Biography
Dr. Joaquin Fuster is interested in studying the cortical mechanisms
of cognitive functions to gain a better understanding of the
dysfunction of the cerebral cortex in neurological and mental illness
impairing cognition in search of more effective modes of treatment and
rehabilitation. He has published over 160 scientific papers.
In 1980, he published The Prefrontal Cortex that is
both a review of his research on the subject and a compendium of his
ideas on the cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex. Central
among those functions is the temporal organization of behavior, speech
and reasoning. In Memory in the Cerebral Cortex he
defends the hypothesis that all three forms of memory, that is,
short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory, share the same
cortical networks. In Cortex and Mind, he expands his
concepts, beyond memory, to other cognitive functions (perception,
attention, intelligence, and language). He contends that all cognitive
functions are based on neural transactions within and between neuronal
networks of cognitive representation.
He has received numerous awards and honors including The Magoun Lecturer, University of California, 1991; The Ojemann Lecturer, University of Iowa, 1995; The Elsevier Lecturer, European Brain and Behavior Society, 1997; Jean-Louis Signoret Prize, (Paris), 2000; Fyssen International Prize, 2000; The Elliot Lecture, University of Pennsylvania, 2002; and Doctor Honoris Causa,
University Miguel Hernández, Alicante (Spain), 2003. He was elected
Member of Honor by Spanish Royal Academy of Medicine in 1997 and
European Brain and Behavior Society in 2002. He is a member of numerous
scientific organizations.
Dr. Fuster received the M.D. degree in 1953 from the University of
Barcelona and the Ph.D. degree in 1967 from the University of Granada
(Spain).
Books
