ANIMAL CONSCIOUSNESS & CREATIVITY

This LASER is connected to the exhibition opening of Pigeon Art Studio & Animal Creativity at the UCLA Art Sc gallery at CNSI – developed by Aaron Blaisdell, UCLA Psychology Professor and Chair of the Behavioral Neuroscience. His lab at UCLA presents an exhibit featuring pigeons creating digital art, exploring the reasons and processes behind it, and inviting insights into human artistry.

Guest responder is neuroscientist and sci artist Siddharth Ramakrishan who will discuss animal consciousness in labs.
Chaired by: Victoria Vesna
ON SITE at UCLA ArtSci Gallery

Dr. Blaisdell is a Psychology Professor and Chair of the Behavioral Neuroscience area at UCLA, overseeing the Comparative Cognition Lab and the Pigeon Art Project. As a member of the UCLA Brain Research Institute, the UCLA Integrative Center for Learning & Memory, and the UCLA Evolutionary Medicine program, Dr. Blaisdell has an extensive academic background with a BA in Anthropology from SUNY Stony Brook, an MS in Anthropology from Kent State University, a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from SUNY Binghamton, and two years of NIH-funded postdoctoral training at Tufts University.

Siddharth Ramakrishnan, PhD., a Neuroscientist, is an Assistant Professor of Biology and the Jennie M. Caruthers Chair in Neuroscience at the University of Puget Sound. His research interests span the field of developmental biology, neuroendocrinology and sensory-motor integration. He is a recent recipient of the NSF CAREER award for early career scientists to explore modulation of the reproductive axis in the brain by endocrine disruptors. As a research scientist at Columbia University, he designed microchips to record from brain cells and used proteins to create bio-batteries and biosensors. As a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA (2006-2009) he studied the development and physiology of reproductive neurons in the zebrafish brain. His previous research addressed pattern-generating networks in snails and how they were modulated to elicit various behaviors.

Online – Register to join: https://ucla.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJArduCvpzwqE9ac1GgJhglybM7F4qFxG6...
On site: Directions to UCLA CNSI: https://cnsi.ucla.edu/cryoem/location/