March 5, 2012

Kay Jamison and Lisa Feigenson to give upcoming Provost’s Lectures

The Provost’s Lecture Series will feature a double dose of mind-exploring topics next week.

Is there a link between madness and genius? Clinical psychologist and bipolar disorder expert Kay Jamison will present a talk titled “Mood Disorders and Creativity” at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, in Mason Hall Auditorium on the Homewood campus. The lecture will present evidence for significantly increased rates of depression and bipolar illness in writers and artists, discuss possible reasons for these elevated rates and open for discussion areas of potential clinical and ethical concern.

Jamison is the Dalio Family Professor in Mood Disorders and a professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine. She also serves as co-director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center.

On Thursday, March 15, child psychologist Lisa Feigenson will present “Insights From Infancy: Seeking the Roots of Human Cognition.” Feigenson, an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, will discuss her research on thinking in pre-verbal infants who have limited experience with the world. The lecture will help illustrate how studying cognitive development can yield insights into our understanding of human memory and numerical abilities.

Her talk begins at 5:30 p.m. in Tilghman Auditorium at the School of Medicine.

A Q&A session and reception will follow each lecture. Those planning to attend should email ProvostRSVP@jhu.edu.