BRAIN DAY 2015 – a review

Photos: Susanne Troll

5th BRAIN DAY offers exciting insights into neuroscientific research

On September 2nd, 2015, Collaborative Research Centre 874 was host to the 5th annual BRAIN DAY at the RUB’s conference center. A varied program of lectures, information stands, presentations, and activities showed the many facets of neuroscience at the RUB.

Captivating talks

Visitors got a glimpse of the wide range of topics touched by neuroscientific research during four lectures. Scientists of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum introduced their work to an interested audience; their topics included epilepsy, computational neuroscience, brain tumors, and the biochemistry of neurodegenerative diseases.

Sensory perception – “SENSationally” fascinating!

How does it feel to walk across a balance beam with a vision of -30 diopters or to play table tennis with an impaired field of vision? BRAIN DAY guests could find out with the help of Prof. Dr. Petra Platen, Dr. Gernot Jendrusch, and their team of sports scientists. The performance of the senses during physical activity on a sensory circuit course was scientifically assessed and then explained. Many visitors took the opportunity and became scientific test subjects.

Facial recognition and hearing

What happens in our brain, when we look at a face? At her presentation stand Prof. Dr. Sarah Weigelt explained the mechanisms of facial recognition to a curious audience. Small experiments were used to highlight the research topics of the department of developmental neuropsychology. The performance of our hearing and the possibilities offered by modern hearing aids were the topic of a presentation by Prof. Dr. Rainer Martin and Julia Ringeis from the Institute of Communication Acoustics. Guests used audio-demonstrations to experience the effects of hearing loss.

Augmented reality and electroencephalography

Dr. Hubert Dinse and other members of the Neuroplasticity Lab demonstrated “Augmented Reality”. Visitors were able to wear glasses, which give additional information to reality. This gave them a rare insight into a technology of the future. At a different presentation stand, the clinical neuropsychologists headed by Prof. Dr. Boris Suchan explained what is behind the term “electroencephalography”. BRAIN DAY guests learned how this procedure is used as part of current research projects.

Thank You!

Without the dedication and time of a great number of people, our BRAIN DAY would not be possible. We would like to thank:

Stephan Babiel, Eckart Förster, Thomas Henke, Astrid Hönekopp, Gernot Jendrusch, Mahdie Karbasi, Jenny Kathinka Krüger, Marius Kirmse, Dorothea Kolossa, Till Krusche, Rainer Martin, Andreas Marzoll, Luzie Mount, Marisa Nordt, Vanessa Oertzen-Hagemann, Michaela Rau, Julia Ringeis, Tobias Schmidt, Boris Suchan, Jörg Tatzelt, Carsten Theiß, Minh Tran Le, Sarah Weigelt, Laurenz Wiskott, Hui Zhang, Mehdi Zohourian and the members of the following support groups, some of which have been joining us for many years:

• Alzheimer Gesellschaft Bochum e.V. Demenz-Servicezentrum Region Ruhr
• Aphasiker-Zentrum NRW e.V.
• Autismus-Therapie-Zentrum Dortmund und Hagen
• Clusterkopfschmerz-Selbsthilfe-Gruppe Recklinghausen
• Deutsche Multiple Sklerose Gesellschaft
• Gesichtsfeldausfall-Selbsthilfegruppe Niederrhein
• Kinderneurologie-Hilfe Münster e.V. (KNH)
• Neuronale-Ceroid-Lipofuszinose – Gruppe Deutschland e.V.
• Restless Legs Selbsthilfegruppe Bochum

CONTACT:

Ursula Heiler, MA
Tel.: +49(0)234-32-26682
Fax.: +49(0)234-32-14490
E-Mail: sfb874-pr@rub.de

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