This week's Economist cover story highlights how much humans love to look and feel good.  Just a small cottage industry in the early 1900s, today's global beauty industry has blossomed into a $160 billion flower. 

Driving the beauty market is the largest concentration of wealth on the planet.  Aging American baby boomers, 78 million strong and getting older, are not only purchasing more cosmetic products, but are also seeking out whole new types of physical enhancement, including cosmetic surgery on a vast scale. 

Although individual opinions differ about the substance of style, there is no denying that our senses and sense of style influence everything from individual self-perception to the laws we are governed by. 

To explore how human sensory systems influence society, the Gruter Institute is hosting a small conference in two weeks where I look forward to discussing how enhancing human mental health with neuroceuticals will impact how society operates. 

I'm honored to spend several days exploring this and other related issues with:

• Michael Stryker, UCSF, Visual Neuroscience
  
• Paul Zak, Claremont, Neuroeconomics
  
• Barnaby Marsh, Oxford, Behavioral Ecology
  
• Paul Glimcher, NYU, Center for Neural Science
  
• Howard Fields, UCSF, Neurobiology of Addiction
  
• Vernon Smith, GMU, 2002 Nobel Economics
  
• David Heeger, NYU, Psych and Neural Science
  
• Christopher Engel, Max Plank Institute
  
• Micheal Heller, U. Michigan Law

Neuroceuticals that enable humans to enhance their mental well-being will influence not only the expression of individual style, but also the greater political economic environment we will inhabit.