Café Scientifique: Why snails might hold some answers to age-related memory loss…

• DOORS: 7.00pm
• SPEAKER: 7.30pm

Molluscs have been routinely used to study the mechanisms by which nerve cells communicate. Indeed, our understanding of how the electrical signals in neurons are generated and the fundamental mechanisms of learning and memory formation were first discovered in this simple model system. Like many animals, snails age and when they age their ability to learn and remember is impaired. This talk will introduce you to the humble mollusc, explain why it has gained success as a model system for studying age-related changes in CNS function and how experiments designed to reverse age-related memory impairments may point towards novel treatments to delay cognitive decline in older people.

Mark Yeoman is Professor of Neuropharmacology at Brighton University and Director of the Centre for Lifelong Health. The focus of his research is to understand the causes and consequences of central nervous system ageing. He obtained his degree in Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Southampton before studying for a PhD at the University of Aberdeen in hyperbaric medicine. He then moved to the University of Sussex where he was introduced to the pond snails as a model system for studying neurobiology. In 1998 he was appointed as a senior lecturer in pharmacology at the University of Brighton and started to use the pond snail to understand how ageing affected the nervous system. His current research explores how age-related changes in nervous system lipid composition affects neural function.

Doors and bar open 7:00pm

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