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Invitation:
SPECIAL LECTURE TO CELEBRATE THE CENTENARY
OF THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Elementary, my dear Watson, the clue is in the genes . . . or is it?
by Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith FBA
Neurocognitive Science Unit, Institute of Child Health
5.30 pm, Monday, 5 November 2001
Venue: British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1.
Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus. Attendance is free but if you wish to attend, it is essential to register beforehand by contacting the Meetings Department at the British Academy: telephone 020 7969 5264; email [log in to unmask]
The lectures will be followed by a reception to which all members of the audience are invited.
Abstract:
James Watsons contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA in the 1950s and to the sequencing of the human genome half a century later cannot fail to excite all those fascinated by human development. Yet, as we learn more about genes and the human brain, there is a temptation to seek one-to-one relationships between complex behaviours like altruism, aggression, intelligence, or language, on the one hand, and specific genes and/or specific locations in the brain, on the other.
In a series of popular books, Steven Pinker has repeatedly supported such assumptions by using data from adult neuropsychology and genetic disorders. In this lecture, I will argue that the interpretation of such data is flawed, because it is based on a static model of the human brain, ignoring the complexities of gene expression and the dynamics of post-natal development.
I will illustrate this through my studies of infants, children, and adults with the genetic disorder, Williams syndrome. Understanding the complex pathways from gene-to-brain-to-cognitive processes-to-behaviour is like a Sherlock Holmes and Watson detective story, in which tiny, seemingly unimportant clues early in development play a vital role in the final outcome.
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