MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior

03/31/2026

🧠 Defeating Brain Myths in the Courtroom

As part of the Weaver Program's Distinguished Lectures, CLBB Founding Co-Director Judith Edersheim, MD, JD, joined the conversation "Defeating Brain Myths in the Courtroom: From Nonsense to Neuroscience," exploring how certain pseudoscientific neuroscience concepts have been wrongly applied to the study of law and the manner in which these assumptions can be corrected through further study and advocacy.

🎥 Watch the full discussion:

As part of the Weaver Program's Distinguished Lectures, we present Defeating Brain Myths in the Courtroom: From Nonsense to Neuroscience.In this conversation...

03/31/2026

A newly released short film from the 2025 Indian Country Conference highlights ongoing efforts within the federal Probation and Pretrial Services system to deepen understanding of Native American history, culture, and community engagement.

The video features CLBB Executive Director Dr. Robert Kinscherff, and emphasizes the importance of bridging gaps between justice systems and tribal communities through culturally informed, trauma-aware practices.

As the film notes, “Traditional law enforcement approaches don’t always work on the reservation. History looms large.”The video underscores the need to understand behavior within its broader historical and cultural context, particularly in communities shaped by intergenerational trauma.

Developed as a resource for federal districts, the film is intended to support training, community engagement, and relationship-building efforts, particularly in jurisdictions serving Native American populations.

🎥 Watch the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L43BgIS8rSQ

A module on trauma is currently in development at the CLBB NeuroLaw Library.
🔗https://clbbneurolawlibrary.com

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/30/2026

Today, Monday, March 30th, 2026, CLBB NeuroLaw Library Director Dr. Stephanie Tabashneck was featured in The Boston Globe with a Letter to the Editor.

Her letter addresses the public health considerations of cannabis legalization and underscores the need for evidence-based policy informed by neuroscience.

🔗 Read the full letter: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/30/opinion/letters-legalized-marijuana-public-health/?event=event12

03/25/2026

On March 18th, CLBB NeuroLaw Library Director Dr. Stephanie Tabashneck testified before the Connecticut legislature’s Judiciary Committee in support of SB 503, a bill extending early-adult parole eligibility from individuals under age 21 to those under age 26. Dr. Tabashneck drew on contemporary neuroscience to explain why the bill aligns with current understanding of brain development during emerging adulthood up to age 25. She also discussed how the bill aligns with both her personal experience working with individuals convicted of homicide as young adults and new evidence tracking recidivism rates among people convicted of homicide in youth and emerging adulthood who were later released following sentencing reforms.

CLBB Senior Research Associate and NeuroLaw Library Research Librarian Dr. Katie Lamp provided initial research on late adolescent brain development to advocates advancing these legislative efforts.

The attached image highlights one of the open-access studies cited in the testimony, examining recidivism outcomes among individuals sentenced as juveniles.

03/16/2026

On Thursday, March 12th, the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior (CLBB) presented to over 50 attorneys and paralegal support staff from Legal Aid of Nebraska on the neuroscience of addiction and its implications for family law. CLBB NeuroLaw Library Director Dr. Stephanie Tabashneck discussed the science of addiction, the neurobiological processes involved in recovery, and how these insights can inform family law practice. CLBB Senior Research Associate Andrew Charroux then demonstrated how legal professionals can apply this science in their work using the CLBB NeuroLaw Library, a free, open-access resource designed to make neuroscience accessible and practical for the legal community. Hosted by Massachusetts General Hospital, the NeuroLaw Library includes expert affidavits, amicus briefs, scientific articles, case law, educational videos, practical toolkits, and free consultations with a librarian to help practitioners incorporate scientific research into legal representation and decision-making.

03/12/2026

🎧 Now Streaming: "Before They Could Dream"

The first three episodes of "Before They Could Dream," a new podcast series from the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and Green Buzz Agency, are now live.

The seven episode series explores the history, human experience, and lasting impact of youth incarceration in the United States. Hosted by Abd’Allah Lateef, Deputy Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, the podcast centers the voices of six members of CFSY’s Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), each of whom received extreme sentences as children.

CLBB Executive Director Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD is featured in the series, offering perspective grounded in developmental psychology, research on adversity and resilience, and youthful brain development. His contribution helps place these lived experiences in the context of United States Supreme Court decisions that eliminated the death penalty for children and mandatory life without parole for youth, while highlighting the ongoing challenges surrounding extreme sentencing of children in the United States.

🎙️ The first three episodes are available now, with new episodes released each Tuesday through April 7.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts:

Before They Could Dream is a seven-episode podcast series that explores the history, lived experiences, and lasting impact of youth incarceration in the United States.  The Aspen Institute’s Forum for Community Solutions (AIFCS), in partnersh...

03/09/2026

Curious how neuroscience is reshaping mental health, trauma recovery, and the legal system? Join an interdisciplinary panel at Harvard Law School on Monday, March 30th exploring how advances in brain science are influencing law, psychiatry, and medicine.

The discussion will feature:
Nathaniel Harnett, PhD (Harvard/McLean)
David A. Silbersweig, MD (Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School)
Theresa L. Williamson, MD (Neurosurgeon, Brown University)
Nancy Gertner, JD (Managing Director, MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior; Retired U.S. District Judge; Senior Lecturer, Harvard Law School)

Moderated by Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD (Chief Innovation Officer, MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior; Co-Director, Neurotech Justice Accelerator at Massachusetts General Hospital).

If you care about the future of brain science and its impact on society, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Space is limited and registration is required:
https://luma.com/bzn4p34n

03/06/2026

🎙️ A new podcast exploring youth incarceration in the United States launches Tuesday, March 10.

"Before They Could Dream" is a powerful seven episode series from the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and Green Buzz Agency. Hosted by CFSY Deputy Director Abd’Allah Lateef, the podcast centers the voices of six members of CFSY’s Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), each of whom received extreme sentences as children.

CLBB Executive Director Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD, is featured in the series and offers a framework grounded in developmental psychology, research on adversity and resilience, and youthful brain development. His perspective helps place these lived experiences in the context of United States Supreme Court decisions that eliminated the death penalty for children in 2005 and mandatory life without parole for youth in 2012, while recognizing that extreme sentencing of children continues in the United States today.

🎧 The first three episodes will be released March 10, with new episodes every Tuesday through April 7.

Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598463/follow

03/05/2026

At the recent MGB AMC Psychiatry Department Grand Rounds and 8th Carol W. Taylor Lecture in Psychiatry on February 12th, "When AI Comes to Mental Health: Legal and Ethical Issues," CLBB Founding Co-Director Judith Edersheim, MD, JD, opened the program with remarks honoring Ms. Taylor, introduced guest speaker Dr. Glenn Cohen, and facilitated audience discussion. Dr. Cohen, Founding Director of the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School, spoke about how artificial intelligence is becoming embedded in medical practice, including psychiatry, and explored key legal and ethical issues related to data privacy, bias, liability, governance, and the growing use of mental health chatbots. He also highlighted CLBB’s 15-year collaboration with the Petrie-Flom Center through the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience. The lecture was established in 2018 in honor of CLBB’s Director of External Affairs Carol Taylor. During her 15-year tenure at Massachusetts General Hospital, she built the Department of Psychiatry’s philanthropy program from the ground up and held senior leadership positions in the hospital’s overall development operations.

10/17/2024

CLBB Managing Director Judge Nancy Gertner (ret.) recently published an opinion piece in The New York Times titled “The Supreme Court Is Its Own Worst Enemy.”

To read the full article, click the link in our bio.

10/17/2024

Photos from Sentencing Children: Bridging Neuroscience, Justice, and Reform with Stephanie Tabashneck, PsyD, JD, Honorable Nancy Gertner, Melissa Wood Bartholomew, and Robert Kinscherff, Ph.D., Esq. Co-sponsored by The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior. This stellar panel provided insightful conversation on the mass incarceration of children, adolescent neuroscience, and restorative justice.

10/08/2024

CLBB Founding Co-Director Dr. Judith Edersheim was recently quoted in Andrew Solomon's article "Has Social Media Fueled a Teen-Suicide Crisis?" published in The New Yorker.

"...Instagram 'has a pretty good hold on the serendipitous aspect of discovery...Every time one of our teen users finds something unexpected their brains deliver them a dopamine hit.' [Dr.] Edersheim...likens the effect to putting children in a twenty-four-hour casino and giving them chocolate-flavored bourbon. 'The relentlessness, the intrusion, it’s all very intentional. No other addictive device has ever been so pervasive.'”

Read the full article here:

Mental-health struggles have risen sharply among young Americans, and parents and lawmakers alike are scrutinizing life online for answers.