Structural and Functional Topography of the Human Brain: Development and Potential for Reorganization

Honorary doctorate 2026 public lecture celebrating Professor Marlene Behrmann.

Professor Marlene Behrmann. Photo: Aimee Obidzinski/University of Pittsburgh

The Department of Psychology invites you to a public lecture in celebration of Professor Marlene Behrmann being awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Copenhagen.

Professor Behrmann will receive the honorary doctorate on 13 November 2026, and we are delighted to mark the occasion with a keynote lecture, discussion, and networking opportunities.

Abstract

Across languages and cultures, humans share roughly the same brain organization. The key question addressed in Professor Behrmann’s work concerns how the brain becomes functionally organized, and which physiological and environmental constraints determine the topography of the mature human brain.

Studies of healthy and disordered brains provide insight into this organization and help uncover the brain’s potential for reorganization following damage or disease. While this research is conducted primarily within the cortical visual system, the principles revealed may apply more broadly across the cortex.

Read more about Professor Behrmann’s research.

Registration

Sign up for the event.

The deadline for signing up is Monday 9 November.

Programme

12:00 - 12:30 Tapas lunch in the hallway outside CSS 1.1.18
12:30 - 13:30
Keynote lecture and discussion
13:30 - 14:00 Coffee and an opportunity to engage with Professor Behrmann
14:00 - 17:00 Vision and cognition - Honorary Doctorate Symposium
The symposium presents five talks that in different ways relate to Professor Behrmann’s work, spanning from language science through psychology to neuroscience.
14:00 - 14:10 Introduction by Head of Department Annemarie Olsen & Professor Randi Starrfelt
14:10 - 14:40 Laura Soen, Brain & Cognition Research Unit, KU Leuven, Belgium: What was that? Individual differences in visual recognition across the lifespan and after stroke
14:40 - 15:10 Christian Gerlach, Aalborg University (Psychology): Face recognition in adults with autism
15:10 - 15:25 Break
15:25 - 15:45
Maja Rudling, University of Copenhagen (Psychology): Early signs of autism: From eye contact to language use
15:45 - 16:15
 Mads Poulsen, University of Copenhagen (Linguistics): Developmental dyslexia: definitions and causes
16:15 - 16:35
Camilla Funch Uhre, Copenhagen University Hospital: Cognitive functions in children with cerebral palsy
16:35 - 17:00
Discussion