Brain Mapping Symposium

Today I attended a symposium on brain mapping on campus.  It is a regional conference but many of the presenters are world class scholars, trained at some of the top universities in the world such as Johns Hopkins, California Institute of Technology (CalTech), etc. Many of the the projects are obviously at the leading edge of the science. I don’t fully understand everything that is said.  But enough to get excited. 

There are astounding images of the shrinkage of parts of the brain at different stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers do not yet know why things are happening.  But they know more and more what is happening. 

There are investigations into the impact of the mother’s depression on the development of the baby. The tools that are now available are amazing.  

There are efforts in developing surrogate models of the brain, for study, exploration, simulation of the effect of various types of surgery, etc. It seems still relatively crude and not very fine grained.  But the ideas are very creative.  

Fascinating stuff.  The brain is one amazing organ.  How does it work?  How does it relate to our consciousness?  Mind?  Soul?This is one of the biggest benefits of working in a university, particularly one that is among the top universities in the world.  One have easy access to the cutting edge of research, in so many fields.  I hope I never have to leave.