Brain Research

Strategically housed in Nebraska's iconic Memorial Stadium, the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior stands as a leading research center committed to making a meaningful impact on human health and society through innovation in neuroscience. A partnership with Nebraska Athletics enables state-of-the-art research in sports medicine and student-athlete health.  At the heart of CB3 lies a cutting-edge brain imaging facility and specialized laboratories that investigate the linkages between the brain and politics, nutrition, concussions, aging and even companion animals. 

The center recently announced a first-of-its-kind study that will explore the possible connections between beef consumption and brain health. With funding from the Nebraska Beef Council, the Texas Beef Council and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the CB3 research team will collaborate with Loeffel Meat Laboratory to understand how an everyday food like beef could influence cognitive performance. It's part of broader research into nutrition and brain health. (Updated November 2024.) 

Bio

Aron Keith Barbey is director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior (CB3) and the Decision Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research investigates how intelligence emerges from the network organization and dynamics of the human connectome, adopting an interdisciplinary approach that combines methods from the psychological, computational and brain sciences. An important goal for his research is to establish a sound foundation for clinical research that aims to remediate disturbances of brain function in psychiatric illness and traumatic brain injury. Recent work has examined how nutrition supports healthy brain aging and a newly launched investigation whether beef consumption influences cognition. Barbey's team has won more than $26 million in research funding, with support coming from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the White House's BRAIN Initiative, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and private industry. (Updated November 2024.)

Bio

Angela Dietsch studies the sensory and motor aspects of neural control for speech, voice, and swallowing functions, across age groups, genders and health conditions. To better understand and treat speech, voice, and swallowing disorders, she has mapped the neural networks that underlie taste perception, speech and swallowing coordination, and tongue movements. She teaches classes in speech, voice, and swallowing disorders and directs the Sensorimotor Integration for Swallowing and Communication Laboratory. An associate professor and graduate chair for the Department of Special Education Disorders, Dietsch is among resident faculty at UNL’s Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior. (Updated June 2025)

Bio

Steven Barlow studies the neurobiology of the somatosensory and motor systems -- the parts of the nervous system that transmit sensations such as pain, pressure or warmth, and control voluntary and involuntary movement, such as speech and swallowing and movement of hands, fingers, feet and toes. Much of Barlow’s career has focused on facilitating brain development among infants born prematurely. In recent years, he has turned to brain plasticity among adult stroke patients, working with biological systems engineers to develop the pTACS Somatosensory Biomedical Device. The pTACS is a patented portable treatment that uses micro pulses of air to trigger nerve responses to reduce brain damage resulting from strokes. Barlow also invented the NTrainer System, which similarly uses pulsed skin stimulation to aid in developing feeding skills, brain development and behavior and learning outcomes for premature infants. The Corwin Moore Professor of Special Education and Communication Disorders, Barlow holds a courtesy appointment with Biological Systems Engineering and is among resident faculty at the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior. (Updated June 2025.)