Modern Dystopia or Revolutionary Neuroscience?

Although still largely seen as a subject of dystopian science fiction novels, artificial intelligence technologies are everywhere, infiltrating our daily lives. It can definitely recommend a new film to watch based on our previous choices, but how can AI help researchers and doctors understand the very organ it tries to mimic - the human brain? This talk will give an overview of current uses of AI in neuroscience, with a focus on disease diagnosis and finding new treatments.

Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing and second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1% of the over 60 population globally. Currently there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease and existing treatments only target the symptoms rather than the cause. We highlight changes within the human brain as we age and how these differ between Parkinson’s patients and the general population. We discuss techniques used to understand Parkinson’s disease in patient skin and brain cells, which helps us screen therapeutic interventions.