A Friends of Imperial College Evening - Professor Gruzelier's lecture on 'optimising performance'

At the latest lecture in the series of events held by the Friends of Imperial, Professor John Gruzelier from Imperial College spoke about using new approaches in psychology to improve sporting and musical performance.

At the latest lecture in the series of events held by the Friends of Imperial, Professor John Gruzelier from Imperial College was joined by concert pianist Samantha Newbold and Olympic rowing gold medallist Simon Dennis for a lecture and debate on using new approaches in psychology to improve sporting and musical performance.

Professor Gruzelier talked about his work, using a process known as neurofeedback, which allows brain waves to be trained, improving mental abilities. Through this process researchers have successfully treated a number of diseases such as schizophrenia and alcoholism, but Professor Gruzelier has turned it to improving cognitive ability and performance skills for musicians.

For the lecture, Professor Gruzelier described his latest research project with the Royal School of Music, which is looking at the effectiveness of neurofeedback in improving the musical performance of students.

Samantha Newbold and Simon Dennis also gave their thoughts on preparing for performances or sporting events, and how Professor Gruzelier's research could benefit athletes and musicians, with Simon commenting on the importance of getting a balance between excitement and anxiety and Samantha mentioned the importance of knowing your own mind and eliminating mental chatter.

After this, questions were received from the audience about the research, and its potential applications, followed by a reception in the Sir Alexander Fleming Building.