Conversations on Neuroscience and Society

SAS faculty share their insights on the human brain.

Priya Ratneshwar

Everything from education to warfare comes down to the workings of the human mind, and now the mind itself is being understood in terms of the brain. Across numerous disciplines, Penn Arts and Sciences faculty are studying this amazing three-pound organ and the insights it is offering on diverse human problems.

As part of the spring 2010 Take Your Brain to Lunch Lecture Series, Martha Farah, Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences in the Department of Psychology and Director of Penn's new Center for Neuroscience & Society, led conversations with Penn faculty members about the brain.

This interactive video presentation features excerpts from their talks:

Robert DeRubeis, Samuel H. Preston Term Chair in the Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, on "Emotional Brains: Treating Depression Through Chemistry and Talk”

Mark Liberman, Trustee Professor of Phonetics, Department of Linguistics, on "Gendered brains: The Neuroscientific Arguments for Sex-Segregated Education”

Jonathan Moreno, David and Lyn Silfen University Professor and Professor of Medical Ethics and of History and Sociology of Science, on "Brains at War: Neuroscience Programs in the Military"

Adrian Raine, Chair, Department of Criminology and Richard Perry University Professor, Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry and Psychology, on "Criminal Brains: What Causes Violent and Criminal Behavior?”

Susan Schneider, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, on “Future Brains: How Might Our Great-Great-Grandchildren Think (and Will They Still Be Human?)”