Several groups the world over are trying to understand how the capabilities of the nervous system have been put in place both through evolution and through development from a fertilised egg to a mature animal. Movement, it has been famously said, is the output of the nervous system and is therefore a useful pivot for understanding the brain. Our laboratory principally studies how the ability for coordinated movement is put in place as the animal develops. In other words, how do genes and environment interact to make a functional brain and give rise to the capability of complex behaviour. This seems a horribly difficult task to solve, but is no less daunting than other tasks we have set yourselves such as trying to understand the functioning of a bacterial cell or the origin of the universe. Indeed, over the recent past our understanding of how the brain is made has grown by leaps and bounds, solving old problems and raising new questions. Starting with an introduction to the present state of neuroscience, I will delve into work in our laboratory on how the making of neurons and muscles gives us an understanding of how the brain allows us interact with the world.
Shuttles are available from IISc (TIFR Center Building, Near Janata Bazaar) and NCBS. For shuttle timings click here.
Special shuttles will also run from RRI to ICTS campus (via IISc) and from NCBS to ICTS campus (via CAM-TIFR). For shuttle timings click here.