Brains, Babes and Booming Hearts

I'll discuss how a patient's brain activity before surgery can forecast their pain levels and risk of dementia afterward. By studying certain mental profiles and brain patterns, we can predict if a patient might develop chronic pain or dementia post-surgery.

There's a clue in the name. The word “infant” is derived from the Latin in fans (without speech). Human babies cannot report their experiences and are uncooperative (to say the least) when it comes to experimental task instructions. For these reasons, it has been difficult to establish when babies become conscious. In this talk we will outline some of the recent approaches which have been taken to this crucial question and say what we think they have demonstrated. One recent approach inspired by philosophical analysis of the nature of consciousness, has been to suggest that we can identify the origins of consciousness by searching in infants for clusters of neural markers of conscious awareness previously observed in adults. On this basis, some have argued that humans are consciously aware at the end of the third trimester of gestation (just before birth). As a developmental psychologist (Andy) and a philosopher of mind (Henry) we will talk about how interdisciplinary collaborations should be and are at the heart of tackling this fascinating question.

Did you know that the stories you hear can affect the rhythm of your heart? Surprisingly, when different people listen to the same story, their heart rate changes synchronise – their heart rates rise and fall in harmony during the story.

Join us as we explore the science behind this phenomenon and how it could help to diagnose someone’s level of consciousness after a severe brain injury. Come uncover this fascinating connection between your heart, stories, and consciousness.