the nature of creativity has remained a mystery. Internationally renowned neuroscientist Antonio Damasio visits REDCAT to speak about what we now know about the emotions and the conscious mind, particularly as both relate to creativity and the arts. As founding director of USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute, Damasio has been employing state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques as well as developing new research methods in collaboration with artists and social scientists to elucidate the neural basis of the emotions and the central role of emotions in social cognition and decision-making. Damasio is author of the widely acclaimed book Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, among other titles.