Cognitive Plasticity in Adulthood

NEW YORK - Jan. 22, 2015 - PRLog -- Although the adult brain was once thought to be a rather static organ, it is now clear that the organization of brain circuitry is constantly changing as a function of experience. These changes refer to the brain's plasticity, and occur during learning and memory as a result of stress, addiction, and during recovery of function following brain injury. In addition to brain plasticity, there is now evidence that personality characteristics are also plastic, responding to training, for example, to increase openness. On Wednesday, January 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., representatives from the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, and the Columbia Aging Center in New York City will speak on a panel at the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) on cognitive plasticity in adulthood.

Dr. Ulman Lindenberger, Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, will introduce the concept of in vitro plasticity. He will draw upon years of expertise in behavioral and neural plasticity across the lifespan, brain-behavior relations across the lifespan, multivariate developmental methodology, and formal models of behavioral change. Dr. Lindenberger studied psychology and biology in Berkeley and Berlin, and received his doctorate in psychology from the Freie Universität Berlin in 1990. He holds honorary professorships at the Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität Berlin, and Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. Dr. Lindenberger is a member of Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea. In 2010, he was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Dr. Lindenberger will be joined by Dr. Ursula Staudinger, Director of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of Psychology at Columbia University. In her talk, Dr. Staudinger will present the concept of in vivo plasticity and discuss her research focusing on the opportunities and challenges of increases in average life expectancy. She will describe how she investigates the potentials of aging by studying the plasticity of the aging process (e.g. cognition or personality), as well the development of life insight, life management, and wisdom over the lifespan. Her findings have yielded helpful advice for living, work, and education during this time of unprecedented demographic change.

Dr. Ursula M. Staudinger, Ph.D., is a lifespan psychologist, an internationally acknowledged aging researcher, and Vice President of Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences. She joined the Mailman School in July 2013 as Founding Director of the new Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center. The center is a global hub for interdisciplinary aging research and knowledge transfer to policy makers, companies, as well as the general public. Additionally, Dr. Staudinger leads the renowned International Longevity Center (ILC) USA, part of the 14-member, multinational ILC-Global Alliance consortium that seeks to help societies address longevity and population aging in positive and productive ways.

Prior to coming to Mailman, Dr. Staudinger was the Vice President of Jacobs University Bremen in Germany and Founding Dean of the Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development at Jacobs University Bremen, an interdisciplinary research center investigating productive aging, with a focus on education and the labor market. Earlier in her career, she was Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Technische Universität Dresden and was Senior Scientist of the Max Planck Institute of Human Development in Berlin, Germany.

Dr. Joann Halpern, Director of the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) in New York, will moderate the discussion.

As part of GCRI’s 2015 Aging Series, this panel will take place on Wednesday, January 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the German Center for Research and Innovation (871 United Nations Plaza, First Avenue, btw. 48^th & 49^th Streets). To RSVP by January 23, click here (http://www.jotformpro.com/form/50046072955959).

Unable to attend? Follow @gcri_ny (https://twitter.com/gcri_ny) and the hashtag #Aging for live tweets. A video recording will be available on www.germaninnovation.org shortly after the event.

This event is co-sponsored by the German Center for Research and Innovation (GCRI) and the Max Planck Society.

The German Center for Research and Innovation (http://www.germaninnovation.org/) provides information and support for the realization of cooperative and collaborative projects between North America and Germany. With the goal of enhancing communication on the critical challenges of the 21st century, GCRI hosts a wide range of events from lectures and exhibitions to workshops and science dinners. Opened in February 2010, GCRI was created as a cornerstone of the German government’s initiative to internationalize science and research and is one of five centers worldwide.