Leading Neurologist Richard Restak to Speak on "How Technology Affects the Brain" — Open to the Public on April 25 at Adelphi University

One of neurology’s foremost researchers, educators, and authors, Richard Restak, M.D., will explore recent insights into how the brain responds to frequent use of technology in a thought-provoking lecture at Adelphi University this month. The event, which includes a question-and-answer session, will look at the impact of technology on neurological functions, multi-tasking and the myth of efficiency, and evidence of the Internet as an “interrupter.” Entitled “How Technology Affects the Brain,” the lecture will be held on April 25, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. in Alumni House, 154 Cambridge Avenue, Garden City, NY. It is free and open to the public.

Richard Restak, M.D., currently serves as clinical professor of neurology at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as a member of the clinical faculty at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Overhoiser Division of Training, Department of Psychiatry, in Washington, D.C. In addition to his teaching roles, he maintains a private practice in neurology and neuropsychiatry.

Dr. Restak is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed postgraduate training in New York at St. Vincent’s Hospital and in Washington, D.C. at Mount Sinai Hospital, Georgetown University Hospital, and George Washington Hospital. Dr. Restak’s activity in professional organizations has included fellowships in the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and three years as president of the American Neuropsychiatric Association. Richard Restak has received two major awards in his field, Georgetown University Medical School’s Linacre Medal for Humanity and Medicine in 1995 and Chicago Neurosurgical Center’s “Decade of The Brain Award” in 1992.

Called “one of the world’s most important scientific thinkers” by Scientific American Magazine, Dr. Restak is also a prolific author. He has written more than 18 books on the human brain (two of which were main selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club), dozens of articles for national newspapers including theWashington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today, and several brain and neuroscience-related entries for Encyclopedia Brittanica and others.

Richard Restak will be the first speaker in a new Adelphi lecture series, “Technology’s Impact: How It Shapes Our Lives.” Future speakers will address the impact of technology on learning development, social relations, and broader questions of cultural and societal transformation. The series is sponsored by the Faculty Senate and the Offices of the President and the Provost. For details about the lecture series, please call 516.877.4591. Get more information about Adelphi University.