9.30 am

10.30 am

Professor Neil Scolding: How Stem Cell Research Might Advance the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis

Very few areas of biology and medicine have attracted so much media and public interest over the past two decades as stem cells and their therapeutic potential. And yet, despite no small numbers of claims of 'miracle cures', and millions if not billions of pounds-worth of research, the only diseases routinely treated with stem cells in the clinic are exactly the same now as they were in the 1990s - principally, leukaemia and related disorders. Here we will explore how the way we think about using stem cells in neurological disease has changed dramatically over the past ten years, opening new and more realistic avenues for treating patients with difficult and currently untreatable disorders such as multiple sclerosis.

Professor Paul Howard-Jones: Neuroscience and Education: Brains, Games and Learning

How do games engage our attention and what do they do to our brains? This session will tackle the controversial topic of video games and why they may be so addictive, as well as explain how recent brain imaging research at Bristol is informing a new schools-based intervention (Sci-napse) to accelerate learning in Year 8 science lessons.

10.30 am

11.30 pm

Professor Graeme Henderson: Legal Highs

Following the recent disaster in Phase 1 Clinical trials of the FAAH inhibitor that had been through lots of tests - how much more dangerous then to take a new legal high synthesised in an illegal laboratory and not subjected to any tests at all before it is sold on the streets.

Doctor Meryem Grabski: How tobacco withdrawal influences cognition

This talk considers how cognitive task performance might provide a useful indicator of success in the treatments for addiction.

11.30 am

12.30 pm

Doctor Angela Rowe: Why break-ups make you reach for the ice cream

Insecurity of attachment is a key predictor of a number of psychological problems but also excessive eating. In the talk I discuss studies that examine the mechanisms by which insecurity can lead to disinhibited eating and ultimately high BMI and overweight.

Doctor Nina Kazanina: The listening brain

1 pm

2 pm

Professor Liz Coulthard: Making and maintaining memories

Doctor Briony Wood (CRIC): Alzheimer's disease, unravelling the mystery

Current therapies for Alzheimer's disease do not stop the disease progressing over time. It is likely that slowing or stopping of disease progression will only be possible in very early stage Alzheimer's disease. So, early diagnosis is key to effective treatment.

2 pm

3 pm

Doctor Nadia Cerminara: The Cerebellum: the Cindarella of the brain

The talk will be about how the cerebellum, which contains approximately 80% of the brain's neurones is an often ignored part of the brain even though it is involved in functions as diverse as movement control, cognition, emotion and spatial navigation.

Doctor Alan Whone: Mending brains with Parkinson's disease

9.30 am

10.30 am

Professor Seth Love: Brain banking and dementia research

Professor Kei Cho: A smart challenge of dementia - New conceptual understanding of Alzheimer's disease

Elucidation of disease mechanisms is a critical step in the development of more specific and effective drug design that will benefit Alzheimer's disease patients. This talk will focus on new conceptual understanding of Alzheimer's disease which is involved in weakening of nerve cells in the brain.

Professor Clea Warburton: I know that face! How the brain recognises familiar stimuli 

Doctor Nick Scott Samuel: Camouflage

11.30am

12.30 pm

Doctor Evie Stergiakouli: Genes, environment and mental health in childhood

Mental health problems in children are the result of a complex interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors. We are just beginning to understand this level of complexity. But is it possible that genes can even influence the environmental factors that we are exposed to?

Doctor Emma Robinson: Using animals to understand mental health

Mental health conditions are a major challenge when it comes to effective treatments. Most current therapies have side effects and many patients don't receive adequate relief of their symptoms. Studies in animals are the normal approach used to develop new treatments but can animals model these complex human conditions? This talk will illustrate some of the methods used to study mental health conditions and how similarities and differences between humans and animals are being considered.

1 pm

2 pm

Dr Suzanne Held: Studying Animal Cognition

How can we study what animals know? What do they understand about their environment? Why does it matter? The talk will introduce studies of animal cognition and discuss their implications.

Professor Stafford Lightman: The importance of rhythm for stress and the brain

The brain both detects and responds to stress in a way that is normally good for you but can also - when the stress is prolonged - cause disease. I shall discuss how the brain utilises rhythms of stress hormones to try and maintain bodily health.

2 pm

3 pm

Doctor Ulrich Bartsch: Laser-guided dreams

What if we could control brain activity while you sleep? What if you could influence future decisions by tickling neurons overnight? It's not science fiction any more...

Doctor Kathreena Kurian: What's new in brain tumour research

What is a brain tumour? Why do they happen?
How can we diagnose and treat them better?