Larry James Young[1] (June 16, 1967[2] – 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.

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.

[12] While at Emory University, Young conducted experiments on prairie voles, to demonstrate the role that genes play in forming social bonds.

The change in mating behaviour, while genetic in nature, was caused by an increase in the receptiveness of the prairie voles brain to the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin.

The results of the study generated great interest beyond the scientific community, with stories appearing in NPR[13] and with National Geographic making a documentary on Young's work.