Unravelling the Brain

Have you ever wondered why people with dyslexia, one of the most common learning disabilities, struggle with seemingly easy reading and spelling tasks but excel in so many other areas in life? And what occupations are particularly suitable for dyslexic brains?
Join Léon Franzen on a tour through the often mystified and misunderstood land of dyslexia. Recent findings, from his PhD on adult dyslexics’ decision making, will give you an understanding of dyslexics’ extraordinary strengths arising from a life facing adversity.

What is the main purpose of our brain function? Answer: Its incredible ability to ‘predict’ the future. Professor Lars Muckli’s research focuses on cortical feedback and predictive coding in the visual cortex, particularly primary visual cortex (V1), using functional brain imaging methods (fMRI, TMS, EEG). He is also closely involved with the Human Brain Project – a global collaborative effort for neuroscience, medicine and computing to understand the brain, its diseases and its computational capabilities - setting the stage for future scientific revolutions and societal breakthroughs.

By living in social groups and through collaboration, humans have become one of the most dominant species on our planet, colonising the earth and surviving in extremes of climate. In contrast to a talent for togetherness, people are sensitive to differences from the self, seemingly effortlessly developing mindsets about us and them, in-group and out-groups, included and excluded. Dr Helena Paterson will detail some of the psychological theories used to understand this behaviour as well as her work looking at stigma, prejudice and stereotypes and the challenges of measuring these processes.