Many drugs are available to treat schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety, but the drugs are far from effective. And after more than 70 years of searching for effective drug therapies, we still have little insight into the underlying mechanisms of mental illness. The trouble lies, at least in part, in how the drugs were developed and how modern medicine operates.
George Rebec is Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus, Psychological and Brain Sciences
The obesity epidemic is sweeping the globe. Find out how the body regulates weight, why it’s so difficult to keep weight off, and what this means for health outcomes and the future of obesity.
Dr. Natasha Murataeva received her PhD in neuroscience from IU
Several things to note:
1) We’re starting at 7pm
2) We’re on the 3rd Wednesday
3) We’re at Hopscotch on Morton & Dodds
4) Hopscotch doesn’t have much food, which is why we’re beginning at 7pm (They do have great coffee, tea, beer, and pastries all the time.)
Dr. Alex Straiker will be back with a 5-year update on a favorite Science Café topic, the Science of Cannabis. How do cannabinoids work in the body? Are they dangerous? What has changed with the movement to legalize cannabis?
Four things are different from our usual meetings:
1) We’re starting at 7pm
2) We’re at Hopscotch on Morton & Dodds
3) Hopscotch doesn’t traditionally have food, though they’re working on that and we’ll update this event as more information becomes available They do have coffee, tea, beer, and pastries all the time.
4) We’re on the 3rd, rather than 4th Wednesday, so as not to conflict with Green Drinks
We were all set to hold our next meeting at the Roost on the 30th, when we found out about this lecture: Leading astrophysicist on landmark gravitational wave discovery to speak at IU
So, we’re encouraging Science Cafe aficionados to attend this IU event at 7:30 p.m. in Swain West, Room 119.
We’ll re-schedule Dr Newman’s talk, and will post our February talk soon!
Play is an important way that young children learn. Playing with spatial toys and engaging in spatial activities may prove to be an essential part of the development of spatial thinking. There are a number of studies that have related spatial play with spatial skill and number processing both of which are important for success in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). I will discuss some evidence in support of the spatial play STEM achievement relationship.
Our speaker is Sharlene Newman, PhD
Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences (cni.lab.indiana.edu)
Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (ovpue.indiana.edu)
Director, IU Program in Neuroscience (neuroscience.indiana.edu)
Stress is implicated in many psychological disorders, and the rate and expression of many stress-related disorders differs in women and men. Prefrontal cortex has been implicated in many stress-influenced psychological disorders. Using animal models, we have shown that stress affects prefrontal cortex differently in males versus females. Given that prefrontal cortex is an important regulator of emotional behavior, understanding the mechanisms underlying these different stress effects is key to developing appropriate treatments for stress-related disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dr. Cara Wellman, director of the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior will present this talk.
Huntington’s disease, a fatal neurodegenerative condition that strikes in the prime of life, is caused by a single gene defect. The mutant gene was identified in 1993 but hope for a cure was far from assured as subsequent research revealed an amazingly complex role for this gene in brain function. Now, a positive phase I clinical trial and a $45 million bet from Roche suggests a reason for optimism. And if the therapy works for HD patients could a similar approach work for other neurodegenerative conditions?
Dr. George Rebec will talk about this work and the implications.
(This talk was rescheduled because of a roof leak at Bears in June. Also, to avoid conflict with Halloween, we’re doing it on a Friday instead of Wednesday!)
Huntington’s disease, a fatal neurodegenerative condition that strikes in the prime of life, is caused by a single gene defect. The mutant gene was identified in 1993 but hope for a cure was far from assured as subsequent research revealed an amazingly complex role for this gene in brain function. Now, a positive phase I clinical trial and a $45 million bet from Roche suggests a reason for optimism. And if the therapy works for HD patients could a similar approach work for other neurodegenerative conditions?
Dr. George Rebec will talk about this work and the implications.
