This event takes place on the Cambridge ARU campus. You can also join us virtually.
11 June 2025, 18:00 – 19:30
What are you and how did your brain create you? Although everyone has (and is) a self, it is not easy to explain how selves came to arise in the world. Most people associate self with personality and identity, but what lies at its core – what is its deep biological basis?
In this talk, Prof. Jane Aspell will share insights from 20 years of research into this question. She will argue that the self is grounded in the brain’s model of the body: that the physical self is the foundation for the mental self. Jane will discuss how disturbed interactions between the body and brain give rise to disorders of self including some types of chronic pain and out of body experiences, and she will show how these can be investigated using virtual reality body illusions. Her previous studies collectively demonstrate that the primary level of self – the bodily self – relies on the brain’s integration of multisensory signals from the external and internal body. She is currently exploring how these basic multisensory processes interact with autobiographical memory to give rise to ‘higher’ levels of self, such as personal identity.
Join us for the talk from 6pm and a free drinks reception from 7pm.
More info & BookingPosted on 06/06/2025
