April 8, 2013

BNA festival of neuroscience: the moody brain

The Science Media Centre and British Neuroscience Association joined together to run a pre-conference briefing on research being presented at the BNA Festival of Neuroscience at the Barbican Centre in London. 

David Nutt discussed developments across the field of neuroscience, including an update on his work using magic mushrooms as a treatment for depression and why regulation is holding it back. Other work also discussed:

• the latest research showing how our minds and conscious experience of emotion are affected by what is happening in other parts of our bodies;
• a new study explaining how stress hormones in the womb lead to mood disorders in later life.

Speakers:

Prof David Nutt, President of the British Neuroscience Association & Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London

Dr Sarah Garfinkel, Research Fellow in Emotion and Neuroscience, Brighton & Sussex Medical School

Dr Alejandra Sel, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Psychology, City University London