Current Public Lectures

The Fourteenth UCI Distinguished Lecture Series on Brain, Learning and Memory Dates and speakers for the 2007 Lecture Series are:

Back to the Future: Is Mental Time Travel Unique to Humans?
Professor Nicola S. Clayton
University of Cambridge
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 – 7:30 p.m.
As humans, we spend much of our time reminiscing about our past and planning for the future. In this lecture, Professor Clayton will discuss why this ability is an important part of our normal daily lives and whether it is unique to humans.  Surprisingly, some of the most convincing evidence comes not from our closest relatives, the apes, but from Professor Clayton’s innovative research on the memory abilities of a smart, large-brained bird, the western scrub-jay.

Generating New Brain Cells in the Adult Brain
Dr. Fred H. Gage
The Salk Institute
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 – 7:30 p.m.  
Until recently, dogma was that adults were incapable of growing new nerve cells.  However, recent research shows that small populations of immature nerve cells are indeed found in the adult brain, formed by a process called neurogenesis.  Dr Gage will discuss his pioneering studies to understand how these immature cells can be induced to become mature, functioning nerve cells, and how they may one day help repair aging and damaged brains and spinal cords.  

How to Get Old:  Lessons from 90-year-olds
Dr. Claudia Kawas
University of California, Irvine
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 – 7:30 p.m. 
Over the past century, advances in public health and medical science extended life expectancy by more than 28 years.  People over age 90 are now the fastest growing segment of the population, although little is known about these pioneers of aging.  Dr. Kawas will discuss findings from The 90+ Study, one of the largest population-based studies of oldest-old in the world.  Based in Leisure World, Laguna Woods, she shares lifestyle and other lessons from individuals in their tenth decade and beyond.

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