Emory College|Departments|CMBC

“We Speak with the Left Hemisphere": The Story of Paul Broca’s Discovery that Changed Our Understanding of the Human Brain

2012-02-14T21:00:00Z

Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (PAIS), Room 290
Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 4 – 5pm

ABSTRACT: In 1865, Paul Broca declared “We speak with the left hemisphere.” It would become one of the most important declarations in the history of the neurosciences because it signalled a fundamental change in our understanding of the human brain. The story, or at least small parts of it, is routinely told in books and articles in neuropsychology, neurology, history of psychology, and, increasingly, textbooks in general psychology and brain and behavior, and the terms “Broca’s area,” “Broca’s region,” and “Broca’s aphasia” are among the best known eponyms in medicine and the brain sciences. Many of these accounts, however, are, more or less, pro forma, skipping over some important parts of the story and, in my view, mischaracterizing certain other parts. In this talk, I want to go more deeply into the historical record because the actual story is more interesting (and less straightforward) than the one usually told. I’ll begin with a brief account of Broca’s early life and education and of what led him to study the brain. I’ll then describe the events leading to his discovery of left-hemisphere specialization for speech and discuss how he handled exceptions and how he proposed to explain cerebral lateralization. Finally, have Broca’s hypotheses about localization and lateralization of function proven to be correct? In the last part of my talk, I’ll briefly summarize recent theory and research.

Emory Event Topic: Academics, College, Graduate, Lectures & Meetings
Event Open To: All
Presenter: Lauren Harris, PhD (Psychology, Michigan State University)
Department/Organization: Center for Mind Brain and Culture
Series: CMBC Spring 2012 Lecture Series
Cost: Free
Building/Room: Psychology Building
Contact Name: Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture (Tamara Beck)
Contact Email: cmbc@emory.edu
More info: cmbc.emory.edu…

In Search of the Creative Brain: Frederic Chopin and George Sand

2012-02-23T21:15:00Z

White Hall, Room 110
Thursday, February 23, 2012, 4:15 – 5:15pm

ABSTRACT: This lecture focuses on the intersection between aesthetics and neuroscience, and draws on research for my book-in-progress, The Graphological Impulse. Relying on “documents” of creative work, textual and musical, that emerged in an unusually productive summer Chopin and Sand spent in the countryside, I present, in a first part, an analysis of the emergence of two artworks in a blend of phenomenological and formal perspectives. The archive I use is, crucially, that of handwritten materials, which enable us to trace a creative process. The simultaneous emergence of two masterpieces of composition in related genres (music and lyrical prose) begs the question of the role played by the environment in this creative process. Capitalizing on the “ecological” explanations current in creativity studies (explanations derived from neuroscience), I offer suggestions as to how recent scientific research on synaesthesia or on unconscious processes, as well as models of brain plasticity, might help us analyze these exceptional creative experiences. Meanwhile, if these can be recast in terms of mind-brain/body, then the question arises of how a material, embodied practice of creation driven by a hand that applies pen to paper participates and intervenes in the short-of-miraculous production of two masterpieces of modern art.
This return to a graphological paradigm opens up, in conclusion, a set of questions about the value of a dialogue between literary/philosophical approaches to the process of composition and those we owe to recent advances in the neurosciences and cognitive sciences.

Sponsored by the Pyschoanalytic Studies Program Colloquium Series; co-sponsored by the Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture.

Emory Event Topic: Academics, College, Graduate, Lectures & Meetings
Event Open To: All
Presenter: Evelyne Ender, PhD (Department of Romance Languages, Hunter College, CUNY)
Department/Organization: Center for Mind Brain and Culture
Series: CMBC Spring 2012 Lecture Series
Cost: Free
Building/Room: White Hall
Contact Name: Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture (Tamara Beck)
Contact Email: cmbc@emory.edu
More info: cmbc.emory.edu…

Handwriting: The Hand, the Brain, the Eye, the Ear

2012-02-24T17:00:00Z

Limited seating by reservation only. Opportunities to register will be announced. Priority registration will be given to affiliates of the CMBC.
Friday, February 24, 2012, 12 – 1pm

This lunch session will address the course of Dr. Ender’s engagement with the concept of graphology, bridging some of the topics of her Thursday lecture to focus specifically on implications of the emergent transition from hand-written, manuscript technologies to digital modes of writing and archival expression. This talk will survey several approaches to this transition in contemporary empirical research with the goal of opening up productive new possibilities for encounters between humanistic and scientific perspectives.

Emory Event Topic: Academics, College, Graduate, Lectures & Meetings
Event Open To: Faculty, Graduate Students, PhD, Students
Presenter: Evelyne Ender, PhD (Romance Languages, Hunter College, CUNY)
Department/Organization: Center for Mind Brain and Culture
Series: CMBC Spring 2012 Lunch Colloquium Series
Cost: Free
Contact Name: Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture (Tamara Beck)
Contact Email: cmbc@emory.edu
More info: cmbc.emory.edu…

The Continuing Enigma of Left-Handedness

2012-02-28T21:00:00Z

Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (PAIS), Room 290
Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 4 – 5pm

ABSTRACT: Left-handers are a minority in all human populations. For this reason, the existence of left hand preference has simultaneously fascinated and puzzled researchers. This talk will focus on the ongoing enigmas of left hand preference that remain elusive such as the relationship between left preference and pathology, family resemblances and differences in the side of hand preference, and studies of hand preference across cultures.

Emory Event Topic: Academics, College, Graduate, Lectures & Meetings
Event Open To: All
Presenter: Clare Porac, PhD (Psychology, Pennsylvania State University)
Department/Organization: Center for Mind Brain and Culture
Series: CMBC Spring 2012 Lecture Series
Cost: Free
Building/Room: Psychology Building
Contact Name: Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture (Tamara Beck)
Contact Email: cmbc@emory.edu
More info: cmbc.emory.edu…

Narrative: Films and Texts

2012-03-01T17:00:00Z

Limited seating by reservation
only. Opportunities to register will be announced. Priority registration will be given to affiliates of the CMBC.
Thursday, March 1, 2012, 12 – 1pm

How does one transform a literary narrative into film? What is the difference between writing for a narrative text and writing for a film? How might the author invoke scene, place, character and other elements differently depending on the medium? This discussion session will highlight Dr. Rushdie's expertise in narrative and how it functions in a variety of forms.

Emory Event Topic: Academics, College, Graduate, Lectures & Meetings
Event Open To: Faculty, Graduate Students, PhD, Students
Presenter: Salman Rushdie, University Distinguished Professor, Emory University
Department/Organization: Center for Mind Brain and Culture
Series: CMBC Spring 2012 Lunch Colloquium Series
Cost: Free
Contact Name: Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture (Tamara Beck)
Contact Email: cmbc@emory.edu
More info: cmbc.emory.edu…

Metaphors and the Mind

2012-03-08T14:00:00Z

Cox Hall Ballroom
Thursday, March 8, 2012, 9am – 5pm

Emory's Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture and the Laney Graduate School’s New Thinkers, New Leaders program will present a one-day symposium: Metaphors and the Mind. Held in conjunction with Laura Otis’s and Krish Sathian’s graduate course, “Images, Metaphors, and the Brain,” this symposium will bring together three innovative writers (Jim Grimsley, Salman Rushdie, and Joseph Skibell) with three leading neuroscientists who do cutting-edge research on language (Anjan Chatterjee, Seana Coulson, David Kemmerer). The authors will read from their works and offer insights into the creative processes underlying literary writing, exchanging ideas with the scientists, who will present recent findings on the relevant brain mechanisms. Emory faculty, students, staff, and community members are invited to attend and participate in the discussion. The symposium will take place from 9-5 in Cox Hall and is free of charge.

Speaker/Presenter: Krish Sathian (Department of Neurology, Emory University) and Laura Otis (Department of English, Emory University); Jim Grimsley (Creative Writing, Emory University), Salman Rushdie (Distinguished University Professor, Emory University), Joseph Skibell (Creative Writing, Emory University), Anjan Chatterjee (Neurology, University of Pennsylvania), Seana Coulson (Cognitive Science, University of California San Diego), David Kemmerer (Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and Psychological Sciences, Purdue University)
Building/Room: Cox Hall
Department/Organization: Center for Mind Brain and Culture
Cost: Free
Event Open To: Emory Community
Contact Name: Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture (Tamara Beck)
Contact Email: cmbc@emory.edu
Region: *Metro Atlanta*
More info: cmbc.emory.edu…