Earnest C. Watson Lecture by Professor Anderson, "The Inner Life of the Brain: Fear, Sex, and Violence."
Behaviors that are fundamental to animal survival, such as mating and the fight-or-flight response, are driven by internal emotional states. In humans, these brain states are subjectively experienced as "feelings," such as desire, rage, or terror. Understanding the brain mechanisms that govern these states, using powerful new tools such as optogenetics and calcium imaging, will lead to better treatments for psychiatric disorders. However, such studies can only be performed in animal models. How can we study an animal's internal state when we do not know if it has subjective feelings? In this lecture, Anderson will describe a new approach to this problem, which allows the neurobiology of emotional states to be studied in diverse animal species without reference to subjective feelings.
About the Speaker:
David J. Anderson is the Seymour Benzer Professor of Biology; Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience Leadership Chair; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Director, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech.
Learn more about Prof. Anderson's research: [ Ссылка ]
About the Watson Lecture Series:
Since 1922, The Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series has brought Caltech's most innovative scientific research to the public. The series is named for Earnest C. Watson, a professor of physics at Caltech from 1919 until 1959. Spotlighting a small selection of the pioneering research Caltech's faculty is currently conducting, the Watson Lectures are geared toward a general audience, as part of the Institute's ongoing commitment to benefiting the local community through education and outreach. Through a gift from the estate of Richard C. Biedebach, the lecture series is able to highlight assistant professors' research each season.
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