The bacteria and the brain
Can you eat yourself smart, or rather dumb? What resides in your intestines, and how does it affect your mood? Can a healthy gut flora make you more resilient to stress? And what do gut bacteria have to do with Parkinson's disease?
The microbiome, the diverse collection of microorganisms in the gut, is crucial for our health. Moreover, it has a significant impact on the brain, and thus our mental health. As science unravels the connection between gut flora, the immune system, and the brain, it becomes increasingly clear that the zoo in our intestines plays a vital role in the development of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Will antidepressants soon be replaced by donor poop in capsule form? Will we soon be prescribed a Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diet? And how can your diet make you more stress-resistant during exam periods?
This event is an initiative by the Dutch Institute for Emergent Phenomena (DIEP) with the support of the University of Amsterdam. Science & Cocktails Amsterdam is presented in cooperation with Paradiso Amsterdam.
Talk by
Iris Sommer
Iris Sommer works as a neuroscientist and psychiatrist at the University Medical Center Groningen. With her team, she strives to make a difference for people with complex brain disorders. Her current research focuses on the use of automatic speech analysis for psychiatry, for which she recently received two major grants from the EU. In 2021, she was named a Distinguished Lorentz Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Amsterdam, and in 2022, she received the Huijbrechtsen Prize for Science and Society. In 2023, she and her team were at Lowland for Shitty Science, a study on the role of gut flora in personality, and she co-hosted the podcast series In de Diepte; Het Brein with BNR news radio. Additionally, she is an author, and her previous books, "Haperende Hersenen" (Stuttering Brains) and "Het Vrouwenbrein" (The Female Brain), were bestsellers. She recently wrote "Voed je Brein" (Feed Your Brain) and "De Bacterie en het Brein" (The Bacteria and the Brain), in which she explains the relationship between nutrition, gut flora, and the brain, the topic for this evening.
Music by
Mo Bedick
In the realm of psychedelic indie music, where genres collide and boundaries blur, the Netherlands-based quartet Mo Bedick emerges as a captivating force. Far from dusty, the four-piece band is reshaping the sonic landscape with an eclectic mix of shoegaze, future jazz, hip hop, and psychedelic pop, crafting a Disney-like enchantment for its listeners.
After playing together for years and successfully releasing multiple EP’s and singles, the band took a show-hiatus to work on their debut album: ‘Whirligig’. Much like a Whirligig, the album spins up and down making it an active listening concept album: from future jazz breaks with big synths, to wall-of-sound shoegaze. However, they do stay true to their roots: dream pop melodies and hazey vibes with razor sharp catchy melodies.Whirligig will be released on exclusive white vinyl through Haarlem based label Geertruida on March 15 2024.
