Previous Fora / 2011
DEHAENE, Stanislas
Professor, College de France
Director, INSERM-CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit
Education/Training
| Year | Institution and Location | Degree | Field of study |
| 1999 | Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris | Habilitation to direct research |
Cognitive neuroscience |
| 1989 | Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris | PhD | Cognitive science |
| 1985 |
University of Paris VI |
Masters | Applied mathematics and computer science |
| 1984-1989 | Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris | Mathematics |
Research and professional experience
2005- Professor at the Collège de France, chair of Experimental Cognitive Psychology
2002- Director of the INSERM-CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, France
1997-2005 Research Director at INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research)
1992-1994 Post-doctoral Fellow, Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences, University of Oregon
(USA), director Michael Posner
1989-1999 Research Scientist, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
(INSERM), Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Paris, France
1984-1989 Ecole Normale Supérieure, Mathematics sections
1982-1984 Ecole préparatoire Ste Geneviève, Versailles (Mathematics section)
Major grants
2011-2014 ANR “Neural bases of hierarchical constituent structure" (789 984 €)
2010-2014 European Research Council Senior Grant ( 2 486 640 €)
1999-2001 EEC European network “Imaging of language functions in the brain” (70 000 €)
1999-2012 James S. Mc Donnell Foundation Centennial Fellowship (1,000,000 $)
2000-2004 EEC European network NEUROMATH (191 000 €)
2004-2007 EEC European network NUMBRA “Numeracy and brain development” (394 537 €)
2005-2008 EEC Grant NEST-NEUROCOM “Neural origins of language and communication” (339 390 €)
2005-2008 Volkswagen Foundation”Cognitive Neuroimaging” (153 000 €)
2006-2009 ANR Agence Nationale de la Recherche “Origins of reading” (148 111 €)
2007-2011 HFSP Human Frontier Science Program “The brain’s turing machine” ( 270 000 $)
Recurrent funding from INSERM, Collège de France, and University of Paris XI.
Honors
2011 Doctor, honoris causa, University of Lisbon
2011 Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur
2010 Honorary Professor, East China Normal University (Shanghai)
2010 Member, National Academy of Sciences USA
2010 Corresponding Fellow, British Academy
ABSTRACT
14:30-16:30 17 NOVEMBER
PLENARY SESSION III. “THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF SCIENCE: “EMERGING FIELDS OF SCIENCE” (THEMATIC APPROACH)
Brain and cognitive sciences
“Know thyself”, says the Greek motto. In the past years, our ability to understand the brain mechanisms that underlie our thoughts has dramatically increased. Thanks to new brain imaging tools such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magneto-encephalography (MEG), the skull has become virtually transparent, and the anatomy and activity of the living human brain is being revealed in increasing detail. Thus, questions that used to belong solely to psychology and cognitive science can now be integrated into the neuroscience agenda. I will present examples drawn from recent work on the psychology and neuroscience of uniquely human abilities for calculation and reading. The neural circuits that allow us to recognize a written word such as “eight”, access its meaning, and use it in conscious computations, are increasingly being uncovered. This improved understanding has consequences for both medicine and education.