BRAIN DAY 2017 – a review

Photos: Susanne Troll

“Ask me anything! I am a brain researcher” – these bright yellow stickers made sure that the visitors of the BRAIN DAY 2017 were able to identify every neuroscientist in the room and encouraged the visitors to ask them everything about neuroscience. About 500 people, more than ever, accepted the invitation and visited the 7th BRAIN DAY on 13th September 2017 with its colorful programme and talks (right column).

Plunge into the world of virtual reality

Two different research groups invited the visitors to leave their reality behind and wander through virtual realities. The team of the Emmy-Noether group leader Dr. Christian Klaes displayed how you can test a robotic arm with the help of virtual reality glasses. The robotic arm is meant to help paraplegic patients in their everyday life someday. The Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, department of Neuropsychology presented an experiment on testing your navigational skills in a computer game.

A look into the brain

What is going on in our brain and what do those famous grey cells look like? The members of the Institute for Anatomy, department of Cytology showed big models of brain cells and the visitors could explore neurons under a microscope. Another brain experiment came from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, department of Biopsychology ‐ they tested if the visitors processed speech with the right or left brain hemisphere and showed them if they were really left or right handed in another test. At the opposite desk, from the Neural Plasticity Lab of the Institut für Neuroinformatik, people could deliberately control their brain function and make a pufferfish on a monitor jump with the help of EEG. They also showed people how to measure and even improve their tactile sense.

Do not believe your eyes

Is what we see really the reality? Visitors were confronted with this question in the room of illusions and the answer is: no. With the help of some optical illusions the members of the research group of Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy showed the visitors how the brain corrects everything we see with our eyes and how it cheats on us every day. This is what happens when colours seem to change and rigid pictures appear to start moving.

Thank You!

Such a multi-faceted programme is not possible without the help of many dedicated people. You helped make the BRAIN DAY 2017 a big success. We would like to thank:

Prof. Dr. Carsten Theiß, Dr. Verena Theis, Jonas Tjaden, Frederique Wach, Mareike Zwilling, Felix John, Daniel Terheyden- Keighley, Prof. Dr. Nikolai Axmacher, Rebekka Heinen, Anne Bierbrauer, PD Dr. Hubert Dinse, Marie Krüger, Marion Brickwedde, Marie Dominique Schmidt, Dr. Christian Klaes, Robin Lienkämper, Muhammad Saif-Ur-Rehman, Dr. Sebastian Ocklenburg, Frederika Stuhldreier, Judith Schmitz, Prof. Dr. Boris Suchan, Sabine Bierstedt, Monika Owczarek, Patrizia Thoma, Elena Piepereit, Julia Schnar, Juniorprof. Dr. Olivia Masseck, Jill Baumann, Martin Kubitschke and the members of the following patient groups:

• Autismus, Autismus Dortmund und Umgebung e.V., Autismus-Therapie-Zentrum Dortmund
• Clusterkopfschmerz, Clusterkopfschmerz-Selbsthilfe-Gruppe Recklinghausen
• Epilepsie, Epilepsie-Selbsthilfegruppe Essen
• Guillain-Barré Syndrom, Deutsche GBS Initiative e.V.
• Kinderneurologie, Kinderneurologie-Hilfe Münster e.V.
• Myasthenie, Deutsche Myasthenie Gesellschaft e. V., Regionalgruppe Bochum/Dortmund
• Restless Legs, Deutsche Restless Legs Vereinigung Bochum, SHG Bochum
• Alzheimer, Alzheimer Gesellschaft Bochum e.V. / Demenz-Servicezentrum Ruhr

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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