Stephen W. Porges, PhD, is a behavioral neuroscientist and the originator of
Polyvagal Theory, a framework linking autonomic regulation to emotion, social
behavior, and health. He is Distinguished University Scientist at the Kinsey Institute,
Indiana University, where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress
Research Consortium, and serves as Professor of Psychiatry at the University of
North Carolina. He holds emeritus professorial appointments at the University of
Maryland and the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and is Courtesy
Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine
in Jacksonville.

Professor Porges’ interdisciplinary research has reshaped understanding of how
autonomic state influences social engagement, emotion regulation, and health, with
broad implications for trauma, neurodevelopment, and mind-body medicine. He has
authored over 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications, which have been cited in
more than 65,000 scholarly works.

He has written several books translating autonomic science for clinical and public
audiences. Among his most recent are Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and
Trauma Change Us (with Seth Porges, W. W. Norton) and Safe and Sound: A
Polyvagal Approach for Connection, Change, and Healing (with Karen Onderko,
Sounds True).

His current work examines the role of autonomic state regulation in supporting
health, safety, and social engagement, alongside the development of non-invasive
approaches informed by Polyvagal Theory.

This includes Sonocea® Sonic Augmentation Technology™ (SAT™), an acoustic
neuromodulation platform co-developed with Anthony Gorry. Conceptually and
technically distinct from protocol-based listening interventions, Sonocea® applies
engineered auditory parameters aligned with endogenous physiological rhythms to
support autonomic regulation and well-being through physiology- and state-aligned
listening.

His work also includes the Safe and Sound Protocol™ (SSP), a structured listening
protocol he developed, and the Rest and Restore Protocol™ (RRP), a distinct
structured listening protocol developed using the underlying Sonocea® Sonic
Augmentation Technology™ (SAT™) platform to support regulation and restorative
states.

He is a founder and board member emeritus of the Polyvagal Institute, a global
nonprofit advancing polyvagal-informed education, research, and international
collaboration.