Public Dialogues

YHouse continues its program of lectures, events, and conversations on exciting and provocative topics at a number of venues around New York City.

Consciousness Club NYC

YHouse invites you to the Consciousness Club, a study group to promote broadly transdisciplinary discussions on the neural and computational bases of consciousness, and how these concepts can be applied to other fields of interest. Our weekly meetings are for you if you are into awareness, science, technology, philosophy, art, and design.

For more information and meeting schedule, check out our Facebook page, or tune in to our Twitter updates.

Although the meetings are open to all, we encourage technical and scientific discussions for this series of meetings.

Cognition Lunch Salon

YHouse continues to organize informal Lunch Salon events hosted by the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, N.J., West Building Seminar Room, 2nd floor. The format is an informal chat, followed by longer open-ended discussions among the participants, on the topic of consciousness and cognition. This event is by invitation only. To request an invitation, please email us at info@yhousenyc.org

  • WeWork Park South (map)
  • 110 East 28th Street, 8th-Floor Lounge
  • New York, NY, 10016
  • United States

Consciousness Club #32: Why Emotional Memories Tend to Stick and How We Can Forget Them

Speaker: Dr. Linda de Voogd (New York University)

Abstract: We prefer to forget stressful events, but we tend to do the opposite. We remember stressful events a lot better than mundane events. How does the brain form and store such memories? The brain replays events in the period after a stressful encounter, something you could compare with replaying a movie. Is it also possible to intervene with this process? This would make it, for example, possible to treat traumatic memories. Pharmacological manipulations have shown to be able to interfere with memory storage. However, it might also be possible to intervene with the storage of such memories by shifting your attention for example by playing a game of Tetris or making simple eye movements. When you do this, areas of the brain that are involved in storing stressful memories are suppressed, making it therefore possible to alter these memories.

Entrance is free. Registration is required. Please click here to register.