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SUMMARY:- Towards a Translational Neuroscience of Consciousness - Prof Hak
 wan Lau
DTSTART:20210115T163000Z
DTEND:20210115T180000Z
UID:TALK155791@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Tristan Bekinschtein
DESCRIPTION:\nThe cognitive neuroscience of conscious perception has seen 
 considerable growth over the past few decades. Confirming an influential h
 ypothesis driven by earlier studies of neuropsychological patients\, we ha
 ve found that the lateral and polar prefrontal cortices play important cau
 sal roles in the generation of subjective experiences. However\, this basi
 c empirical finding has been hotly contested by researchers with different
  theoretical commitments\, and the differences are at times difficult to r
 esolve. To address the controversies\, I suggest one alternative venue may
  be to look for clinical applications derived from current theories. I out
 line an example in which we used closed-loop fMRI combined with machine le
 arning to nonconsciously manipulate the physiological responses to threate
 ning stimuli\, such as spiders or snakes. A clinical trial involving patie
 nts with phobia is currently taking place. I also outline how this theoret
 ical framework may be extended to PTSD\, chronic pain\, and hallucinations
  (for example in schizophrenia\, as well as in cases without psychosis\, s
 uch as in Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia). Ultimately\, a trul
 y meaningful understanding of the fundamental nature of our mental existen
 ce should lead to useful insights for our colleagues on the clinical front
 lines. If we use this as a yardstick\, whoever loses the esoteric theoreti
 cal debates\, both science and the patients will always win.\n
LOCATION:Zoom meeting
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