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“Building Brains, Making Minds”
Lynn Nadel, Regents’ Professor, Psychology

“What does the brain do? The ancients thought it was a radiator, cooling the blood. Modern views see it as an activator, using inputs from the environment in combination with prior knowledge to generate behaviors (walking, talking, eating and drinking) and mental states (feelings, desires and beliefs). Recently the idea has emerged that the brain acts as a predictor, using inputs and stored knowledge to generate models of the world, and of the consequences of possible actions we and others might pursue. These models can predict what will happen in the next minute, hour or decade, and allow us to behave in the most adaptive way.”

Log onto www.cos.arizona.edu/mind for more information on these upcoming lectures through April 6. Phone 520-621-4090. All lectures are free at 7 p.m., in Centennial Hall at U of A campus, 1020 E. University Blvd. (east of Park Avenue). Parking is free on the street, or for fee in the nearby garages.

Upcoming lectures:

Tuesday, March 2
“The Plastic Brain”
Leslie P. Tolbert, Regents’ Professor, Neuroscience and Vice President for Research

Tuesday, March 9
“Evolution of Mind and Brain”
Anna Dornhaus, Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Tuesday, March 23
“The Making of a Mind”
LouAnn Gerken, Professor, Psychology and Director, Cognitive Science

Tuesday, March 30
“Metamemory: How Does the Brain Predict Itself?”
Alfred W. Kaszniak, Professor and Head, Psychology

Tuesday, April 6
“Morality and the Emotional Brain”
Shaun Nichols, Professor, Philosophy

Sounds like more information than my poor brain can handle.