For Companies

During the lecture, we review the neuro and cognitive sciences knowledge about the main processes in the brain when a person learns new information. We will cover how neurons establish new connections (learning), how they maintain them (storage), and how they activate the information stored in the networks when it‘s needed (retrieval). The theory is then followed by practice – the audience is introduced to science-based methods for improving attention and memory. The examples given are very practical as the talk was created for the people who wish to improve their memory. However, we‘ve noticed that these real-life examples of why two people remember the same event entirely differently and how to avoid it appeal to those who want to understand themselves and others better. If your company organizes competence-improving courses for employees, we recommend starting the training day with this lecture. By becoming familiar with memory-forming processes, your employees will be able to absorb and retain more information presented in the following training cycle.

We probably all know someone who is very smart, has all the necessary information, but when (s)he has to make a decision, it somehow ends up being... wrong. Later, of course, they regret it, and then… make the same mistake again. Or maybe that person is you? In this talk, you will hear about why we make mistakes when faced with urgent decisions, which factors influence our thinking processes and what we should consider to avoid them. We also look into why it's sometimes so hard to admit the mistakes and change one‘s mind. We recommend this lecture to companies that want something ‘easy’, suitable for the end of the day or for large groups. During the lecture, your audience will learn useful tips without overloading their brains, and in playful examples of stupid decisions made in real life, they will recognize their own experience. This is our most popular lecture for the general audience.

During the lecture you will hear about the main neurological processes that take place in the brain as we age and the factors that accelerate or slow them, such as lifestyle and personality. The main focus is placed on the latest scientific studies evaluating the effectiveness of various interventions to reduce the risk of dementia. This lecture is usually booked for health sector personnel or professionals who work with the elderly and their carers. We review the many symptoms that are associated with each type of dementia and what should the individual and the general public do to increase resistance to brain aging.

What happens in our brain when we crave something? Four topics are touched upon during the lecture: 1) Anatomy of motivation - which brain structures are responsible for motivation and how we should design tasks so that our brains would find them more attractive; 2) Neurochemistry of motivation - the roles that various hormones play in our behavior regulation and how to optimize their production; 3) Individual factors - why some of us are more motivated than others and to what extent lifestyle, personality and social factors determine it; 4) Practical advice on how to formulate and delegate tasks to make them more appealing to your employees, and how to improve our own thought processes to procrastinate less and become more involved in work activities. This lecture is often chosen by organizations seeking to motivate employees and improve their processes of formulating and delegating work tasks. We often receive feedback that the practical advice presented in the lecture tends to be later successfully applied by the companies in their activities.

In this lecture, we review the main neuroscience discoveries behind the gendered brains and the role of sex hormones in their activity. Besides the real differences, many neurosexist brain myths exist, and of course, we go through them, explaining and refuting them one by one. Since our brains are shaped not only by our genes but also by our daily experiences and the living environment, we discuss how certain socio-cultural factors and prevailing gender stereotypes nudge the developing brains of girls and boys into different directions. This lecture tends to be chosen by various organizations for diversity days or equal opportunity workshops, as well as companies that seek to attract more employees of one or the other gender to their posts. It is also a popular lecture for Valentine's Day and the International Women's Day.

In this talk, we explore the topics at the intersection of social and neuro sciences. We begin with unraveling ourselves - how the brain creates the sensation of self and to what extent this image tends to reflect reality. The second theme revolves around the social brain. The prevailing myth is that our brain works like a computer and that most of the decisions we make are based solely on logical calculations. However, the reality is quite different, as more and more research into the social brain reveals. In the lecture, you will learn about the processes that take place within our brains when we communicate, and why, unlike many animals, social contact is so important to our species. In the workshop after the lecture, we examine the social factors that influence our behavior: attitudes, values, superstitions, and stereotypes. We investigate their patterns and their consequences, both positive and negative. Thus you will leave this seminar having learnt about yourself and the world around you. Moreover, understanding the factors affecting your behavior will help mitigate their influence and improve your social interactions.

During the lecture, we introduce you to the anatomy of the brain and the main principles of its activity. We go through the main parts of the brain, the functions they perform, and the symptoms that arise when the activity of each of these parts of the brain is disturbed. This is an introduction to the neuroanatomy of mental functions.

Communication and close social contact are incredibly important to our species, so it's no wonder that quarantine-induced social isolation has had a negative effect on many people's brains. In the lecture, we review scientific research on the consequences of stress and loneliness on the brain health of both adults and children. Practical recommendations are given on reducing the consequences of social isolation-induced stress on mental health.

Modern life has undoubtedly changed childhood. Nowadays, children spend more time indoors, in a fixed body position in front of screens. This kind of passivity is new to our species, and our bodies and brains are not adapted to it. Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the consequences of reduced physical activity on children’s brain development. Restricted movement and lack of sensation create new challenges for children and their parents. Teachers note that children are becoming increasingly nervous, finding it hard to concentrate, and the cases of writing, reading, and learning disorders are increasing. Spending less time in active free play affects not only their physical development but also their communication and language skills and reduces creativity. During the lecture, we cover various exercises to improve balance, body awareness and control, promote brain plasticity, and interhemispheric cooperation.

In this talk, we cover how the words used in the family and in the educational institution shape the brains of preschoolers and influence their academic ability and mental functions at later stages of life. Young children learn language and expand their vocabulary not only by communicating but also by reading books together with adults, so the lecture pays special attention to the reading process, the impact of different reading methods, and book content on the development of the child's brain. Since children are exposed not only to their mother tongue but also to other languages as they grow, we review the differences in academic and social abilities created by monolingual and bilingual environments.

Neuroscientists note that what our brains perceive as real does not always correspond to objective truth. Cultural factors, such as art, often shape the ideas through which we look at the world, and the development of artistic abilities, in turn, changes the perception of art itself. During the lecture, we investigate how books, movies, and music affect the mental processes in our brain and how much of our perception and thinking abilities are borrowed from the culture that shaped our thinking.