Since 1969, when the first two awards were conferred on founding members Chester Darrow and R.C. Davis, the Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR) has recognized the outstanding and sustained contributions of some of its most prominent members with the society's highest honor, the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology. In the 60‐year history of SPR, only 36 individuals have been so honored, and never in its history had SPR conferred its highest honor upon a married couple. That changed in 2019, when it was my honor to present the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychophysiology to Drs. Monica Fabiani and Gabriele Gratton, during SPR's 59th annual meeting in Washington, DC. 

As Gabriele noted during the remarks he made when accepting his award, nearly 25 years ago, he and Monica made a deliberate decision to share a lab and pursue their scholarly interests as a team. Their joint scholarly efforts are reflected in their shared lists of publications1 and awarded grants. At the time when their awards were conferred, the name “Fabiani” had occurred 416 times on Gabriele's CV, whereas the name “Gratton” had appeared 447 times on Monica's CV. It makes sense, therefore, that they received this award together, as one reflection of their joint dedication to outstanding theoretical and methodological contributions in psychophysiology. Together, Monica and Gabriele provide a prime example of a Gestalt—their combined whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.

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