Some of the most exciting work in contemporary psychology is occurring in cognitive neuroscience. In the two talks that comprise this second evening of Psych in the City 2010, Drs. Urs Ribary and Wendy Thornton will present recent progress in, and possible applications of, current brain imaging and memory research in psychology. Heathy brain and memory functioning will be discussed in relation to changes in such functioning as a result of injury, disability, and aging.
Presenters
Psych in the Brain
Dr. Urs Ribary
Psych happens in the city and psych happens in our brain. Today, there are various brain imaging technologies available that make it possible to look inside the human brain completely non-invasively and image the brain’s architecture and brain’s function. Current brain imaging research aims at how brain areas are connected, activated and how they communicate with each other in the healthy and pathological human brain to better understand human cognitive processes such as language, learning and memory. This talk will highlight the significance of underlying brain network activations and dynamics contributing to sensory perception and cognition. Further, the talk will demonstrate how brain networks can become slightly or severely dysrhythmic in disabilities and neuro-psychiatric disorders and how brain network connectivity can fracture in unconscious humans following traumatic brain injury.
Urs Ribary received his doctorate degree in Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland. For the following 19 years, he was a professor and the director of a functional brain imaging center at New York University Medical Center in New York City (USA). In 2007, he was awarded the endowed BC LEEF Leadership Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience in Childhood Health and Development and a Professorship at SFU. His goal is to facilitate multi-disciplinary cognitive neuroscience brain imaging research across disciplines and institutions including SFU, the Down Syndrome Research Foundation, the BC’s Children Hospital, and University of British Columbia to better understand the developing human brain, its cognitive abnormalities and pathologies and to develop better objective diagnostic procedures in relation to therapeutic interventions.
The Mature Mind: Understanding and Improving Memory in Older Age
Dr. Wendy Thornton
Many adults notice changes in their abilities to learn and remember information as they get older. For some, these memory changes may be barely noticeable, whereas for others, they can be distressing enough to interfere with quality of life. Still others are faced with age-related illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that rob them of their memories. In this talk, Dr. Thornton will discuss the difference between “typical” age-related changes and those associated with age-related disease. She will also present findings from recent research suggesting that memory in later life can be bolstered through lifestyle modifications.
Dr. Wendy Thornton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University. Her research examines age differences in cognitive performance using both traditional neuropsychological measures and measures of “everyday” cognition and functioning. She is interested in how age differences in memory and other cognitive abilities are explained by individual differences in factors such as lifestyle and health.
Website: http://web.me.com/wthornto/Cognitive_Aging_Lab
