Berzelius Symposium 109: the Mind from Cradle to Grave

22 maj 2024 - 23 maj 2024

Svenska Läkaresällskapet, Klara Östra Kyrkogata 10 or Zoom

SLS

Consciousness from fetal life to old age

The nature of human consciousness is a fundamental question often discussed by philosophers and neuroscientists. With the recent advancements in artificial intelligence, this question has become even more relevant.

It is also an important topic for clinicians, particularly for those working at the beginning and end of patients’ lives. Even anesthetists are often concerned with the state of consciousness. However, less attention has been devoted to the content of consciousness.

The aim of this Berzelius symposium is mainly to discuss the clinical aspects of the emergence of consciousness in the fetus and the neonate and the weakening of consciousness in old age. This is of major importance with regard to setting the limit for legal abortion and determining how to manage extremely preterm infants. Regarding old age, the question of consciousness pertains to intensive care and surgery of patients with conditions such as severe stroke, dementia, and locked-in-syndrome.

Berzelius symposia are regarded as the most distinguished conferences organized by the Swedish Society of Medicine. Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1749-1848) was a famous chemist and one of the founders of the Karolinska Institutet. This meeting is sponsored by Acta Paediatrica and the Journal of Internal Medicine. Some of the speakers will be invited to write review articles based on their lectures. The articles on the fetus and the child will be published in Acta Paediatrica and those on elderly patients in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Recording BZ 109 Day 1

Recording BZ 109 Day 2

Program

Wednesday, May 22

9.00	Registration

	Chair: Hugo Lagercrantz, Stockholm
9.45	Welcome and Introduction
10.00	Conscious processing down to the molecular level
	Jean-Pierre Changeux, Paris
10.30	Invited discussants
	Göran Wendin, Göteborg and Hans Liljenström, Uppsala
11.00	Coffee
11.20	Fetal brain imaging
	Hubert Preissl and Joel Frohlich, Tuebingen
12.00	Fetal consciousness
	Nadja Reissland, Durham UK
12.30	Discussion
12.45	*Lunch*

	Chair: Annika Janson, Stockholm
13.45	The newborn mind
	Hugo Lagercrantz
14.00	The preterm mind
	Ulrika Ådén, Stockholm and Nelly Padilla, Barcelona
14.45	Discussion
15.15	Coffee
15.45	The joy of being conscious
	Morten Kringelbach, Oxford
16.15	General Discussion
16:45	End of meeting

Thursday, May 23

	Chair: Bo Angelin, Stockholm
9.30	Evolution of consciousness
	Bjorn Grinde, Oslo
10.00	Consciousness (out) of the body
	Henrik Ehrsson, Stockholm
10.30	Discussion
10.50	Coffee
11.10	Disorders of consciousness: from diagnosis to therapy
	Olivia Gosseries, Liège
11.50	Intensive care of the unconscious patient
	Michael Broomé, Stockholm
12.20	Discussion
12.45	Lunch

	Chair: Claes Frostell, Stockholm
13:45	Growing old and dying
	Johan Frostegård, Stockholm
14.15	The notion and value of consciousness in two ethical issues
	Göran Hermerén, Lund
14.45	Coffee
15.05	End-of-life Care
	Invited Discussants: Helena Almén, Stockholm, Ulrik Kihlbom, Stockholm, Anna Lindblad, Stockholm, Niels Lynoe, Stockholm
16.30	General Discussion
17.00	End of meeting