The 26ᵉ edition of Brain Awareness Week will take place from March 5 to 24, 2024 in the Marseille area on the theme of "Brain: perfect or imperfect?". Aix-Marseille Université is taking part, notably via the NeuroMarseille institute and its many neuroscientists involved.
Tuesday, March 5 to Saturday, March 24, 2024
Numerous events planned in Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Allauch, Berre-L'Etang, Gardanne, La Ciotat, Les Pennes-Mirabeau and Martigues
More than ever, universities must play their role as "science mediators", contributing to the world's discoveries and advances, and contributing to enlightened citizen participation in public life. That's why, every year, Aix-Marseille Université takes part in Brain Awareness Week, an international event open to the public and free of charge, offering a unique opportunity to exchange ideas with scientists specializing in the neurosciences.
Coordinated at regional level by the association Cerveau Point Comm, under the aegis of the Société des Neurosciences, the theme of the 2024 event is "The brain: perfect or imperfect?" Conferences, bistrot-science, debates, talks, shows, school activities... 20 events await the public to discover and marvel at the workings of the brain and its sometimes unsuspected capacities.
Conferences at the Alcazar can also be followed live on Youtube!
Here's a non-exhaustive list of highlights:
- Tuesday, March 5 - 6pm: "La conscience dans tous ses états", lecture at the Gardanne media library by Alice Guyon, DR CNRS at the Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences.
- Tuesday March 12 - 12pm: "I've lost my foot but it still hurts... why?", talk at the Saint-Charles library, led by Raphaëlle Schlienger, doctoral student at the Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences.
- Friday March 15 - 6pm: "Trompe-l'oeil et préjugés : contributions sensorielles et cognitives aux illusions perceptives", lecture at the Alcazar by Anna Monatagnini, CR CNRS at the Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone.
- Wednesday March 20 - 6pm: "Burn-out and depression", lecture organized by the Neuronautes association at the Saint-Charles natural sciences amphitheater. - Registration required.
- Saturday, March 24 - 6pm: "Qu'est-ce que tu as dans la tête?", play by Frédéric Perigaud and Jean-François Bourinet at Le Cube, Aix-en-Provence. Registration required.
See the flyer for all regional events.
About the Society for Neuroscience
The Société de Neurosciences brings together nearly 2,000 scientists, including 500 PhD students. It promotes research in all areas of neuroscience, and coordinates Brain Week every March.
Société des Neurosciences
Alexia Belleville
alexia.belleville[at]societe-neurosciences.fr
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Why this theme?
The brain, an organ made up of billions of interconnected cells (neurons and glial cells), is the seat of our consciousness. It gathers information from both the world around us and our own bodies. Thanks to it, we know who we are, and what we feel and sense. In turn, it enables us to react and adapt to our environment as best we can. We perform actions as simple as eating or drinking, for example, but we also develop feelings such as joy, sadness, fear... As complex as it is, the brain is not (fortunately for us) a machine. It is capable of evolving and repairing itself, but also of making mistakes. Indeed, the brain is fallible and can mislead us. This is the case, for example, with optical illusions, where we think we see something that doesn't exist. But sometimes the consequences of these failures can be more serious, leading to mental illness or inappropriate behavior. During Brain Week, with the help of eminent neuroscientists, we'll try to understand what makes our brains so perfectly imperfect.