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A deep scientific understanding of how the mind perceives, thinks, and acts is within our grasp. Such an understanding will have a revolutionary impact on national interests in science, medicine, economic growth, security, and well-being. It is our belief that paradigm-shifting progress can be made now by establishing a major national research initiative called “The Decade of the Mind.”

A Decade of the Mind initiative would build on progress of the recent Decade of the Brain (1990-99), which dramatically increased the visibility of neuroscience (1). Unlike the Decade of the Brain, which focused on neuroscience and clinical applications, the Decade of the Mind initiative, by necessity, should be transdisciplinary and multi-agency in its approach. Success will require research that reaches across disparate fields such as cognitive science, medicine, neuroscience, psychology, mathematics, engineering, and computer …