PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL
19-21 MAY 2025
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What happens when something goes wrong in this empire of connections, thoughts, and emotions? Have you ever wondered what is going on when this perfectly organized system changes its normal way of functioning? We personally don't have a slight idea... Fortunately, we gathered specialists to bring us light on those questions
Building a brain in the dark
Olivier Collignon
Principal Investigator, Research associate FNRS, ERC Grantee
Université Catholique de Louvain
The human brain evolved highly specialised regions dedicated to the refined processing of visual information. What does happen to these regions if you are born blind? Are they simply left dormant and unused? No! In case of blindness, the brain reorganises itself and the regions normally dedicated to vision now involved in the processing of information from the remaining senses. This demonstrates the fascinating ability of the brain to change the tuning of its neurons due to experience, a mechanism called brain plasticity. But what happens then if a blind person recovers sight? Can the plasticity associated with blindness then interferes with t
Addiction – An old problem in modern light
Alban de Kerchove
Principal Investigator, Welbio grantee
IRIBHM - ULB
It is quite well known that drugs are casting their bitter-sweet charm on us by interfering with the dopamine or rewarding circuit of our brain. Over time, this causes complex and long-term adaptation of the system, or simply speaking: the brain gets tolerant and asks for more. But why are some of us more susceptible to their influence and some of us can walk away seemingly unharmed? Understanding addiction is the fundamental step to combat its dangerous consequences on our health. I will discuss drug addiction, a topic that accompanies us and our societies since ages, in the light of modern high-end research. This includes the discovery of n
