Asymmetries of the brain vs asymmetries of the body: the ‘right’ and ‘left’ of development in health and disease

讲座主题：Asymmetries of the brain vs asymmetries of the body: the ‘right’ and ‘left’ of development in health and disease

主讲人：John L. Waddington, PhD, DSc，RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

时间：2024年5月19日（周日）18:30-19:30

地点：苏州工业园区图书馆C区二楼沃森报告厅

专家简介

John Waddington is an Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, now RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. For over 35 years, he has taught medical and pharmacy students on the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders and conducted research relating to the developmental pathobiology of psychotic illness. His work has been widely published in scientific and medical journals, including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Medicine, Science, Cell, British Medical Journal, and Lancet. He has received the Neuroscience Research Award of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Science of the Schizophrenia International Research Society. With Prof. Xuechu Zhen at the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, he has established a program of international partnership between RCSI and Soochow University, and he has held a Joint Appointment as the Chair Professor at Soochow University since 2014.

内容简介

It is well established that some organs and functions of our bodies are similar on the right and left sides, i.e. they are symmetrical. However, other organs and functions differ between the right and left side, i.e. they are asymmetric. The brain is asymmetric, with its right and left sides being anatomically distinct, and is surrounded by craniofacial structures that can also show asymmetries. Facial asymmetries are usually small but sometimes noticeable and can influence the extent to which other people find us attractive. This lecture will illustrate normal facial asymmetries using famous people as examples. It will then show how we can measure normal facial asymmetries and examine their relationship to brain asymmetries. Finally, it will consider: (i) the relationship between facial and brain asymmetries; (ii) how these asymmetries are altered in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders; and (iii) genetic and other mechanisms that regulate development in these regions during early fetal life.