Location Zoom Webinar
How do brain cells communicate? Neuroscientists have focused on chemical and electrical signaling, but now a tantalizing new possibility has emerged. This form of communication involves light; brain cells also seem to use photons to send messages to each other. It has been known for decades that living tissues emit “biophotons” at low intensity, but the biological function has been unclear. I will address several key questions: Do different types of brain cells have different patterns of biophoton activity? Do biophotons change as a result of stress? Can red or infra-red light influence biophoton emissions? Can biophotons be used to detect brain pathology?
The “Thinking Beyond” webinar series features renowned physicists Paul Davies, Sara Walker and Maulik Parikh from the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University and addresses big questions/topics in science. This month, John Mitrofanis will present the topic and will be joined by Paul Davies and Sara Walker.
John Mitrofanis is a very proud Professor of Anatomy at Sydney Medical School and at the Australian National University Medical School. Currently, he is Professor and Scientific Director at Fonds Clinatec, University of Grenoble Alpes; he also holds an appointment at University College London and University of Turin. During his career, in addition to teaching the wonders of human anatomy to generations of science and medical students, he has run an active research programme exploring the patterns of brain connections in adults and during development. In more recent years, he has been exploring methods that improve the survival of brain cells in neurodegenerative disease (eg Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease). At present, he is examining the impact of red to infrared light treatment, known also as photobiomodulation, on the activity of neural circuits in the human brain, as well the survival and function of brain cells in animal models of neurodegenerative disease. He is also exploring the ways in which brain cells may communicate with each other using biophotons, the endogenous light produced from the many types of intracellular metabolic reactions.
Please submit your questions for discussion during the webinar to deepthought@asu.edu with the subject ‘Thinking Beyond- Unraveling the Mystery of Brain Cell Chit-Chat: Do They Talk With Light?’
Questions can also be submitted during the webinar through the zoom Q&A.