BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK: Emory and Georgia State University Experts Offer Insights into Drug Abuse, Neurochemistry of Love and How Kids Learn to Read


March 1998


Media Contacts:
Sarah Goodwin, 404/727-3366 - sgoodwi@emory.edu
Kathi Ovnic, 404/727-9371 -- covnic@emory.edu
http://www.emory.edu/WHSC/





Some say the human brain is that which truly distinguishes man from other animals.

Yet until recently, the nature of the human brain has remained elusive.

In the past decade, however, scientists have unlocked more mysteries about the brain than had been achieved for centuries.

To communicate with the public some of the enormous strides made in brain research, the Society for Neuroscience and the Dana Foundation have designated March 16-20 as national BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK. Throughout the week, educational events will take place across the nation to inform the public about the results and implications of new brain research. Emory University has teamed up with these organizations and with Georgia State University to sponsor a number of local events.

The Atlanta community will have the opportunity to hear the following three distinguished neuroscientists share insights from their own research into three provocative aspects of brain function:

DRUG ABUSE: New Discoveries and Impact on Society will be presented Tuesday, March 17 by Michael Kuhar, Ph.D., chief of Neuroscience at Yerkes Regional Primate Center and a professor of Pharmacology at the Emory University School of Medicine. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. at the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Auditorium, 1440 Clifton Rd., N.E., Atlanta.

THE MONOGAMOUS BRAIN will be presented Wednesday, March 18 by Thomas Insel, M.D., director of Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center and a professor of Psychiatry at the Emory University School of Medicine. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. at the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Auditorium, 1440 Clifton Rd., N.E., Atlanta.

HOW KIDS LEARN TO READ: The Neuropsychology of Reading Development and Dyslexia will be presented Thursday, March 19 by Robin Morris, Ph.D., director of the Regents Center for Learning Disorders, and professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Georgia State University. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre, 84 Forsyth St., Atlanta.



The lectures are free and open to the public.

In addition, neuroscience graduate students from Emory University and Georgia State University will lecture in some 22 anatomy and physiology classes in Gwinnett County high schools during Brain Awareness Week. The doctoral candidates will use examples from their own basic neuroscience research to show how quickly laboratory discoveries translate to treatments for patients with brain disease. Some Fulton County high school students will tour Emory neuroscience facilities.

Sponsorship of this local acknowledgment of brain research is provided by Emory University and the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.

The Society is the world's largest organization of scientists dedicated to basic research of the brain and nervous system.

For further information, call 404/ 727-5982, E-mail or visit the following web site: http://www.ScienceNET.emory.edu/SFN_Atlanta/.
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For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, call Health Sciences Communication's Office at 404-727-5686, or send e-mail to hsnews@emory.edu.


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