Interview with Dr. Alain Berthoz

Dr. Alain Berthoz was a Peter Wall Distinguished Visiting Professor September 1-30, 2009. An internationally-renowned neurophysiologist and an expert on perception and movement, Dr. Berthoz holds the Chair in Physiology of Perception and Action at the Collège de France in Paris, and is Director of the Laboratory of Physiology of Perception and Action. Through brain imaging, recording movements, and the use of virtual reality, Dr. Berthoz and his research team study the neural basis of four major types of cognitive-motor functions: eye movements, generation of locomotion trajectories, strategies for cognitive spatial memory, and perception and expression of emotions and actions of others.

During his month-long stay, Dr. Berthoz pursued a scholarly agenda and participated in Institute programs and events. Among other events, Dr. Berthoz gave an Associates Forum talk, two public talks, and participated in many research discussions, including with the Wall Major Thematic Grant on Sensorimotor Computation. He co-organised with Dinesh Pei, PI of the Wall Major Thematic Grant on Sensorimotor Computation, a two-day MTG workshop held at the Collège de France, The Control of Gaze.

Dr. Berthoz returned to the Peter Wall Institute in September 2011. His return visit was co-sponsored by the UBC Brain Research Centre.