About the Lectures

When: Saturdays, from 27 January to 24 February, 2006, from 11:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m.

Where: 100 Thomas Building (located at the corner Pollock and Shortlidge Roads on the University Park campus)

The Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science is a series of Saturday-morning lectures begun in 1995 by a group of Penn State Eberly College of Science faculty in the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry. It was an innovative move for our college because these lectures were designed for the enjoyment and education of average citizens rather than for a specialized audience composed exclusively of scientists, as were our other annual lectures at that time. Abhay Ashtekar, director of the center and holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Physics, explained at that time, "One of the missions of the center is to improve scientific literacy both on and off campus by presenting such public lectures." (more history)

 

The 2007 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science

Broken Brains: New Research on Brain Disease Is Revealing How the Healthy Mind Works

"Broken Brains: New Research on Brain Disease Is Revealing How the Healthy Mind Works" is the theme of the 2007 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, a series of free public lectures that will begin on Saturday, 27 January. Designed as a free minicourse for the enjoyment and education of residents in Central Pennsylvania communities, the lectures take place on five consecutive Saturday mornings from 11:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. on the Penn State University Park campus.

The Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science are sponsored by the Penn State Eberly College of Science. Additional financial support for the Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science is provided by Pfizer Inc.

27 January 2007

James R. Connor,
Penn State

Metals in Your Brain: How to Stop Your Brain From Rusting its way to Alzheimer's Disease
Connor will describe the importance of metals in normal brain function, including the role of zinc in memory functions and the role of copper and iron in generating energy and in many other essential processes in the brain. He also will describe how these metals sometimes get out of balance and have a negative impact on brain function. "In Alzheimer's disease, most of the metals in the brain are found in excess and some metals such as cobalt, chromium, and aluminum can increase selectively," he says. Connor will explain how metals get into the brain, the role of diet in exposing the brain to metals, and how excessive levels of metals may contribute to Alzheimer's disease. He also will describe current treatment strategies under development for Alzheimer's disease that are designed to limit metal accumulation in the brain. (more)

 

3 February 2007

Kyung-An Han,
Penn State

Addiction: A Bad Case of Good Memory
Why do some people get addicted to alcohol, nicotine, or cocaine? Is it due to their frail will? Scientific findings say "no" to this misconception and unveil addiction as a brain disease. Han will discuss how commonly abused drugs including alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates act in the brain and how their recurring intake causes adaptive changes in brain functions, ultimately leading to dependence and addiction. She also will discuss vulnerability factors such as genetic components, age, and the environment. Her lecture will include new research involving animal models and human subjects, which together are helping to unravel the neurobiology of addiction and to provide insights into sensible preventions and treatments. (more)

 

10 February 2007

Anne M. Andrews,
Penn State

Serotonin and the Misbehaving Brain: Unraveling the Biology of Anxiety and Depression
Depression and anxiety affect about 20 percent of us, but their underlying causes have not yet been determined. In addition, the actions of the most widely prescribed medications for these conditions — Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, and others that increase the activity of the neurotransmitter serotonin — are not well understood. These factors impede major therapeutic advances in these diseases. Andrews will discuss common myths about these disorders and their treatment, then will describe the latest theories of how antidepressants work and the recent evidence that genes and the environment may interact to make some people more susceptible to major depressive and anxiety disorders. "We anticipate that gaining a deeper understanding of current therapies and underlying disease pathologies will help scientists develop rationally designed and more-effective treatments for mood disorders," Andrews says. (more)

 

17 February 2007

Robert Levenson,
Penn State

Schizophrenia: The Broken Brain and How to Fix It
Levenson's lecture will examine how neuropharmacology has helped define the circuitry within the brain that goes haywire in schizophrenia. Very little currently is known about the underlying causes of schizophrenia. However, by focusing on how antipsychotic drugs work, researchers have achieved fundamental insight into some of the signaling processes that must be maintained for normal brain function and that become dysfunctional in schizophrenia. "Antipsychotic drugs recently have gained a great deal of notoriety due to their adverse side effects," Levenson says. "Although these side-effects often have hampered treatment modalities, understanding their basis has spawned the development of new types of drugs with improved therapeutic efficacy."

 

24 February 2007

Gong Chen,
Penn State

Brain Repair: Hopes and Challenges
During his lecture, Chen will first discuss exciting recent findings on stem-cell research and then will focus on recent discoveries concerning neural stem cells. "It has been thought that every single neuron in a mature brain is important and not replaceable, but recent studies have established that thousands of neurons are added to the adult brain every day and that some of them are successfully integrated into brain functions including learning and memory," he says. Chen will discuss the potential uses of neural stem cells in therapies for treating neurological disorders, as well as the potential pitfalls that may be encountered during the development of these treatments.