UC DAVIS M.I.N.D. INSTITUTE HOSTS DISTINGUISHED LECTURER SERIES

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute will host Richard J. Davidson, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin in Madison on Wednesday, March 9, at the M.I.N.D. Institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento.

Davidson is internationally renowned for his research on the neural substrates of emotion and emotional disorders. He will present two lectures. During his technical presentation at 4 p.m., Davidson will explore the brain bases of gaze aversion in autism, as well as several theories about the genetic and ontogenetic origins of the core socioemotional symptoms of this disorder. During a 6 p.m. community-interest lecture, he will discuss affective style, the variability seen among individuals as they respond to emotional challenges in their environment, the plasticity of neural circuits and the prospects of transforming affective styles toward more beneficial outcomes. Both presentations are free and open to the public; no reservations are needed.

Davidson is the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and Director of the W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin. He directs the Wisconsin Center for Affective Science, which is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Center for Mind-Body Interaction and the NIMH Training Program in Emotion Research.

Davidson has published extensively, with over 150 scientific articles, many chapters and 12 edited books. He is the recipient of numerous awards for research including a National Institute Research Scientist Award, a MERIT Award from NIMH, an Established Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD), a Distinguished Investigator Award from NARSAD, the William James Fellow Award from the American Psychological Society, and the Hilldale Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. In 2003 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2004 he was inducted into the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

Future speakers in this year’s Distinguished Lecturer Series are: B.J. Casey (April 13), Ralph Adolphs (May 11) and Ami Klin (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.

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