prof.Guillaume Thierry

Guillaume Thierry
Visiting researcher (2021–2024)

Websites / Profiles

Appointments

  • Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France
  • B.Sc., Biology of Organisms and Populations, Lyon, France. With distinction
  • M.Sc. degree, Physiology, Option: Neuroscience, Lyon, France. IInd class honours
  • External Agrégation in Life and Earth Sciences, Option: Cellular Biology, France
  • M.Sc., Neuropsychology, Lyon, France. (director M. Jeannerod). Ist class honours
  • Ph.D., Neuropsychology (Summa Cum Laude), Toulouse, France (supervisor J-F Démonet)

Other Professional Activities

  • Jan 2014 – Sep 2014 | Deputy Head of College for Research, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
  • Jun 2012 – present | Director of Guiobusmindteasers ltd., Menai Bridge, UK
  • Jan 2008 – Apr 2010 | Deputy Head of School for Teaching, Learning and Professional Development, School of Psychology, Bangor University, UK
  • Jun 2007 – Sep 2008 | Chair of the Third Mission Group, Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor University, UK
  • Jan 2007 – Jun 2012 | Head of the neuroscience research group and Publicity Officer, ESRC centre for research on bilingualism in theory and practice, Bangor University, UK

Editorships

  • Since Nov 2019 | Editorial Board member Brain and Language [IF 2.4]
  • Since Oct 2019 | Associate Editor for PloS ONE [IF 2.8]
  • Since Aug 2019 | Associate Editor of Brain Sciences [IF 3.3]
  • Since Mar 2018 | Guest Editor of the Cognitive Neuroscience Series of Language Learning [IF 3.4]
  • Since Dec 2009 | Associate Editor of Frontiers in Language Sciences [IF 2.1]
  • Since Apr 2006 | Section editor of Neuroreport [IF 1.4]

Awards and Academic Recognition

  • Jul 2015 | Visiting scholar at the University of Electronic Science and Technology, Chengdu, China
  • May 2015 | Visiting scholar at the University of Belgrade, Serbia
  • Jan 2015 | Visiting scholar at Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Jun 2013 – present | Advisory board member, Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism, Reading, UK
  • Sep  2012 – Mar 2013 | Midcareer Fellowship form the British Academy, UK
  • Jul 2012 | Teaching Fellowship for excellent teaching practice, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
  • Dec 2012 | Visiting scholar at Keio University and Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Mar 2011 | Visiting scholar at Keio University and Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Dec 2010 | Visiting scholar at Penn State University , Pennsylvania, USA
  • Jun 2010 | Visiting scholar and lecturer, Nijmegen, Netherlands
  • Dec 2009 | Associate Editor for Frontiers in Language Sciences. Specialty Editor Manuel Carreiras,
  • Jan 2009 | Visiting scholar at WITZ University & University of Cape town, South-Africa
  • Feb 2008 | Visiting scholar at Keio University and Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan
  • Apr 2007 | Visiting Scholar at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, USA
  • May 2004 & 2005 | Visiting Fellow at the Max Plank Institute, Leipzig, Germany
  • Mar 2004 | Brain Awareness Week Award, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council for the public lecture ‘Braintrix: Perceiving the world through our neurofilter’

External Research grants

As sole PI: £1.1 million, As co-PI: £5.5 million
  • Thierry, G and Athanasopoulos, P. (SRG\171484) Real-time linguistic relativity: How swiftly does language flex perception? Small research grant from the British Academy (£9890)
  • Wu, YJ and Thierry, G. Neuroscientific investigation of speech production in bilinguals. Small research grant from the British Academy (£8,037)
  • Dorjee, D and Thierry, G. Mindfulness training in primary schools: Pilot neurocognitive evaluation. Small research grant from the British Academy (£8,504)
  • Thierry, G. Translanguaging: The quest for the bilingual advantage. Midcareer Fellowship of the British Academy [BA-MD120036]. 2012-2013 (£143,000)
  • Deuchar, M. and Thierry, G. One brain, two languages: bridging neuroscience and linguistics. Art and Humanities Research Council, research networks and workshops scheme. 2008-2011 (£25,000)
  • Thierry, G. Neurosemantics: The human brain as a meaning Processor. Starting Independent Researcher Grant, European Research Council [ERC-SG-209704] 2008-2013, £840,000 (€962,000)
  • Deuchar, M., Gathercole, V., Baker, C., & Thierry, G. Economic and Social Research Council (ES/E024556/1). ESRC Centre for research on bilingualism in theory and practice, 2007-2012, £ 5.2 millionThierry, G. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (5/S18007). Interaction of semantic and emotional representations in the processing of meaningful auditory stimuli, 2003 – 2006, £133,324
  • Vihman, M., Thierry, G. & Nakai, S (co-PIs). Economic and Social Research Council. (RES-000-23-0095). Form and meaning in infant word recognition: Behavioural and electrophysiological studies of attention to speech, 2003 – 2006, £324,526

Conference organised

  • Sept 2018 | Cognitive Neuroscience of Second and Artificial Language Learning. 21-23 September 2018, Pontio arts and innovation center, Bangor University, Wales. International conference. Keynote speakers and invited speakers: Keynote Speakers: Janet van Hell, Gary Oppenheim, Patrick Rebuschat , Laura Batterink, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, Rob Hartsuiker, Kara Morgan-Short, John Williams, Karsten Steinhauer. Role: Conference chair and main organiser.
  • Sept 2009 | Neurobilingualism: Bilingual functioning from infancy to adulthood.  conference organised by the ESRC centre for research on bilingualism in theory and practice. Role: Conference Chair and main organiser.

Invited Keynotes

  • Thierry G. (October 2019) Language is not magic: Towards an integrated account of linguistic relativity and embodiment theory in the human brain. Invited keynote at the 5th international conference of psycholinguistics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China, on invitation from Prof Jehui Hu
  • Thierry G. (June 2019) Cross-talk in the bilingual mind: How native metaphors shape conceptual processing in a second language context. Invited keynote at the Symposium on Language and Cognition, Dalian University of Technology, on invitation from Prof. Wang Huili
  • Thierry G. (November 2017) Do we control language? Or does language control us? Invited keynote at COM 2017 (Formerly Workshop on bilingualism), Groningen, The Netherlands, on Invitation from Prof. Hanneke Loerts
  • Thierry G. (October 2016) The unspeakable languages of the human brain. Conference on cognition and language education, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, China on invitation from Prof. Jehui Hu
  • Thierry G. (March 2016) Language in the unspeakable languages of the human mind. CUNY conference, Florida, USA on invitation from Prof. Jorge Valdes Kroff
  • Thierry G (May 2014). Intéractions deuxième langue - langue maternelle chez le sujet bilingue. Keynote at the Journées de Printemps de la Société Neurologique de Langue Française, Fribourg, Suisse, on invitation from Prof. Jean-Marie Annoni
  • Thierry G and Wu YJ (November 2013). Keynote presentation at the second international conference on psycholinguistics in China, Fuzhou, China, On invitation from Profs Rongbao Li and Yanping Dong
  • Thierry G. (June 2013) Imagine pink… Now make it Pinker. Does language affect colour perception? Keynote lecture at the Colour Language and Colour Categorization Conference (CLCC),
Institute of the Estonian Language, Tallinn, Estonia. Invited by Dr Mari Uusküla
  • Thierry, G. (September 2012). An electrifying approach to language and bilingualism: event-related potentials. Invited keynote presented at the 22nd European Second Language Acquisition (EuroSLA) conference. Poznan. 5-8 September 2012. Hosted by Dr Anna Ewert
  • Thierry, G. (June 2012). Co-existence of Welsh and English in the same brain: Does this mean mental war? Invited keynote presented at the 7th Celtic Languages Conference (CLC). Rennes. Hosted by Dr Pauline Welby
  • Thierry, G (March 2011). Neurobilingualism: Electrifying insights into interactions between languages in the bilingual mind. Invited keynote presentation at Keio Global COE International Symposium, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan on invitation from Prof. Mustumi Imai
  • Thierry, G. (November 2009). Handling two languages: Trying to understand the most complex process implemented in the human mind. Invited introduction of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism session at the first Sino-Dutch-English Frontier of Science meeting in Beijing, China
  • Thierry, G. and Wu, YJ. (September 2008) Unconscious access to Chinese translation equivalents in Chinese-English bilinguals. Invited Keynote at the Workshop on Bilingualism, Ghent, The Netherlands, on invitation from Dr Wouter Duyck and Prof. Mark Brysbaert
  • Thierry, G. (October 2008) Lexical and semantic access in the bilingual mind. Invited keynote presentation at the International Conference on Models of Interactions in Bilinguals, Bangor, UK

Invited conference talks and symposia

  • Thierry G, Li Y, Wu YJ, Casaponsa A (September 2019). Evidence for parallel unconscious processing in the bilingual mind: Dual power under cover? Invited symposium presentation at ESCOP, Tenerife. On invitation from Prof Arturo Hernandez
  • Thierry G. (September 2018). Do we control language or does language control us? keynote presentation as Bangor University’s DClin conference Stakeholder’s day, St Asaph, on invitation from Prof. Robert Jones
  • Thierry G. (January 2015) inter-university seminar on Free Will. Tamagawa University, Tokyo Japan, on invitation from Profs. Mutsumi Imai and Hiroyuki Okada
  • Thierry G. (May 2014). Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride. Philosophical lessons from five years of seemingly scattered research. Keynote at the Mapping methods conference in Tartu Estonia, on invitation from Mari Uskuula and Martin Essalu
  • Thierry G. (April 2014). Meditation and Neuroscience: Why bother? Invited presentation at the Neuroscience and mindfulness conference, Bangor, UK
  • Thierry G. (November 2013) A bilingual context boosts executive function in bilinguals. Invited symposium at Psychonomics, Toronto, Canada, on invitation from Profs Helen Bialystok and Judy Kroll
  • Thierry G. (July 2013) When does a visual object become a human face in the brain? Invited contribution to a symposium on object and face processing, Experimental Psychology Society meeting, Bangor, UK. Sponsored by Prof. Charles Leek
  • Thierry G. Coexistence of two languages in the same brain: Does this mean mental war? Invited presentation at Strathclyde university, Glasgow, UK. Invited by Dr M. Carmen Parafita-Couto
  • Thierry, G. (September 2012). Bilingualism or bicognition? How knowing two languages affects our conception of objects and their properties. Presentation at the ESF workshop on thinking, speaking and gesturing in two languages. Reading 12-15 September 2012. Organised by Dr. Panos Athanasopoulous and Prof. Jeanine Treffers-Daller
  • Thierry, G (May 2011). The Shakespeared Brain Act Two. Invited presentation and “The Reader” conference, Liverpool. Hosted by Dr Jane Davis and Prof. Phil Davis
  • Thierry, G. (October 2010). When false beliefs become facts and when facts should become false beliefs. Invited presentation at the BPS welshbranch conference, Bangor, UK. Organiser: Dr Tracey Lloyd
  • Thierry, G. (April 2008) Some face scientists cannot face a doubtful face: Anatomy of a controversy, Keynote at the BPS student conference, Bangor, UK
  • Thierry G. and Vihman, M. M. (2007) The onset of word recognition and comprehension in English and Welsh Infants. Invited Symposium at the BPS Developmental Branch conference, Plymouth, UK
  • Thierry, G. (2002) Functional imaging of semantic memory. Invited presentation at the “Journées de neurologie de langue française”, Tours, France
  • Thierry G., Boulanouar K., Kherif F., Ranjeva J. P. and Démonet J. F. (1999). Is Event-Related fMRI the Key to the Temporality of Linguistic Brain Activations? Symposium at the SPR conference, Granada, Spain

Public lectures and general audience presentations

  • Thierry G. (July 2019) How Shakespeare tempests our brain to seize our heart. Public lecture in the Studio Theatre of Pontio, Bangor University, on invitation from Elen Ap Roberts.
  • Thierry G. (May 2017) Neurolinguistic relativity. Distinguished Professors Lecture. Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland.
  • Thierry G. (May 2015) Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride. Philosophical lessons from five years of seemingly scattered research. Public lecture at Belgrade University, Serbia on invitation from Prof. Vanja Kovic
  • Thierry G. (June 2014) Close your eyes, Open your mind: When science collides with philosophy of life, Science Café presentation at Blue Sky café, Bangor
  • Thierry G. (September 2013) Invited debate on linguistic relativity, face-to-face with Prof Geoff Pulum, Edinburgh University. Organised by the Frisian University of Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. The debate was filmed by the Frisian television and broadcasted
  • Thierry, G (April 2011). Bottom-up research and ERC. How to balance curiosity and top-down activities. Invited presentation at the ERRIN conference in Brussels, Belgium
  • Thierry, G (June 2010) Schultinck public lecture at the University of Nijmegen “Perception shapes language and language shapes perception: Brain waves reveal effects of native language on colour perception”
  • Thierry, G. (January 2010). A window into the workings of the active mind: The example of bilingualism. Public lecture invited by Dr Kate Cockcroft, Wits University in Johannesburg, South-Africa
  • Thierry, G. (October 2010). A window into the workings of the active mind: The example of bilingualism. Public Lecture opening the series organised by the ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory and Practice, Bangor, UK. Organiser: Prof. Margaret Deuchar

Articles for The Conversation

5 Articles 300K+ readers

School visits and presentations

  • Jul 2019 | Fake news (A provocative, informative, and educative lecture about news in the modern world and the impact of social media on everyday life). Sixth form conference - Welsh BACC. Bangor University, Bangor UK
  • Mar 2019 | Fake news. Ysgol Friars (~400 year 11 & year 12 pupils)
  • Nov 2018 | Fake news. Ysgol David Hughes (~150 Year 13 pupils)
  • Jan 2018 | Fake news. Ysgol David Hughes (~150 Year 13 pupils)
  • Dec 2017 | Fake news. Ysgol David Hughes (~150 Year 13 pupils)
  • Apr 2013 | Smallpeice Science Day (~40 School pupils)
  • Oct 2012 | Brain and Safety (How safety depends on one single part of our body) Coleg Menai Llangefni (~40 students)
  • Apr 2012 | Smallpeice Science Day (~40 School pupils)
  • Apr 2011 | Smallpeice Trust - Nuclear Engineering Event  (~30 School pupils)

External summer schools and workshops

  • Since 2009 | Visceral Minds, Advanced neuroanatomy course. General introduction. Bangor. On invitation from Prof. Bob Rafal and then Prof. O. Turnbull
  • May 2019 | Summer school on principles of oral scientific presentation, Adam Mickiewicz  University, Poznan, Poland. (16 hours)
  • Jul 2018 | Summer school on Language and Cognition, University of Electronics Sciences and Technology of China, Chengdu, China (5 days)
  • May 2018 | Summer school on principles of predictive science and experimentation, Adam Mickiewicz  University, Poznan, Poland. (16 hours)
  • Sep 2017 | Summer school on Neurolinguistics and bilingualism, Barcelona (3 days)
  • Jul 2017 | Summer school on Brain and Language, University of Electronics Sciences and Technology of China, Chengdu, China (5 days)
  • Jul 2016 | ESCOP summer school, San Sebastian, Basque Country (3 days)
  • Jun 2015 | LOT summer school on neurolinguistics and neuroimaging, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands (5 days)
  • Apr 2014 | Summer school on neurobilingualism research methods. Centre for Research on Bilingualism, Stockholm, Sweden (4 days)
  • Jul 2015 | Summer school on Language and Cognition, University of Electronics Sciences and Technology of China, Chengdu, China (5 days)
  • May 2015 | Advanced seminar on psycho-/neurolinguistics (20 hours), Vitoria, Basque Country (3 days)

Media appearances and interviews

  • 3 TV interviews with BBC1: Lucy Owen – Should she send her son to a Welsh speaking School (Aired January 2016)?  BBC4: Why Reading Matters, and S4C: Bilingualism research with ERPs.
  • Feb 2017 Radio Canada interview with Jean François Bouthillette, Le Siècle des lumières
  • 5 National radio interviews including Good Morning Wales Jeremy Grange and Adam Walton (Dec 2009, Jan 2011, Feb 2013 and Twm Morys (Sep 2017)
  • Public debate with Prof. Geoff Pullum from the University of Edinburgh: Multilingualism: The Key Debates (Sep 2013).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMNFyhuqyNQ

Editorial and reviewing activities

  • Brain and Behavioural Sciences associate
  • Ad hoc reviewer for the following peer-reviewed journals: Science, Nature Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, Neuron, Plos Biology, Journal of Neuroscience, Cerebral Cortex, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroimage, Cognition, Journal of Memory and Language, Neuropsychologia, Human Brain Mapping, Cortex, Neuroreport, Cognitive Brain Research, Brain Sciences, Language Learning, European Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Journal of Clinical Psychophysiology, Brain and Cognition, Dyslexia, Brain Topography, Applied Psycholinguistics

Research Grant Reviewing

  • Ad-hoc reviewer for the following grant awarding bodies: European Research Council (Europe), Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (France), Royal Society (UK), British Academy (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Leverhume Trust (UK), Economic and Social Research Council (UK), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK)

External Research Collaborations

Ongoing
  • Dr Norbert Vanek, York University, York, UK.
  • Prof Katarzyna Bromberek-Dyzman, dr Rafal Jończyk, and Mr Marcin Naranowicz , Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
  • Prof. Yan Jing Wu, Ningbo University, China; Prof Taomei Guo, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China Prof Jehui Hu and Dr Shan Gao, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
  • Prof. Panos Athanasopoulos, Prof. Patrick Rebuschat, and Dr Aina Casaponsa, Lancaster University, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
  • Prof. Manne Bylund and Mr Gunnar Norrman, Centre for research on Bilingualism, Stockholm University, Sweden.
  • Prof. Jeanine Treffers-Daller, Dr Christos Pliatsikas, and Mr Michal Korenar, Multimind Centre, Reading, UK
  • Prof. Vanja Kovic, Belgrade University, Serbia
  • Prof. Jon Andoni Dunbeitia, University of Nebrija, Madrid, Spain. Prof Manuel Carreiras and Dr Clara Martin. Basque Centre for Brain, Cognition and Language, San Sebastian, Spain.
Previous
  • Dr Jan Rouke Kuipers and Dr Benjamin Dering, University of Stirling, UK
  • Prof. Cathy Price, Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, London, UK. Investigation of the functional dissociation for verbal and nonverbal semantic access using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and high field functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
  • Prof. Philip Davis, and Dr Victorina Gonzalez-Diaz, School of English, Liverpool University, UK. Neurofunctional investigation of the Shakespearean functional shift
  • Dr Sonja Kotz and Prof. Angela Friederici, Max Plank Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. Impact of callosal lesions on semantic processing of spoken words and environmental sounds
  • Prof. Sotaro Kita, School of Psychology, Warwick University, UK; Prof. Mutsumi Imai and Dr Michiko Asano at Keio University, Japan. Prof. Hiroyuki Okada at Tamagawa University, Japan. The role of sound symbolism in word learning

Supervised PhD students

[Secondary supervisions not recorded]
  • 2019 – | Hamid Bagheri (Self-funded)
  • 2017 – | Jennifer Lewendon (ESRC DTP studentship)
  • 2015 – 2019 | Yang Li (School funded studentship). Time conceptualisation in Chinese-English bilinguals
  • 2014 – 2019 | Pippa Beston (School funded studentship). The effect of social rewards and punishments on learning and cooperative decision-making
  • 2010 – 2013 | Bastien Boutonnet (ESRC +3). Linguistic relativity electrified :Event-related potential investigation of the way in which language affects cognition
  • 2008 – 2011 | Benjamin Dering (School of Psychology studentship). Category-selectivity to faces: a comparative analysis of P1 and N1 sensitivity in visual event-related potentials.
  • 2008 – 2011 | Nicola Savill (ESRC 1+3). Investigation of orthographic and phonological integration mechanisms in developmental dyslexia.
  • 2004 – 2007 | Yan Jing Wu (ORS award and School of Psychology studentship). Event-related potential investigation of conscious and unconscious mechanisms underlying Chinese-English bilingualism
  • 2001 – 2004 | Tim Fosker (ESRC 1+3 studentship). Investigation of phonological processing in dyslexia using event-related potentials.

Supervised Postdoctoral Fellows / Researchers

  • 2007 – 2013 | Jan-Rouke Kuipers (ESRC Centre for research on bilingualism). Developmental approach to bilingualism using event-related potentials
  • 2010 – 2013 | James Keidel (European Research Council) Neurosemantics : the human brain as a meaning processor
  • 2011 – 2012 | Nick Davis (Overhead funding) Translanguaging, Transccranial Direct current stimulation, Dylexia, and Parkinson desease
  • 2009 – 2012 | Yan Jing Wu (European Research Council) Neurosemantics : the human brain as a meaning processor
  • 2011 | Alice Foucart (ESRC Centre for research on bilingualism) Developmental approach to bilingualism using event-related potentials
  • 2009 – 2011 | Dusana Dorjee (European Research Council) Neurosemantics : the human brain as a meaning processor
  • 2008 – 2011 | Noriko Hoshino (ESRC Centre for research on bilingualism). Electrophysiological correlates of bilingual lexical semantic access in Chinese-English and Welsh-English bilinguals
  • 2007 – 2011 | Benjamin Dering (ESRC Centre for research on bilingualism). Electrophysiological correlates of bilingual lexical semantic access in Chinese-English and Welsh-English bilinguals
  • 2009 – 2010 | Marie Lallier (Fyssen Foundation Grant). Lexicality effects in reading in bilinguals
  • 2007 – 2009 | Eirini Sanoudaki  (ESRC Centre for research on bilingualism)
  • 2006 – 2007 | Clara Martin (Fyssen Foundation grant). Neural bases of bilingual processing / Face-selectivity in event-related potentials
  • 2003 – 2006 |  Mark Roberts (Research Officer on BBSRC grant 5/S18007). Exploration of interactions between emotions and semantic processing using electrophysiology and neuroimaging

Teaching Activities

  • Human language and its disorders (Year 1 BSc) 2019
  • MA in bilingualism (MA) 2009 – present
  • Brain and Mind (Year 1 BSc ) 2001– present
  • Practical Foundations (Year 2 BSc ) 2000 – 2002
  • Cognitive Neuroscience (Year 3 BSc) 2000 – 2004
  • Cognitive Neuroscience of Language (Year 3 - MSc) 2002 – 2004
  • Brain and Language (Year 3 BSc) 2004 – 2009
  • Psychology Oral Presentation Practice Scheme (Year 1-3 BSc) 2000 – 2001
  • Conception and implementation of the Brain Illusion Teaser

Third mission and Knowledge Transfer Activities

  • The Brain Illusion Teaser (BIT, 2003). © School of Psychology, Bangor Univeristy. Conception and implementation of the Brain Illusion Teaser, an interactive introduction to visual illusions and their physiological explanations. Free copy available on the BBC website : http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/fun/pages/brainillusionteaser.shtml
  • Cognisens™ : Cognisens is an interactive neuroscience exhibition designed to familiarise the participating audience with powerful perceptual illusions with the aim of breaking the news gently that reality as we know it is a construct of our brain on the basis of which we create a coherent, meaningful representation of the world around us. The PI obtained a £7K grant from the Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and conceived, developed, produced and delivered this interactive neuroscience exhibition for al. The trademark is registered to the School of Psychology, Bangor University. Cognisens was introduced in 2009 as “Seven exhibits to discover the power of your brain”. Exhibitions have taken place in Cardiff (August 2009), Bangor (September 2009), and Preston (November 2009).
  • Cerebellium: In March 2012, March 2013, and March 2014: Conception, developement, produced and delivery of an interactive immersive theatrical experience where cognitive neuroscience and context orientated theatre collide in close collaboration with theatre director Iwan Brioc from the republic of imagination. Cerebellium was sponsored by Pontio (the new arts and innovation centre under construction at Bangor University), the Art Council for Wales, and the School of Psychology, Bangor University. Funding was £7K in 2012, £9K in 2013, and £30K in 2014. In Cerebellium, the audience is fully immersed in a science fiction mini-world and experience one-to-one theatre as they discover the labyrinth individually. The Cerebellium experience was designed as a three-in-one experiment: theatrical, scientific, and philosophical, inviting us to coin the term epistemotheatre. The theatrical experiment tested is if it is possible to get visitors involved (attentionally, emotionally, cognitively) well beyond what they experience when they sit passively in a theatre facing a stage. Thanks to Iwan Brioc’s second-to-none creativity in the domain of theatre labyrinth, we knew it would work and it did, beyond expectations. The scientific experiment tested whether people with basic knowledge of the brain and human biology would choose to believe in a radical science fiction scenario involving a brain in a vat having gained or regained consciousness and whether such a scenario would power the demonstration of principles such as perceptual illusion, affective sensitisation, obedience, compassion, beyond the usual. That worked too, in a rather spectacular way, despite complete, transparent disclosure of the fact that it was all theatre. The philosophical experiment tested whether, the two preceding conditions being met, visitors would become more aware (or perhaps aware for the first time) of what existence means, how consciousness relates to existence, the fact that reality around us is a construct secreted by our brain, and the ethical implications of this as regards life, happiness, death. Judging by visitors’ free expression in the final room of Cerebellium (the ‘decompression room’), most people found it a ‘deep’, ‘mesmerizing’, ‘mind-blowing’, ‘life-changing’ experience. About half of them even rated it as one of the most fascinating experiences of their life. We can only hope that the third –philosophical– experiment succeeded.
  • Guiobusmindteasers ltd. Small company founded in June 2012 delivering Health and Safety and Sustainability presentations from the view point of Cognitive Sciences: e.g., ‘Brain and Safety’, ‘Ensafing’, or ‘Climate changes, not us’. Presentations have been given at the SHE Show – the largest Health and Safety conference in the UK– and prestigious specialist events (e.g., ARCO, British Ceramics Association, Toyota, BAEsystems). Director has also acted as consultant regarding campus infrastructure for Toyota and BAEsystems.

NAWA Chair Programme (Profesura Gościnna NAWA)