Dr. Stefan Treue, University of Göttingen, Germany
Friday, 4 April 2014, 11:00, CNR seminar room, EMBL Monterotondo
Dr. Stefan Treue, University of Göttingen, Germany
Basic neuroscience research on animals - the why, how, when and if
Abstract
Basic neuroscience studies on animals are amongst those animal experiments that receive the most critical public attention. The talk will use this type of research as an example to illustrate fundamental points about the importance, ethics, politics and the legal aspects of biomedical research with animals. This will include the use of animals by humans, purposes and benefits of animal research, possible differences between basic and applied research, the Basel Declaration, the EU directive on using animal for scientific purposes and its transposition into national European laws as well as the role of scientists in the debate about animal research.
The intention of the talk is to give an introduction and overview of a hotly debated topic and to empower and encourage the audience to contribute the viewpoints and insights of scientists to this important public debate.
Biography
Stefan Treue is Professor for Biopsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences at the University of Göttingen and director of the German Primate Center, the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen. His research interest focuses on the processing of sensory information in primate cortex and the modulation of this process by cognitive influences, most notably attention. His main approach to tackle these questions are extracellular recordings from neurons in the visual cortex of awake, behaving rhesus monkeys trained to perform attentional tasks. Stefan Treue has received the Leibniz Price of the DFG and is a member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences.
Beyond his scientific work, he is involved in issues relating to the responsible use of animals in research. This includes coordinating EUPRIM-NET, an EU-funded network of the European primate centers, and being a member of the committees on animal research of FENS and the Society for Neuroscience. He has contributed to the development of the new EU directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes and has been involved in drafting the Basel Declaration.