SPARE PARTS: Parts to Spare

Do you need every part of your brain? Would you be the same person if parts were removed?

Some patients with epilepsy undergo neurosurgery to remove the specific area of their brain thought to be causing their seizures. In this panel discussion, a patient will share how this operation affected their personality and sense of identity, and leading figures in neurology and philosophy will discuss what these experiences tell us about the relationship between the brain and the mind.

Come along to have your mind altered and brain exposed.

Free, booking essential.

About the contributors:

Christine Robson was ten years old when she had her first seizure in her sleep. Epilepsy affected her life for over 60 years, and led to unusual experiences, like feeling as though her face was not attached to her body. In February 2019 she had an operation to remove the part of her brain associated with causing the seizures and has been seizure free since.  

Alexander Hammers is Professor of Imaging and Neuroscience and Deputy Head of the School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences at King’s College London, where he also heads the King’s College London & Guy’s and St Thomas’ PET Centre. He specializes in difficult-to-treat epilepsies and patients’ presurgical evaluation with imaging. His research aims to harness the power of medical imaging to understand mechanisms of brain disease and underpin patient care.

James Stazicker is a Lecturer in Philosophy at King’s College London. He was previously a Bersoff Fellow at New York University and a Lecturer at the University of Reading. He studied Classics at Oxford, before doing an MPhil in Philosophy at University College London, then a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focusses on points of contact between philosophy and scientific approaches to consciousness, attention and perception.

Dr Nandini Mullatti is a Consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy at Kings College Hospital where she is in charge of StereoElectroencephalography. She specializes in identifying and mapping the epileptogenic brain and its relation to brain function and its suitability for surgical resection. She organizes and runs the UK Epilepsy Surgery network, and is the Chairs the Specialty Training Committee for Clinical Neurophysiology, of the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians.