13th February 2001: "Myths and realities of the human brain"

Colin Blakemore's outstanding research has been concerned with vision and teh early development of the brain. He is a frequent broadcaster on radio and television (including the 1982 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures and The Mind Machine, a 13-part series on brain and mind). He has also written widely for the general public. In 1989 the Royal Society described him as "one of Britain's most influential communicators of science".

The common view is that we only use 10% of our brains, that new nerve cells cannot be created after birth, that regeneration of the brain is impossible, and that the brain is a fixed, unchangeable organ. But brain research, in the past two decades, has swept aside all these myths. The human brain is a vast biological 'computational' machine that is constantly changing and adapting to its input and to the demands that are placed on it. The brain is the most 'plastic' organ in the body, not just in the early years, but throughout life. Harnessing the capacity for reorganization and repair will not only help all of us to maintain healthy minds into old age, but will also give us new tools to treat strokes, degenerative diseases and even psychiatric disorders.

Come along and join us at 7pm in Blackwells Main Bookshop, Broad Street, Oxford.
No ticket, no booking, no scientific background required.