Social neuro genetics: human cognition between nature and nurture

• Dr Sofie Louise Valk
  Lise Meitner Research Group Neurobiosocial, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig & Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich & Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
  "Social neuro genetics: human cognition between nature and nurture"
  
  24th January 2025, 12:00
  Paul Flechsig Institute - Center of Neuropathology and Brain Research, Room 3093, Liebigstraße 19 (Haus C), 04103 Leipzig

 

Abstract:

To understand human cognitive processing, it is important to examine how innate and experiential processes shape the brain. My lab uses computational techniques to study the relationship between brain structure and its function across the lifespan in large numbers of individuals and diverse, largely MRI-based, data types. In this talk, I will present research from my team exploring the principles of brain organization and its interactions with the social world. First, I will focus on the microscale, highlighting how the layered organization of the cortex relates to its dynamic function. Next, I will delve into how the brain processes social information, emphasizing the role of the cerebellum. Finally, I will discuss the impact of the social environment on brain structure and function, underscoring the interplay between nature and nurture in shaping cognition.

Bio: 

Sofie is Otto Hahn research group leader at the MPI in Leipzig, Germany and research group leader at INM-7 Juelich, Juelich, Germany. Together with her research group she studies interplay of structure and function in the human brain.