Annual Lecture 2012: Neuroscience

Prof. Uta Frith

'What makes us social?'

Speaker: Professor Uta Frith

Friday 23rd November 2012

5.30 - 6.30, Ann Dobson Hall, Van Mildert College

Human beings are exquisitely social creatures. We like to do as others do, we feel their pain and we intuitively compute their desires, beliefs and feelings. These social abilities are based on a variety of brain mechanisms with deep roots in evolution. There are brain systems that enable mimicry and empathy, and these are themselves under the control of yet other systems that are responsible for our strong tendencies to identify with in-groups and distance ourselves from out-groups. This means mimicry and empathy are used quite selectively. An important brain system predisposes us to attribute intentions and feelings to others. We would probably never have fathomed this, if it were not for autism, which is characterised by profound problems in social communication.

Short Biography

Uta Frith is Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University College London and Research Foundation Professor at the University of Aarhus. She has received a number of honorary degrees and is a fellow of the British Academy as well as the Royal Society. She is also a member of the German National Academy, Leopoldina and a Foreign Associate of the American National Academy of Sciences. Recently she received an honorary DBE.

Uta Frith is an authority on autism and dyslexia and was one of the first to recognise the importance of Asperger syndrome. Her books include Autism: explaining the enigma (1989, 2003); Autism: A Very Short Introduction (2008); and Autism in History (with R. Houston, 2000). She is currently writing a book on the Social Brain with her husband, Chris Frith. Uta Frith’s other interests include the support of women in science, and the application of insights from neuroscience to education.

This year’s third annual Van Mildert Trust lecture saw  one of the country’s most eminent psychologists Professor Dame Uta Frith FRS address 350 gathered guests in the Ann Dobson Hall. Professor Frith received a warm College welcome and went on to  lecture on her chosen subject; ‘What makes us social’. Touching on a range of classic human emotional responses to everyday life, Uta spoke of how we all rely predominantly on our subconcious when dealing with routine social situations. These social abilities are based on a range of brain mechanisms deeply rooted within human evolution which inlude enabling mimicry and empathy. This in turn allows us to identify with in-groups and withdraw from out-groups. Professor Frith also touched on the subject of one of her specialisms, the study of autism, research into which she believes has allowed us to understand more about complex human emotions. The lecture was well received and Professor Frith went on to dine in Van Mildert with students, College and University staff including the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chris Higgins.