Cambridge Neuroscience Launched

The new initiative extends across the University and affiliated institutes, and is aimed at maintaining Cambridge's position as a leading international centre for neuroscience research. It will build upon the last 50 years of neuroscience research at Cambridge, including some of the most fundamental discoveries of the twentieth century such as how the nerve impulse is conducted. Unravelling the complexities of the brain and mind is now the great intellectual challenge of the new millennium.

The initiative intends to promote a better understanding of how the brain works and to enhance health and quality of life. In order to facilitate collaborations across disciplines, Cambridge Neuroscience has created a new interactive website (accessible by the link in the upper right hand of this page).

With a searchable database with over 560 members, the directory provides an easily accessible resource of all neuroscience activity in Cambridge, promoting both local and external collaborations.

This week's symposium will profile the diverse range of neuroscience research currently carried out in Cambridge. Individuals from across the University will speak on topics ranging from how nerves develop, to how changes in brain activity may cause psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

In addition, a selection of distinguished international speakers will profile their research to the five hundred individuals attending the symposium.

The chairmen of Cambridge Neuroscience, Professors Alastair Compston and Trevor Robbins said, “Neuroscience has transformed our understanding of structure, function and development of the healthy brain and promises new insights into many disorders of the human nervous system. This multidisciplinary endeavour is relevant both for science and society.”