Larry J. Young

Larry James Young (June 16, 1967 – March 21, 2024) was an American psychiatrist who was the William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine. He was head of the Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders at Emory National Primate Research Center. Young studied how genetic, cellular and neurobiological mechanisms regulate complex social behavior, including social cognition and social bonding. His research focuses heavily on the roles of the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin in regulating the neural processing of social signals and social attachment.

Young developed behavioral paradigms that are useful for screening drugs that enhance social cognition, and the development of novel strategies for drug discovery in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Young was also the director of the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience at Emory University, which brings together scientists and clinicians in the Atlanta area who are focused on understanding and healing the human brain. Young's work has also been the subject of a National Geographic documentary.