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How can we take care of our brain to have a healthier life?

On 6 and 7 October international experts coordinated by the Guttmann Institute and brought together by B·Debate will analyzed the elements that influence brain health at CosmoCaixa.

Over a lifetime, but especially after the age of 40 it is important to optimize the neural connections to improve cognitive skills. From this age the quantitative and qualitative changes in the brain are emphasized. For example it is very common to have trouble finding a particular word being searched, the known phenomenon "on the tip of the tongue". Cognitive training is a good tool to stimulate the brain, but scientists are working to find new strategies to optimize their benefit, using an integrated approach, taking into account genetic, environmental or biographical aspects of each person.

The United States has practically a research institute in every state dedicated to the study of brain health. Emulating the model of a conventional gym, researchers propose to exercise the brain with personalized training routines for each person. Exercises include computer programs, brain stimulation, nutritional counseling, meditation classes, mindfulness training, tai chi, yoga or sleep education to improve brain health. Other countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand have also opted for these methods.

One of the most important advances in neuroscience in recent decades was the discovery that the brain is a plastic organ, which means that it is constantly evolving. Learning a language or falling in love are actions that shape our brain, making change throughout life. The brain is in constant interaction with both the external environment and the internal environment to maintain balance in the body.

The next B·Debate edition will gather  international leaders in subjects related to mental health, from psychologists to bioengineers, will be gathered to debate about actuality of the field and raise different questions in order to foster discussion. It will be given special emphasis in fields related to interpretation about which are the main modulators in brain development form infancy and implications of mental health, and what affects it, in terms of public health, education and clinic. This debate has as a main objective to interconnect experiences and knowledge to stablish new and innovative approaches, aiming to find solutions and new ways to see the problems of the society in which we live.

Further information: B·Debate

 
 

Publication date: Monday, 05 October 2015
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