UC DAVIS M.I.N.D. INSTITUTE HOSTS DISTINGUISHED LECTURER SERIES FOR 2004-2005

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — TThe UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute will host Ralph Adolphs, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology, on Wednesday, May 11, at the M.I.N.D. Institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento, as the eighth speaker in its third annual Distinguished Lecturer Series.

Adolphs is internationally recognized for his research on the neural basis of emotion and social behavior in humans. He will present two lectures. During his technical presentation at 4 p.m., Adolphs will review evidence for the role of the amygdala in social information processing and the mechanism that underlies impairments in this function following amygdala damage. During a 6 p.m. community-interest lecture, he will discuss the special way that humans process social information and how studies of brain lesions can help us understand neurodevelopmental disorders and illnesses that affect emotion and social behavior. Both presentations are free and open to the public; no reservations are needed.

Adolphs currently holds a prestigious 21st Century Science Award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation and maintains an adjunct appointment as professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the University of Iowa. His long-term goals are to understand how emotion modulates perception, attention, memory and social cognition. Since 1993, much of his research has centered on the neural basis of human emotion and social behavior, particularly as illuminated by the dysfunctions seen in neurological patients with focal brain lesions. A prolific young scientist, he has received numerous research grants from both federal and private sources, and has published widely. His many honors include awards from the Sloan Foundation, the Klingenstein Fund, and the EJLB Foundation.

The final speaker in this year’s Distinguished Lecturer Series is Ami Klin, M.D., who will speak on June 8.

For more information about this and future lectures, visit the M.I.N.D. Institute’s Web site at http://www.mindinstitute.org/ or contact the Institute at (916) 703-0280.