Stimulating the Healthy and Diseased Brain (Lecture in Dutch)
Nowadays, we can use focal electromagnetic pulses to stimulate our brains, noninvasively and without side effects. This has been used in fundamental research for studying the relationship between brain network activity and human behaviour. We are currently on the brink of using non-invasive brain stimulation to improve the functioning of the healthy brain and enhance our human abilities. This form of brain-enhancement requires a broader (ethical) discussion of what we want to enhance with whom and why, while also being paramount for developing new therapeutic approaches for supporting the cognitive recovery after brain injury, and/or treating different neuropsychiatric diseases such as depression. (Lecture is in Dutch)
About the speaker
Professor Dr. Alexander Sack is an internationally renowned expert in non-invasive brain stimulation, fundamental and applied cognitive neuroscience, and clinical brain research. He studied Psychology and Neuroscience with a Master of Science in Psychology and a PhD in Natural Sciences (summa cum laude) from Frankfurt University, Germany.
Since 2011, he is appointed as Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the UM Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience. In 2012, Dr. Sack was appointed as member of The Young Academy (De Jonge Akademie, DJA) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and in 2013 member of The Young Academy of Europe (YAE). In 2015, he founded and is currently still director of the Dutch-Flemish Brain Stimulation Foundation, aiming to promote scientific research and collaboration in the field of non-invasive brain stimulation and its translation to clinical practice (e.g. for treating depression).
This lecture is part of traditional series of lectures for alumni; the UM Star Lectures. The other 13 lectures are organized in 13 different cities and 5 countries on the same day at the same time. This event is organized to reach out to and inspire alumni, share academic insights, experiences and memories, and to create an interconnected UM Alumni Community.