Library Roundtable

The Neurosciences Institute presents its own community lecture series, the Library Roundtable program. Offered several times each year at no charge to the public, these lectures are delivered by leading figures in science and technology as well as other fields that pertain to brain science. The lectures are followed by a question-and-answer discussion session moderated by Dr. Edelman. Following the discussion, guests enjoy the opportunity to engage in stimulating conversation over drinks and hors d' oeuvres.

 

LEARN~ASK~THINK~DISCOVER
The Neurosciences Institute's Library Roundtable Lecture Series

The next Library Roundtable will be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2009:


Imagine using your brain to control a prosthetic arm or having a computer chip placed in your brain to help you recover from a stroke. While this may seem like science fiction, for the burgeoning field of “brain-computer interfaces” such technology is becoming a reality.

Dr. Eberhard Fetz has developed small implantable computer chips that record the activity of brain cells in one region and, based on that activity, stimulate other brain regions, the spinal cord, or muscles during free behavior. By operating continuously, the so-called “Neurochip” provides artificial feedback connections that the brain can learn to incorporate into its normal function; the ongoing activity can also modify the brain’s neural connectivity. This novel paradigm opens many new research directions and has numerous clinical applications for bridging damaged biological pathways and strengthening weak neural connections.

After receiving a B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Fetz has been at the University of Washington since 1968. He is Professor of Physiology and Biophysics and a member of the Core Staff of the Washington National Primate Research Center. Dr. Fetz is a leader in the field of motor control. His research has explored the neurophysiology of volitional movement, the functional organization of the brain’s motor cortex, and the physiology of the spinal cord. Dr. Fetz is also an Associate of the Neurosciences Research Program, an important alliance of leaders in the field of neuroscience and related disciplines that is sponsored by The Neurosciences Institute.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Jeanna Adams at (858) 626-2053 or adams@nsi.edu.

All lectures are presented in The Neurosciences Institute's acclaimed auditorium at 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, San Diego, CA 92121.

A list of previous Library Roundtable programs is below:

June 18, 2009

November 11, 2008

"How the Human Brain Creates Human Society"
John Searle, D.Phil.
Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor of Philosophy of Mind and Language at University of California, Berkeley

April 22, 2008

"Perceiving the World Around Us"
Ranulfo Romo, M.D.
Professor of Neuroscience at the Institute of Cellular Physiology, National Autonomous University of Mexico

August 14, 2007

"Musicophilia:  Tales of Music and the Brain"
Oliver Sacks, M.D.
Professor of Clinical Neurology at Columbia University
**An audio recording of this lecture is available here **

April 17, 2007

"From Nerve Cells to Feelings:  A Bottom-Up View"
Rodolfo Llinas, M.D., Ph.D.
Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience
Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at the
New York University School of Medicine

November 16, 2006

"Experience, Memory, and Addiction"
Robert Malenka, M.D., Ph.D.
Pritzker Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Director, Nancy Friend Pritzker Laboratory
Stanford University School of Medicine

April 20, 2006

“Autism: Biomedical Approaches to Understanding Causes, Prevention, and Treatment”
David G. Amaral, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Research Director and Beneto Foundation Chair
The M.I.N.D. Institute
(Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders)
University of California, Davis

March 15, 2005

"Where Do We Store Our Memories?"
Joaquin Fuster, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Neuropsyciatric Institute and Brain Research Institute
School of Medicine
University of California at Los Angeles

June 14, 2004

"The Weaving of Our Risk: How Genes and Environment Together Contribute to Psychiatric Illness"
Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D.
Rachel Brown Banks Professor of Psychiatry
Professor of Human Genetics
Medical College of Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University

February 3, 2004

"The Neuroscience of Learning Disabilities"
Michael M. Merzenich, Ph.D.
Francis A. Sooy Chair of Otolaryngology
Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences
University of California at San Francisco

June 19, 2003

"How Basic Neuroscience Gives Hope for Parkinson's Disease"
Floyd E. Bloom, M.D.
Immediate Past Editor-in-Chief, Science
Chairman and Professor,
Department of Neuropharmacology,
The Scripps Research Institute

February 5, 2003

"Neural Darwinism: A Framework for Transforming and Reinvigorating Undergraduate Education"
Dr. Elizabeth Coleman
President, Bennington College, Bennington Vermont
Visiting Fellow, The Neurosciences Institute

September 17, 2002

“Eyes Believe What They See; Ears Believe Others”
Paul J. Orfalea
Founder and Chairperson Emeritus,
Kinko’s Inc.

July 11, 2002

“The Cosmos and the Brain: Exploring our Final Frontiers”
The Honorable Daniel S. Goldin
Past Administrator of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
Senior Fellow, The Neurosciences Institute

February 4, 2002

“Once More With Feeling: The Return of the Science of Emotion”
Antonio R. Damasio, M.D., Ph.D.
Van Allen Professor and Head
Department of Neurology
University of Iowa College of Medicine
Associate,
Neurosciences Research Program

November 7, 2001

"How Did Things Ever Get So Darned Complicated?"
Nicholas C. Spitzer, Ph. D.
Professor and Chairman,
Department of Neurobiology
University of California San Diego
Associate,
Neurosciences Research Program

June 19, 2001

"Creativity, Nobel Prizes, and Major Discoveries"
J. Rogers Hollingsworth, Ph. D.
Professor of Sociology, History, and Industrial Relations
Chairperson, Graduate Program
in Comparative History
University of Wisconsin—Madison

April 25, 2001

"Music and the Brain"
Aniruddh D. Patel, Ph.D.
Esther J. Burnham Fellow
in Theoretical Neurobiology
The Neurosciences Institute

February 28, 2001

"Time Flies Like an Arrow, but Fruit Flies Like a Banana"
Ralph J. Greenspan, Ph.D.
Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Senior Fellow
in Experimental Neurobiology
The Neurosciences Institute

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