he Academy Distinguished Speaker Series
In spring, the Academy presents the popular Distinguished Speaker Series featuring high-profile speakers on fascinating subjects. Participation is encouraged with a Q&A after the presentations.
Discover an untold story of brain science and betrayal in Canada. Author Eric Andrew-Gee reveals how two pioneers of neuroscience—one the well-known Wilder Penfield, one the nearly forgotten William Cone—rewrote our understanding of the human brain. Join us for a captivating lecture that brings their groundbreaking science, personal struggles, and lasting legacy vividly to life.
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Eric Andrew-Gee, the Globe & Mail’s Quebec correspondent, has won two National Newspaper Awards and written for several magazines including The Walrus, Toronto Life and The New Republic. In his book, “The Mind Mappers: Wilder Penfield, Friendship, Betrayal and the Obsessive Quest to Chart the Brain”, Andrew-Gee recounts how, in the early 1920s, Wilder Penfield and William Cone revolutionized the study of the brain. They established the Montreal Neurological Institute, the world’s leading centre for neurological study. Penfield developed the Montreal procedure for treating epilepsy, which helped identify the source of speech, executive function and memory in the brain, made possible by
Cone’s anonymous work behind the scenes.