Apr

15

Are you comfortably numb?

April 15, 2006

Friday 12 May 2006, 7.00pm–8.30pm
‘Are you comfortably numb?’

Prof Mike Alkire & Prof Peter Sebel. Chaired by Baroness Susan Greenfield
Until very recently it was thought that consciousness couldn’t be studied scientifically, but now the drive to find out how your brain can make you self-aware is one of the most significant areas of new research. What’s more, scientists are now making headway with some of the big questions. What is consciousness? How can we hope to study it empirically when it’s all about each person’s subjective experience?

Some clues to these answers may come from studying anaesthesia. When you go under anaesthesia you’re in a strange position with regard to consciousness. It’s a much deeper oblivion than sleep, but we all know stories of people becoming aware during surgery. It even appears that patients under perfectly adequate anaesthesia can still hear, and in one experiment, patients were able to learn while under!

In this event, chaired by Baroness Susan Greenfield, Prof Mike Alkire and Prof Peter Sebel will guide you through the study of consciousness. You’ll hear all about the current theories and get a peek at work on the cutting edge of research. But in case you’d like an even more in-depth look at the topic, you can join the preceding day-long Consciousness and Anaesthesia meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine. For further information on just what this day involves visit the RSM Section of Anaesthesia website at www.rsm.ac.uk/anaesthesia.

This event takes place at: The Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street London W1G 0AE

Tickets cost £8.00 standard/£5.00 concessions. To book tickets please visit our website www.rigb.org or telephone the evens team on +44 (0)20 7409 2992.

This event is in association with the Royal Society of Medicine.