"After attending over one hundred presentations from some of the world's leaders in science, I would rate Dr. Shtrahman's talk as the most thought provoking, entertaining, engaging and inspiring I have ever been to."
Larry Bock
Founder and Festival Organizer,
USA Science Festival
Upcoming Event:
Brain Clouds
The Science of Collective Phenomena and the Brain
Santa Monica Public Library Oct 10th, 2009 11:00 am
Montana Avenue
For those who cannot attend the lecture in person, join our live webcast on USTREAM. There you can watch the lecture, ask questions, and chat about the talk.
How do thought, perception, and creativity emerge from the collective behavior of the astronomical number of neurons that make up the human brain? What role does collective neuronal activity play in neurological diseases?
Collective behavior describes the phenomena that occur when large numbers of individual units such as molecules, cells, or organisms interact. Here the influence of the masses elicits behavior that otherwise might not occur in the individuals. Traffic jams and angry mobs are unfortunate but familiar examples of collective behavior in humans.
In the brain, cells called neurons fire electrical spikes similar to a digital code. Individually their behavior is unreliable, but together neurons cooperate to form complex patterns of electrical activity, which we call brain clouds. We will discuss the science behind these and other organized patterns observed in nature.
ICNDE and the San Diego Science Festival Present
Get Your Head Out of the Clouds!
The Science of Collective Phenomena and the Brain
San Diego Public Library: Tierrasanta March 30th, 2009 6:30 pm
Mountain Empire High School March 31st, 2009 9:30 am
ICNDE launches Brainstorm
January 19, 2009 - ICNDE launches Brainstorm, a new blog that explores the latest discoveries in the field of neuroscience. Liz Shtrahman discusses important research, making it accessible for wide audiences. In the inaugural edition "Scientists Discover Homer Simpson Neuron?" Shtrahman reviews recent work by Gelbard-Sagiv et al., who recorded the electrical activity of individual neurons in human subjects while they viewed and later recalled clips from television episodes such as the Simpsons.
Learn more by contacting lshtrahman at brainclouds.org or visiting http://www.brainclouds.org/blog/
ICNDE joins the San Diego Science Festival
Shtrahman named as one of festival's Nifty Fifty Scientists
September 12, 2008 - The Initiative for Collective Neuronal Dynamics and Epilepsy will partner with the San Diego Science Festival to deliver a variety of programs during the month long gala coming in March 2009. This is the first public event on the West Coast to celebrate and communicate science on this scale. "This is further evidence that science is approaching its place in society that it enjoyed at beginning of the 20th century", states ICNDE's founder Matthew Shtrahman.
Dr. Shtrahman will represent ICNDE as one of the festival's Nifty Fifty, educating audiences about the physics of collective phenomena and the brain during Discovery Week. ICNDE will also take part in Expo Weekend, the festival's finale at Balboa Park in San Diego. There ICNDE will teach participants how scientists use optical illusions to gain insight into the human brain, as well as test their knowledge in a game of Brain Jeopardy.
For more information contact mshtrahman at brainclouds.org or visit http://www.sdsciencefestival.com
Lecture Series:
Foundations of Brain Clouds
The Science of Collective Phenomena and the Brain
download 8.5 x 11 flyer, 11 x 17 poster, or postcard
Carnegie Science Center June 7, 2008 1:30 & 3:30 pm
Te Cafe June 12, 2008 8:00 pm
Squirrel Hill Carnegie Library June 15, 2008 1:30 pm
Carnegie Science Center June 21, 2008 1:30 & 3:30 pm