Prof. Kate Jeffery, Glasgow University, is a Neurobiologist and her subject is Cognitive Mapping. Her research explores how our brain makes an internal map of the external world that is used for orientation, navigation and memory. Why do some people have a better “sense of direction” than others – and what happens when we outsource this ability to our phone? Kate is Head of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at Glasgow University.

Our annual Curious Minds Lecture series, presented by Culture Perth & Kinross and the Perthshire Society of Natural Science is themed around “Contemporary Science in Scotland” and, over past seasons, speakers have covered a stimulating array of scientific topics from dinosaur fossils in Skye, through the human genome to black holes, gravitational waves and the science of consciousness.