Note: This is the first of two talks. See calendar for second talk.
This seminar is a collaboration between the Oxford Martin School, the Oxford Martin Programme on Resource Stewardship and the Institute of Science and Ethics
First Speaker: Professor Robert Rogers, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and Senior Research Fellow, Jesus College Oxford
Title: ‘Serotonin influences the use of social norms in resource dilemmas: experimental and clinical observations’
Summary: How do people sustain resources for the benefit of individuals and communities and avoid the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ in which shared resources become exhausted? In this series of experiments, we examined the role of serotonin activity and underlying neural systems, focusing upon the importance of social norms in the management of valuable but depletable resources. The results allow us to connect an understanding of the neurobiology of social function to important decisions about the community use of resources and their sustainability. We also provide new information about how experimental models of resource management problems might help us to understand social isolation in clinical populations such as individuals with depression and other psychiatric illnesses.
Chair: Professor Julian Savulescu, Director, Institute for Science and Ethics and Principal Investigator, Oxford Martin Programme on Resource Stewardship
This seminar will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome.