grew and he volunteered in the laboratory of Robert Thompson, who introduced him to brain research. Academic and professional history In the fall of 1974 LeDoux began a PhD program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and completed his degree in 1977. In 1978, LeDoux joined the Department of Neurology at Cornell Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow and remained there through the rank of associate professor until 1989. During most of his time at Cornell, he worked in the Neurobiology Laboratory where he received technical training in state-of-the-art neuroscience techniques and began the research program on the brain mechanism of emotional memory that he has pursued ever since. In 1989 he joined the newly formed Center for Neural Science at NYU as an associate professor. In 1991 he was promoted to full professor, and in 1996 he became the Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science. In 2005, he was named university professor, the highest honor for a faculty member at NYU. Personal life In 1971 LeDoux married LSU classmate Diana Steen. They divorced amicably in 1978. Since 1982 he has been married to art critic Nancy Princenthal. Currently they reside in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn. They have two children, Jacob S. LeDoux (died 2005) and Milo E. LeDoux. Milo is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he studied classics, and is now pursuing a career in law. Music Cajun/zydeco, country, R&B, rock, and their fusion into "swamp pop", were influences in LeDoux's childhood. In high school, he was a disc jockey at the local radio station, KEUN, and the rhythm guitarist of two bands: the Deadbeats and the Countdowns. Although he remained an avid music fan in later life, he did not actively play guitar for many years. In 2004, LeDoux and NYU Biology Professor Tyler Volk began performing as a cover band for small parties around NYU, and in 2006 they formed The Amygdaloids. The original band also included Daniela Schiller, (then an NYU postdoctoral fellow), and graduate student Nina Curley. The band's lyrics, mostly written by LeDoux, are based on neuroscientific, psychological, and philosophical themes, and offer scholarly insights into the role of mind and brain in daily life. Their inaugural CD, Heavy Mental, was released in 2007. On their second CD, Theory of My Mind, LeDoux and Grammy winner Rosanne Cash sing "Crime of Passion" and "Mind over