Retraining the Brain

Join David Ewing Duncan, bestselling author and chief correspondent of public radio’s Biotech Nation in conversation with three leading UCSF researchers as they discuss the prospects for retraining the brain to perform better. Their explorations range from investigations of how the brain works, to the development of practical remedies for maladies driven by impaired brain function. Among the issues they are tackling with new strategies are patients with schizophrenia, individuals who have lost arms and struggle with prosthetic limbs – and everyone whose recall is compromised by everyday distractions that challenge the memory.

When: Wednesday, November 2nd, 12-1 PM

Where:  Health Sciences West, Room 303, UCSF Parnassus Campus

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Speakers: 

David Ewing Duncan is an award-winning, best-selling author of seven books published in 19 languages; he is a journalist and a television, radio and film producer and correspondent. His most recent book is the bestseller Experimental Man: What One Man’s Body Reveals About His future, your health, and our toxic world. He is the chief correspondent of public radio’s Biotech Nation; and a columnist for Fortune. He is also the director of the Center of Life Science Policy at UC Berkeley.

Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, is the founding director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center at the University of California, San Francisco. He studies the neural mechanisms of perception, attention and memory in humans, with an emphasis on the impact of distraction and multitasking on these abilities. A major focus of his research has been on the alterations in the aging brain that lead to cognitive decline. His most recent studies explore how we can use this knowledge to enhance our cognitive abilities through the use of video games. Gazzaley has delivered over 200 invited presentations and his research and perspectives have been consistently profiled in high-impact media, such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Discover, PBS, NPR, CNN and NBC Nightly News.

Sri Nagarajan, PhD, is a professor with the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and also with the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at UCSF. His research interests are to better understand neural mechanisms of brain plasticity, sensorimotor learning and speech motor control through advancements in high-fidelity functional brain imaging. He also has been working with UCSF colleagues to develop and test approaches for improving cognitive function in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Philip Sabes, PhD, is an associate professor of physiology at UCSF. His research focuses on how the brain flexibly adapts to integrate sensory information to plan movements. He aims to develop the ability to write information into the brain to improve control over prosthetic arms, by learning how underlying neural circuits change through sensory feedback and learning. His work employs techniques such as human psychophysics, computational modeling and large-scale, simultaneous recording of electrical activity from 50 to 200 neurons in two to three cortical areas within the brain.

Cost: FREE