21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH
UK
How does the imagination actually work? How and why do we see pictures when we’re merely listening to words? The truth is that no-one really knows….and maybe we never will. Tonight’s guide through the mysteries of synaptic pathways and some of the latest scientific explorations and conundrums is the marvellous Vincent Walsh – Professor of Human Brain Research at University College London.
This is genuine ‘here there be dragons’ territory for neuroscience research, as scientists tackle the complexities of what can be measured and what human beings actually experience.
An undisputed expert, Dr Walsh’s research includes studies into visual memory and cognition; the perception of time, plasticity, sleep, and synaesthesia. He’d also be the first to admit that when it comes to the little grey cells – there’s an awful lot left to learn…
Come prepared to enter the projection box of the cinema of the imagination, and to catch a glimpse of the sophisticated smoke and mirror processing of the mind’s eye…
VINCE WALSH is Professor of Human Brain Research and Royal Society Industry Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London. He has published over 300 scientific articles and several books and specialises in the how the brain achieves all the things we take for granted. If there’s something that stimulates the brain; then he’s interested in it. A passionate and dynamic speaker, you’ll find him giving TedX talks; discussing neuroscience on the BBC’s Britain’s Brightest series and slaving away in laboratories trying to work out how the brain does what it does, and how this knowledge can be useful in the real world. He leads the Applied Cognitive Neuroscience group at UCL. www.appliedcognitiveneuroscience.com