21st
K.Gopalakrishna Endowment Lecture - January 2007
Enhancing the Brain
- Empowering the Mind
The academic endeavors
of NSIG for the year 2007 started with
a series of endowment lectures that Enhanced
the brain and empowered the mind'. The
event was organized at The Park on 07.01.2007.
Prof. V.S.Ramachandran, Prof.Perminder
Sachdev, Prof.Murali Duraiswamy, three
doyens of neuroscience addressed the elite
audience. Dr.Parker and Dr.Thirunavukarasu
chaired this didactic session.
Prof.
V.S.Ramachandran, often referred to as
'Rama' by his kin and kith, is the director
of Brain and Cognition Institute, University
of California-San Diego, U.S.A. He delivered
the Third Soundarajan endowment lecture.
He threw light in simple terms on the
complex phenomena of consciousness and
perception at various levels from physiological
to metaphysical. His lecture on 'Mirror
neurons' facilitated even a lay person's
understanding of the fascinating functions
of the brain. The concept of mirror neurons
being the first form of Internet made
many in the audience sit up. For the medical
community, the take home message was the
concept mirror neurons in relation to
autism.
Prof.
Perminder Sachdev, the President of International
Neuropsychiatry Association and Professor
at University of New South Wales, Sydney,
Australia delivered the Sixth Appa Rao oration
on 'Enhancing the human brain- Possibilities
and pitfalls'. He introduced the audience
to a whole new area on enhancement of brain
functions through pharmacological intervention
and went on to enumerate the tools offered
by technological advancement namely, transcranial
magnetic stimulation, vagal nerve stimulation,
cochlear and retinal implants. The use of
cortical neural prosthesis as an adjunct
to neurocognitive enhancers like SSRI, evoked
the crowd's interest. He also introduced
the robotKISMET that can emote and can be
used to train children having autism. He
concluded his lecture touching upon the
ethical concerns involved in using the modalities.
Prof.
Murali Doraiswamy, Head of Biological Psychiatry
at Duke University Medical Centre, North
Carolina, USA, delivered the Third Dr. Lakshmi
Narayanan Endowment Lecture. Prof. Doraiswamy
highlighted the nuances of how our brain
ages, in most scientific terms, but with
an appealing touch of humour, which held
the audience, spellbound. The novel concept
of Neurobics and the use of memory cards
in enhancing memory, gained huge appreciation.
His lecture also encompassed the role of
genetics in roofing an ageing brain.
Prof.
Murali Doraiswamy, Head of Biological Psychiatry
at Duke University Medical Centre, North
Carolina, USA, delivered the Third Dr. Lakshmi
Narayanan Endowment Lecture. Prof. Doraiswamy
highlighted the nuances of how our brain
ages, in most scientific terms, but with
an appealing touch of humour, which held
the audience, spellbound. The novel concept
of Neurobics and the use of memory cards
in enhancing memory, gained huge appreciation.
His lecture also encompassed the role of
genetics in roofing an ageing brain.
