The Machinery of the Mind: The Science of Cognition and Emotion Across the Lifespan (Photo – Pasadena Senior Center)
An inside look at the sophisticated biological systems that underlie our thoughts and emotions will be featured as part of the Cultural Thursdays event series at the Pasadena Senior Center on Thursday, April 30, at 2:00 pm.
By Melanie Hooks
UCLA’s Lindsay De Biase, Ph.D., and Laura DeNardo, Ph.D., will lead “The Machinery of the Mind: The Science of Cognition and Emotion Across the Lifespan,” offering a peek under the hood at cutting‑edge research on how our brains manage a lifetime of information.
The event is free for Pasadena Senior Center members and $5 for non‑members. Reservations are suggested. To register or learn more, visit pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Lectures & Classes, then Cultural Thursdays.
Drs. De Biase and DeNardo will share current research on topics such as:
- Mechanisms of childhood amnesia: Why do we forget our earliest experiences? Learn how brain cells “light up” when we encounter something new and help us store and recall memories.
- How early life stress increases anxiety risk: Explore how neurons and microglia, the brain’s immune cells, jointly shape brain development, and how early stress can alter this trajectory.
- Harnessing microglia for healthy brain aging: Discover how immune cells in different brain regions respond uniquely to aging and what this means for lifelong brain health.
Cultural Thursday: Machinery of the Mind Talk Thursday, April 30, 2026 2:00 pm Location Pasadena Senior Center 85 E. Holly St. Pasadena, CA 91103 RSVP at this link.
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