ASCRS Manus C. Kraff Lecture on Science and Medicine

Dr. Michael Merzenich

Cortical Plasticity in Infant, Child and Adult Brains

Sunday, April 6, 2008

10:00 am, McCormick Place, West Building

Chicago, IL

The Manus C. Kraff Lecture on Science and Medicine

This lecture as a forum for expanding and enriching our appreciation of fields of science and medicine outside of ophthalmology. It honors those whose curiosity and constant striving for innovation has led them to investigate aspects of medicine and science that broaden, enliven, and inspire.

Dr. Merzenich’s Presentation

Research on cortical plasticity has contributed to a new understanding of the origins of human skills and abilities across the lifespan, and to a re-definition of the neurological origins of ‘personhood’.  It has also provided us with a new level of understanding of the contributions of brain changes to the compensation for loss (for example, accompanying eye damage or disease), and to the expressions of chronic impairments and disease.  Finally, it has led to new therapeutic strategies designed to achieve neurological rejuvenation or neurological re-normalization, in young and old brains.  A description of the principles of operation of cortical plasticity across the human lifespan shall provide a platform for discussing some of these revolutionary, non-drug therapeutic approaches.  

Dr. Merzenich

Dr. Michael (Mike) Merzenich is the Francis Sooy Professor in the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at the University of California at San Francisco. In parallel with the landmark studies of his UCSF team in the science of neuroplasticity, he has worked with other scientists, medical specialists, psychologists, engineers and other technical specialists to develop training programs based on this science, and designed to improve the behavioral capacities and neurological abilities of children and adults in need of help. Almost a million individuals have now benefited from the use of these programs.

In 1996, Dr. Merzenich was the founding CEO of Scientific Learning Corporation (which has developed, markets, and distributes brain-science-based training programs that apply the principles of brain plasticity to substantially improve the language, reading, and cognitive abilities of school-aged children. In 2003, he co-founded Posit Science Corporation, which develops and applies brain-plasticity-based training programs designed to improve the perceptual, cognitive, and motor performance abilities of normally aging individuals, and to help a wide range of neurologically and psychiatrically impaired populations.

Dr. Merzenich has been a leading pioneer in brain plasticity for more than 3 decades. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including the Ipsen Prize, the Zülch Prize of the Max-Planck Institute, the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award, and the Purkinje Medal. His colleagues and he have published several hundred articles including many in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Science and Nature. His work has also been extensively covered in the popular press, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, Discover and Newsweek. Merzenich has appeared on Sixty Minutes II, CBS Evening News and Good Morning America.