Matter Over Mind

How much do we see? How much do we remember? The answer will surprise you. Very little. Incredibly little.
But how about the feeling we have of seeing everything around us, and remembering our past as if we are playing back a movie? It is an illusion, or to be more precise, a construction by the brain. There is a reason, though.
In this short talk, I will show how the brain processes very little information to extract meaning and understand the world around us, and I will discuss how this is the basis of human intelligence.

Many people will call themselves slightly “OCD” because they have a strong drive to keep things neat and orderly. For people who suffer from OCD though, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and the urge to perform repetitive behaviours (compulsions) can greatly impair daily functioning, especially when regular treatment does not offer much relief. What goes wrong in their brains and can it be corrected? A method called deep brain stimulation might provide an ultimate escape.

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases, are incurable disorders that lead to progressive death of specific nerve cells, often within the brain. These devastating conditions are increasing in incidence because of our ageing population, and therefore represent an enormous challenge for our healthcare system. Many of these disorders have a significant genetic component. I will talk about the use of genetic tools to better understand the mechanisms underlying these disorders and our progress in identifying potential therapeutic strategies.