Krasnow Institute > Monday Seminars > Abstracts

Human cognitive uniqueness
in biomedical research:
A bridge too far?

Jason Scott Robert
Franca Oreffice Dean's Distinguished Professor in the Life Sciences and Lincoln Associate Professor of Ethics in Biotechnology and Medicine, Arizona State University, and Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences, The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University.

We as humans suffer from a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions that are unique in the animal kingdom. Biomedical researchers strive to study these conditions, whether cognitive or affective or both, in animal models and model organisms. Not only have human brains evolved significantly since we shared our last common ancestor with such models - so, too, have the brains of these other animals. Bridging the gaps between the diversity of neural architectures in the animal kingdom has proven terrifically complex, and successes are few and far between. Dr Robert will explore the difficulties posed by the evolution of cognitive specializations by appeal to happy and less happy examples of 'translation' from non-human animals to humans in biomedical neuroscience. The presentation will conclude with some reflections on the challenges of scientifically and ethically justifying research in this hugely important domain.

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