Speaker: Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
Topic: 2019, Anxiety Disorder Treatment, BrainStorm Finalist, BrainStorm Neuroscience Pitch Competition, Consciousness, Hakwan Lau, Mind Science Foundation, Neuroscience, OCD, Subconscious Rewarding, Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel, Virtual Reality
The research team of Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel and Hakwan Lau (University of California Los Angeles) look to determine if virtual reality can be used as a treatment for anxiety disorders like OCD. Early career researcher Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel’s pitch addressed an important and unresolved question about the nature of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. This study lays the groundwork for a novel therapeutic method for treating anxiety disorders by subconsciously rewarding desired brain activity without exposure to a feared stimulus, as in current exposure-based therapies. BrainStorm Neuroscience Pitch Competition is an innovative pitch competition connecting early‐career neuroscience researchers with the capital they need to fund their research. Scientists pitch their ideas in groundbreaking neuroscience to an audience of Mind Science Foundation supporters, who cast their votes to award the first prize of a $30,000 Tom Slick Research Award in Consciousness, or runners up awards of $15,000. Learn more about the Mind Science Foundation and the Competition at https://mindscience.org/programs-init… The Mind Science Foundation is committed to funding early-career researchers teamed with senior primary investigators in powerful labs to work on pilot studies that help them obtain grants for further research, with the addition of a strategic goal to incentivize the building of skills in translating complex neuroscience for a general audience. The Mind Science Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation supported by a special endowment from our founder, visionary philanthropist and entrepreneur, Thomas Baker Slick, Jr. But to fully realize our strategic goals of sponsoring research at a meaningful levels of funding, and providing educational opportunities to translate that research for the public, we rely on tax-deductible contributions from individuals, corporations, and granting foundations. For more information on how you can support our work, visit https://mindscience.org/.
