Throughout his distinguished career, based predominantly at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBU), John Duncan has made numerous influential contributions to understanding the behavioural and brain basis of attention and intelligence. John’s ideas, invariably combining theoretical eloquence, experimental rigour, and convergent methodology, have had huge impact across domains of experimental psychology, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, and electrophysiology; the understanding of attention as a process of integrated competition, the behavioural phenomena of attentional dwell time and goal neglect, and the importance of the multiple-demand system of the primate brain to focused cognition, are but a few. Recognition of John’s work has included the 2012 Heineken Prize in Cognitive Science, and Fellowships of both the Royal Society and the British Academy. At his festschrift, John was fittingly described, amongst other superlatives, as “the most complete scientist.” To mark John’s retirement, a special issue of Neuropsychologia (www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10QN6R7VQSM) brings together a collection of reviews, perspectives, and new research, inspired by John’s work and insights, to celebrate John’s immense and enduring contributions to the field.

Read the editorial to the special issue here:

Mitchell, D.J., Assem, M. & Woolgar A. (2025) “Paying attention to John Duncan.” Neuropsychologia 109323, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109323