Leading neuroscience conference delivers new perspectives on laughter, helping others, and cognitive flexibility

Professor Scott explained how laughter, particularly contagious laughter, strengthens relationships and reduces stress, reinforcing social cohesion. Moreover, laughter's physical aspects, including the use of the rib cage, demonstrate its complexity, often combining voluntary and involuntary actions. Despite its significance, laughter remains understudied compared to other emotions like fear and anger, prompting Professor Scott to call for further research into its role in human interaction.

BACN Prize Lectures

Another highlight of the meeting were the BACN Award talks, which focused on breakthrough contributions in cognitive neuroscience research. Professor Patricia Lockwood, from the University of Birmingham, delivered the Early-Career Prize Lecture on “Prosocial Learning and Motivation Across the Lifespan ”. Professor Lockwood's presentation delved into the mechanisms that drive prosocial behaviour, i.e. decisions that help others, by focusing on how individuals learn from the consequences of their actions on others. She discussed the neural and computational bases of prosocial behaviour, presenting data that revealed intriguing patterns across different age groups, particularly comparing young adults with older adults. Her talk underscored the importance of understanding prosocial motivation as a way to address societal challenges, including climate change and public health.

The Mid-Career Prize Lecture was presented by Professor Tobias Egner from Duke University, USA, whose talk on "Principles of Cognitive Control Over Task Focus and Task Switching " was another major highlight. Professor Egner's research focused on how the brain manages to maintain focus in the face of distractions and switch between tasks when necessary. He proposed a cognitive architecture that incorporates stability (the ability to stay focused on a task) and flexibility (the ability to switch tasks when needed).

Sharing knowledge

In addition to these central talks, the meeting featured six engaging symposia on topics ranging from body perception, neural plasticity and neural mechanisms of trust to spatial cognition, working memory and emotion perception. More than 100 research posters , 11 individual talks and 22 data blitzes provided further opportunities for emerging researchers to showcase their work and foster collaborative discussions.

Speaking about the conference, Professor Tina Forster, Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at City St George’s and lead organiser of the event, said:

Learn more about the Centre for Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience