The Neuroscience–Psychology Connection: Donald Hebb’s Theory of Change

Cristina Nigro

Science History Institute

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 12:00 pm EDT

Science History Institute
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
United States

Join us for a talk by Cristina Nigro, Doan Fellow at the Science History Institute.
 
Please check back for details on this lecture.
 
About the Speaker
Cristina Nigro is a PhD candidate in the History of Health Sciences Program of the Department of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. After completing a master’s degree in neurosciences from the University of California, San Diego, Cristina set out to better understand how the field of neuroscience contributes to—and draws from—ideas of who we are. Her dissertation explores how 20th-century neurophysiologists constructed, legitimized, and challenged scientific knowledge; produced new technologies and modified old concepts; helped merge the physical and biological sciences; and cocreated meanings of the “self” as part of broader sociocultural, philosophical, and scientific discourse. The project will uncover the changing neurophysiological research paradigms dominant in the 20th century, asking how the incorporation of interdisciplinary research concepts into neurophysiological theories of learning and memory both reflect and shape changing cultural discourse about how the self relates to the brain and the self’s capacity to actively adapt to a changing environment. It also will explain how theories about nerve cell activity connect with socioscientific concepts of artificial intelligence.
 
About the Series
Lunchtime Lectures are a series of (mostly) weekly, informal talks on the history of chemistry or related subjects, including the history and social studies of science, technology, and medicine. Based on original research (sometimes still in progress), these talks are given by local scholars for an audience of the Institute staff and fellows and interested members of the public.