James Rilling :: Home

James Rilling received his doctorate in Anthropology in 1998 from Emory University. His dissertation research used MRI to compare the brains of living primates and provide insights into human brain evolution. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Rilling completed two fellowships in functional brain imaging: the first with Dr.Clinton D. Kilts in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University and the second with Dr. Jonathan D. Cohen at the Center for the Study of Brain, Mind and Behavior at Princeton University. Dr. Rilling and his colleagues are currently using these methods to explore the neural basis of human social behavior and cognition. They are also using a variety of non-invasive structural and functional neuroimaging techniques to attempt to define the unique features of the human brain that support human cognitive and behavioral specializations by comparing human and non-human primate brains. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology with a secondary appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University.