Bringing about the neuro-revolution: Greg Gage at TEDxBrussels

Greg Gage is a Neuroscientist and co-founder of Backyard Brains, an organisation teaching kids and amateurs neuroscience through hands-on experiments to see and hear brain signals from living neurons and also via robotic control of ordinary cockroaches. He's also a TED Fellow. The way he reveals neuroscience to school kids is through the SpikerBox, a small rig that helps kids understand the electrical impulses that control the nervous system. He's passionate about helping students understand how our brains and our neurons work, because as he says, we still know very little about how the brain works -- and we need to start inspiring kids early to want to know more. The inspiration for Greg's work as an educator came from a realisation that the advanced equipment he used as a PhD student could be made at home for a fraction of the price, in less than a day.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)