BCN Symposium

BCN Symposium: Lateralization of brain, cognition and behaviour: from evolution to clinical relevance

Organized in collaboration with the UMCG research program Cognition Ageing and Disease (CAD)

When: October 30, 2026, 9.00-17.30 hrs (incl. drinks)
Where: UMCG, Rode Zaal + Fonteinpatio
Registration: link
Abstracts: link

Program

9:00 – 9.30                 Registration with coffee/tea
9:30 – 10:00               Prof. dr. Ton Groothuis – opening
10:00 – 10:45             Prof. dr. Chris McManus – University College London,
United Kingdom (Department of Psychology and Medical Education)
Cutting handedness at nature’s joints, rather than wielding the butcher’s axe
10:45 – 11:15             Coffee break
11:15 – 12:00             Prof. dr. Elisa Frasnelli – University of Lincoln,
United Kingdom (School of Life Sciences)
The Asymmetric Advantage: Evolutionary evidence and functional significance of lateralization in non-human animals
12:00 – 12.30             Something special
12:30 – 13:30             Lunch break
13:30 – 14.15             Prof. dr. Guy Vingerhoets – Ghent University, Belgium
(Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology)
Beyond the textbook brain: Individual differences in brain organization and their functional implications
14:15 – 15:00             Prof. dr. Sebastian Ocklenburg – Medical School Hamburg
(MSH), Germany (Department of Psychology)
Clinical Relevance of Lateralization
15:00 – 15:30             Coffee break
15:30 – 16:15             Prof. dr. Linda Douw – Associate Professor at Amsterdam UMC
Clinical network neuroscience: from localization to lateralization to distributed networks
16:15 – 16:45             Debate
16:45 – 17:30             Drinks

Creations of the brain: About dreaming, hallucinations, and mind-wandering

Welcome to this year’s BCN Symposium! Please find herewith the program booklet.