On April 8, 2018, the “Overseas Well-known Experts’ Lecture Series, Anhui Province” and “Zhang Xiqi Academic Forum” co-sponsored by Anhui Provincial Foreign Experts Bureau and Anhui Medical University were held in Anhui Medical University. The Novel Laureate Professor Edward Moser was invited to lecture on “Navigation System of the Brain.” He also had academic discussions and exchanges with young scholars of Anhui Medical University. Prof. Cao Yunxia, president of AHMU, addressed the welcome speech at the conference and presented the medal of Zhang Xiqi academic forum for Prof. Moser. Huang Heqing, deputy director of Anhui Provincial Foreign Experts Bureau, attended the event. Prof. Yu Yongqiang, vice president of AHMU, chaired the conference and forum activities.
Prof. Moser, head of TNU Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, is an internationally renowned psychologist and neuroscientist. He has conducted a series of cutting-edge research on brain mechanisms in the past decades and made great contribution to identifying the place cells that make up the brain’s positioning system and shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014 with May-Britt Moser and John O’Keefe.
In Prof. Moser’s lecture, he introduced his research results in the GPS positioning cells. The positioning system in the brain is called “GPS” built into the brain. It allows us to locate in space and reveals the high level of recognition mechanisms at the cell level. In 2005, Edward Moser and his wife discovered another kind of nerve cells called “grid cells” of the brain’s localization mechanism. These cells produce a coordinate system that makes precise positioning and path search possible. In addition to its theoretical significance, this finding is beneficial for neuropharmacology, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, and it helps to understand the basic principles of spatial memory loss in the early stage of the disease.
Four young scholars from Anhui Medical University reported their research results in their respective research fields and conducted interactive exchanges with Prof. Moser.
The conference provided an opportunity for students and teachers of AHMU to access scientific frontiers and the Nobel Prize Laureate, which helps deepen the understanding of international research frontiers in the field of brain science, and provides a good platform for brain science research exchanges.