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The BNA Christmas Symposium 2012: The Neuroscience of Navigation - Next Wednesday!

Going home for Christmas: But how do we get there? - The Neuroscience of Navigation

Click here to register for this event

When: Wednesday 19th December, 12:00 - 18:30

Where: The Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London

Description:

We take for granted the ability to find our way around familiar environments, and for many of us it doesn’t take much to learn new routes, or get back to our starting point in novel surroundings. The apparent ease with which we perform these sometimes complex navigational tasks overlooks the fact that whilst we are enjoying the sights and sounds of an unfamiliar city centre our brains are constantly attending to our spatial location. In the 1970s John O’Keefe identified the cellular substrates of this spatial awareness – the place cell. Since then major advances have been made in the underlying mechanisms of navigation from insects to humans. This symposium brings together a range of top-flight speakers, including John O’Keefe, to illuminate our current understanding of animal navigation, from the individual to swarms, shoals and flocks.

Programme:

Professor John O'Keefe (UCL)

"Cognitive maps in the brain - where have we got to, how far have we come, and where are we heading?" 

Dr Jan Weiner (University of Bournemouth)

"Route Retracing and Route Completion: Maladaptive Bias for Egocentric Navigation Strategies in Aging Humans"

Dr Francesca Cacucci (UCL)

"Developing a sense of space: the ontogeny of the cognitive map"

Dr Carlo De Lillo (University of Leicester)

"Finding structure in space: a comparative perspective on search and serial recall"

Dr Paul Graham (University of Sussex)

"Navigating with a small brain"

Dr Dora Biro (University of Oxford)

"Flock navigation: from individuals to collectives"

Dr Emma Wood (University of Edinburgh)

"Where should I go next? Encoding of intended destination in the mammalian brain"

Please check back for further details on the programme.

Registration Information:

Click here to register for this event

Please note that if registering as a non-member, the registration fee includes a free years membership to the BNA.

If you are a member of the Press and would like to attend this event please contact: office@bna.org.uk.

Cost:

Free for BNA members

£40 for students and retired non-BNA members

£75 for non-BNA members

£75 for corporate non-BNA members

Please have your credit / debit card to hand whilst registering for this event if there is a cost associated with your attendance.

Sponsors:

If your organisation would like to sponsor this meeting please contact office@bna.org.uk for more details.

Directions

The Royal Society, 6 - 9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG

Maps:

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The Royal Society is located five minutes from Piccadilly Circus underground station and ten minutes from Charing Cross mainline and underground stations.

Public transport links:

Underground stations: Charing Cross and Piccadilly Circus

Bus routes: 12, 13, 15 and 453.

Coach station: Connections from Victoria coach station

Posted on Monday 20 August, 2012