Description
A typical human brain is about six and half inches long and four inches tall. Into this organ are packed something like a hundred billion nerve cells. The way that these neurons connect to each other and how they behave when they are active and not active determines pretty much everything about human behavior: how we see the world, how we move, how we think, whether we are hungry, happy, or sad. Our brains even determine the most subtle aspects of our personality, such as exuberance, timidity, optimism, or pessimism. How your brain works, and some of the ways in which it might not be working so well, are the subjects of this lecture by Darcy Kelley, Professor of Biological Sciences. Professor Kelley has recently been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor—Columbia's first—and will receive a million-dollar grant for an initiative to involve undergraduates in cutting-edge scientific research.