Friday, October 31, 2014

Portraits of the Mind


A sold-out crowd joined us for an intimate conversation over dinner with artists & scientists on one of the most fascinating topics on Earth: the human brain.
Our thanks go out to our presenter, Columbia University neuroscientist Carl Schoonover. He highlighted various scientific methods used to study the mind and explain the fantastic networks in the brain. Dr. Schoonover is a postdoctoral fellow in the Axel Laboratory at Columbia University where he investigates the neural circuitry of behaviors mediated by olfaction. His doctoral work focused on microanatomy and electrophysiology of rodent somatosensory cortex. He is the author of "Portraits of the Mind," and has written for The New York Times, Le Figaro, and Scientific American. In 2007 he co-founded NeuWrite, a collaborative working group for scientists, writers, and those in-between. His radio program on WKCR 89.9FM, focuses on opera & classical music, and their relationship to the brain.
Our talented chef and host, Kambiz Shekdar, took very good care of our group. David G. Leyden is this month's event organizer.
In the absence of our regular photographer, Malika Cosme, we have a few grainy photos taken from a cellphone.
Our next event, "Nostalgia Therapy," will be held on Thursday, November 20th (one week early due to the Thanksgiving holidays.