The Human Senses

There is an individualised differentiation in the degree of improvement that individuals experience after adjusting their hearing, the reason for which is still not clear, when the hearing itself seems adjusted to normal. Listening effort and fatigue are consequences that individuals with hearing impairment struggle with, but they are not directly related to the level of hearing ability, suggesting an influence from something else. This study aims to reveal the cognitive cost of listening, and measure the effects of depletors of cognitive resources on the effectiveness of communication.

Our sense of smell is our most mysterious sense, but we are beginning to understand how it works. In this talk we will do some interactive smelling to understand what is happening, and by using a special smell we will be able to get to the genes underlying one particular smell response. Bring your noses!

Imagine if you could visit your local optician for your routine eye test and get a rapid diagnosis of diseases affecting your brain, such as Parkinson’s disease, years before the onset of symptoms. This would transform the diagnosis of these diseases by removing the stress of waiting for multiple tests once symptoms have started, and by allowing for early intervention. Come and hear about how imaging the eye using a technique developed in astronomy is starting to pave the way for early detection of neurodegenerative disease in a routine eye test.

If I ask you how you are feeling, can you answer that without hesitation? Do you understand why your hands are getting sweaty? Why does your heart start to race sometimes? These physiological reactions may be in response to your emotional state! By observing signals such as heart rate, sweat levels, and brain waves, researchers can understand what emotions you may be experiencing. This talk will introduce you to the relationship between physiological signals and emotional states and why emotion recognition tools may be useful for some people in society.