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Every time you learn something new, your brain changes. The brain's malleability has always fascinated researchers but now we have began to observe these changes as they happen. Join us to discover how neurons and nerve cells change in response to the challenges they face. Your challenge will be to make Beautiful Brain cells out of... you guessed it... Play-Doh! Prizes will be won!
Separating the wheat from the chaff: Habituation as a foundation for cognition
Dr Sam Cooke
(Lecturer in Neurobiology)
Learning and memory are critical for well-being and survival, allowing us to create our own life story, acquire skills and avoid punishment. Habituation, is a form of learning that enables us to ignore trivialities and focus on important events or novel stimuli, which deserve exploration. Failures of habituation, which are often present in human cognitive disorders, result serious difficulties for cognition. We still do not understand how the brain accomplishes this most fundamental of cognitive processes. I will discuss why it remains a challenge.
The brain in health and disease - how we are wired for change
Dr Stephanie Forkel
(Honorary Lecturer in Neuroimaging)
As human beings, we have an amazing capacity to learn new skills and adapt to new environments. Every day, we gain new experiences but how is this change anchored in the brain and what happens when this process goes wrong? I will offer research and practical advice on how we can help our brains by studying London cabbies, learning to juggle and eating more chocolate.
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