Lecture 1 - The electric ape
The brain is an odd-looking object, like nothing else in the universe. It has a basic shape which is elaborated and modified according to species, but which gives few clues as to how it works. However, we know that the brain is at work all the time, burning up energy ten times faster than any other body tissue at rest. The brain uses energy to generate electricity. If electrodes are placed on the surface of the scalp, then brain electricity can be monitored by a technique known as electroencephalography. The electroencephalogram (EEG) changes according to whether we are aroused, relaxed or asleep; it even changes when we dream. In turn, such states are regulated by chemicals in the brain. Chemicals in the brain can also control the sensation of pain. But the brain is not just a receiving station for our senses. The whole point about being an animal is that we are 'animated', always on the move. It is possible to identify the parts of the brain that control movement. Even simply thinking about moving, as with other 'mental' events such as feeling relaxed or feeling pain, all have counterparts in the physical, observable world.
About the 1994 CHRISTMAS LECTURES
Then Dr Susan, now Baroness Greenfield (b.1950), presented the 1994 CHRISTMAS LECTURES as a five-part series, entitled 'Journey to the Centres of the Brain'. Our brains are ourselves. Every emotion, prejudice and hope is grounded in a molecular scenario somehow and somewhere in the secretive, silent organ between the ears. These lectures will explore what we know, and what still mystifies us, about the workings of the brain. Starting with no prior knowledge, we shall see what the brain looks like, how it generates electricity, and how it uses chemicals to process information. We shall be left with the thought that we know a great deal about how different brain regions function, but how such regions work together to generate a cohesive, individual individual consciousness, remains a tantalising puzzle.