Finding Your Way

“Your Inner Navigator”   

with Distinguished Professor Eduardo Macagno, Division of Biological Sciences at UCSD

An increasing amount of data supports the idea that mentally "exercising" specific parts of your brain is good for you.  In particular, an area that is among those that decline relatively early, the hippocampus, is very important for spatial cognition, as well as forming long-term memories.  Distinguished Professor Eduardo Macagno, from the Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences at UCSD will describe how the hippocampus helps us create maps of our environment, and is important in way finding.  This ability is being increasingly lost as we rely more and more on technological aids, like GPS.  But new observations indicate that practicing wayfinding, and thus exercising the hippocampus, can significantly delay its decline.  Professor Macagno will discuss these ideas and suggest some ways in which to practice wayfinding for the benefit of body and brain.

Prof. Eduardo R. Macagno was recruited from Columbia University to UC San Diego in 2001, where he was the Founding Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences. He remains active in developmental neurobiology research, maintaining a UCSD laboratory and serving as Editor-in- Chief of Developmental Neurobiology. A native of Argentina, he majored in physics at the University of Iowa, where he worked with James Van Allen’s team on the early exploration of the Earth’s radiation belts. As a PhD student at Columbia, he carried out a project involving the use of muonic X-rays to determine nuclear structure with Prof. Chien-Shung Wu. He then carried out postdoctoral studies under Prof. Cyrus Levinthal in Columbia’s Department of Biological Sciences, working on the development of computer-based systems for the three-dimensional reconstruction of neuronal assemblies. His laboratory now employs a wide range of experimental techniques to investigate the formation of neural circuits in the developing nervous system of the medicinal leech. Other current research includes projects at the interface of Architecture and Neuroscience, using Virtual Reality environments to study the interaction of normal and neurologically impaired subjects with the built environment. Macagno was President of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture in 2010-12. A member of the 6th College faculty, Macagno teaches courses on “Dementia Science and Society,” “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Biomedical Sciences,” and “Brains and Buildings.”

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 Kids program is available for free at every Assembly.

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Stay after the assembly for coffee, snacks and to hang out with other assemblers

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Sunday Assembly San Diego is a new radically inclusive secular community that meets monthly to hear inspirational talks, connect for service projects, sing songs and generally celebrate life. Assemblies are free to attend, and everyone is welcome.

Our motto: Live Better. Help Often. Wonder More.