I'm Prof Sir Colin Blakemore, Professor of Neuroscience and Philosophy
at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, I research human
perception and how our brains put together information, AMA
Abstract
Hi Reddit, My name is Colin Blakemore. I’m Professor of Neuroscience and
Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, and
Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford (where I
worked in the medical school for 33 years). From 2003-2007 I was the
Chief Executive of the British Medical Research Council, which provides
hundreds of millions of pounds for medical research each year. My
current research is on human perception, and especially on how our
brains put together information from the different senses. But in the
past I’ve also worked on the early development of the brain, on
“plasticity”, and on neurodegenerative disease (Huntington’s Disease
in particular). A list of most of my publications can be found here. To
my amazement, I was I knighted in 2014 and I was particularly pleased
that it was given for contributions to scientific policy and public
communication, as well as for research. For the whole of my career, I’ve
been a strong advocate for better engagement between the scientific
community and the public about how we use science. In particular, I’ve
campaigned for openness and proper debate about the use of animals,
which was vital for much of my own research in the past. I recently gave
the 79th Annual Paget Lecture, organised by Understanding Animal
Research. My talk, entitled “Four Stories about Understanding the
Brain”, covered the development of the cerebral cortex, language,
Huntingdon’s Disease and Stroke. Watch it here. This is my first AMA,
I’m here to talk about neuroscience, animal research, philosophy and
public outreach, but, well, Ask Me Anything! I’m here from 4 – 5pm UTC
(EST 11 – noon / PST 8 – 9 am) Edit: I MUST FINISH NOW. IT’S BEEN FUN
TALKING WITH YOU - SORRY NOT TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER MORE!