Extraordinary Variations of the Human Mind: Lessons for Anthropogeny | Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA)

Event Date (Pacific Time):

Friday, May 5, 2017 - 1:00pm to 5:30pm

Venue:

Salk Institute - Conrad T. Prebys Auditorium

Event Chairs:

Daniel Geschwind, University of California, Los Angeles
Isabelle Peretz, BRAMS, Université de Montréal

Co-sponsored by the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA) and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind (KIBM)

The human mind is one of the features that makes our species unusual, and any narrative of our origins must include explanations for how our mental facilities were generated by genetic and cultural evolutionary processes. Comparative studies with the minds of other species and direct studies of how the typical human brain creates the mind are valuable approaches. However, many useful clues can also be gleaned from studying extraordinary variations of the human mind. This symposium brings together experts who have pursued in-depth explorations of some of these variations.

Event Sessions

Media for each talk can be played by clicking on icons in the "Media" column, or by clicking on the individual talk titles below and then the attachment file at the bottom of the page.

Media	Session	Speakers
	Welcome	Fred Gage, Salk Institute
	Our Brains: Life on a Continuum	Daniel Geschwind, University of California, Los Angeles
	From Genes to Neural Circuits to Behavior & Back Again: Neurogenetic Mechanisms in Williams Syndrome	Karen Berman, National Institutes of Health
	Language at the Extremes	Simon Fisher, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
	Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory	James McGaugh, University of California, Irvine
	The Incredible Savant Syndrome	Darold Treffert, University of Wisconsin (retired)
	Acquired Savantism in Neurological Conditions	Bruce Miller, University of California, San Francisco
	Born to be Musical: What We can Learn from Congenital Anomalies	Isabelle Peretz, BRAMS, Université de Montréal
	Fragments of Genius: Mapping the Mind of a Musical Savant	Adam Ockelford, University of Roehampton
	Synaesthesia: From Extraordinary Experiences to Enhanced Abilities	Jamie Ward, University of Sussex
	Question and Answer Session, Closing Remarks	Daniel Geschwind, University of California, Los Angeles Isabelle Peretz, BRAMS, Université de Montréal All Speakers

Support Opportunities

Gifts: We invite you to partner with us in CARTA’s quest to explore and explain the human phenomenon. CARTA connects us all – scientists and philosophers, students and teachers, people with questions and others with answers. The global CARTA community grows with each lecture that is experienced and passed forward via FREE access to UCSD-TV broadcasts and archived videos on multiple websites. Please email khunter@ucsd.edu for support opportunities, which have been modified due to the virtual format. Your gift to the CARTA Symposium Fund enables these valuable resources to remain free for everyone to attend and access online.
Insights: We understand that you may not be in a position to make a monetary contribution at this time and invite you to please share with us your insight! Your feedback is invaluable in terms of improving our offerings both in impact and reach. Please take a few moments to provide comments in CARTA's Public Feedback Survey.

Event Glossary

A glossary for this event is available as a Searchable List and a PDF.

Attachment	Size
Drop off Directions_Map_CARTA May 2017.pdf	1.44 MB
Public Parking_Directions CARTA May 2017.pdf	1.66 MB
Abstracts CARTA May 2017 public symposium.pdf	140.72 KB
Bios_CARTA May2017_public symposium.pdf	153.2 KB