The Brain Health Research Centre is proud to announce the full programme for Brain Week Otago 2016, in association with the Otago Museum and the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand.
The programme starts on Friday 11 March and continues through until Thursday 17 March, with a week of talks and interviews.
The week begins on Friday 11 March with two of six free screening sessions of the New Zealand premier of Neurodome in the Otago Museum's Perpetual Guardian Planetarium at 4.30pm and 4.45pm. This short film is an exploration of the brain, using the immersive environment of the Planetarium. Complex 3D biological structures are hard to learn by looking at flat pictures in textbooks. This film explores the physical brain by touring through 3D images created by cutting-edge neuroscience imaging technology. Booking are essential. Otago Museum (03) 474-7474
Friday 11 March 5.30pm The Power of Food on the Brain: BHRC guests visiting Italian Professor Massimiano Bucchi and Prof Dave Grattan explore the role of food in culture and in the brain.
Saturday 12 March 10am - 11am Unravelling the Genetics of Neurodegenerative Disorders: University of Auckland Russel Snell discusses how genetics can influence treatment.
11am - 12pm The Power of the Subconscious; sleep and dreams: BHRC director Prof David Bilkey and hypnotherapist Karen Hughes
1pm - 2pm The Power of the Maternal Mind during pregnancy and foetal development: BHRC deputy director Associate Professor Christine Jasoni
2pm - 3pm An Update on Neurosurgery Research: University of Otago's Chair in Neurosurgery Professor Dirk De Ridder
4.30pm & 4.45pm Neurodome
Monday 14 March 2pm - 3.30pm Understanding Nerve Endings and Maintaining Muscle Tone: BHRC Associate Professor Phil Sheard, MS Otago rooms, 8 Baker St, Caversham, Dunedin
Tuesday 15 March 12pm - 1.15pm The Power of Voice and Song: BHRC Professor Warren Tate, Barclay Theatre, Otago Museum
Wednesday 16 March 1pm - 2.30pm Getting Active after Concussion: An update on best practices following concussion in association with the School of Physiotherapy and the Brain Injury Association. Brain Injury Association rooms, Community House, Moray Place, Dunedin
Thursday 17 March 10am - 2pm Brain Awareness Outreach, The Octagon, Dunedin. The BHRC, brain related support agencies and the BHRC's giant inflatable brain will be set up in the upper Octagon (weather permitting) for people to learn more about the brain.
You can download a copy of the programme here.
There will also be a Neurological Foundation NZ and U3A sponsored annual public lecture in Queenstown by BHRC researcher Associate Professor Ruth Empson. Her speech "World War One Brain Injuries- Prognosis Then and Now" was well received when she presented it at the 2015 Brain Week in Dunedin.