Associate Professor, Department of Law
E-MAIL: fxshen@umn.edu
Research Interests:
The primary aim of the Shen Neurolaw Lab is to translate advances in brain science into better law and policy. We recognize that the promise of brain science must be balanced against the perils of premature and inappropriate uses. We thus conduct empirical research to better enable lawyers, courts, and policymakers to understand what, precisely, neuroscience can (and cannot) offer.
We engage in interdisciplinary collaboration with many neuroscientists, both on campus and across the country, to study big problems such as the ways in which neuroscience can affect: dementia issues in the law; brain injury and mental health for veterans; sentencing in the criminal justice system; treating sports concussions; providing educational services; developing early childhood interventions; litigating brain injury and pain; assessing brain death; brain-based lie detection; the regulation of brain-machine interface and neuromodulation; and the ethics of cognitive enhancement.
Selected Publications:
(Click here for a comprehensive list of recent publications)
- Shen FX, et al, The limited effect of electroencephalography memory recognition evidence on assessments of defendant credibility. Journal of Law & the Biosciences 2017.
- Shen FX, Law and Neuroscience 2.0. Arizona State Law Journal 2017;48: 1043.
- Ginther MR, Bonnie RJ, Hoffman MB, Shen FX, Simons KW, Jones OD, Marois, R, Parsing the behavioral and brain mechanisms of third-party punishmen., J Neurosci. 2016;36:9420-9434.
- Shen FX, Neurolegislation: How U.S. legislators are using brain science, Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, 2016;29: 495.
- Jones, OD, Schall, JD, Shen FX, Law and Neuroscience. Aspen Publishers 2014.
