University celebrates Brain Awareness Week
Each year, the University of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience celebrates Brain Awareness Week (March 11 – 17) by providing opportunities for the public to learn about advances in brain research from our neuroscientists.
The first of three events is a free community lecture by Chelsea Ekstrand. Her talk — “The Neuroscience of “Normal”: How do our brains shape who we are?” — will delve into the extraordinary ways our brains shape our perception of the world and make us who we are.
She’ll discuss how external factors can change our brains, the ways our personality traits influence how we see the world and the impact of major life events in reshaping our realities.
This will be Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Galt Museum viewing gallery.
The second event is a free public talk by Robbin Gibb titled “The Social Synapse: Using play and relationships to build executive function.” During the lifespan, one of the most important ways to promote healthy brain function is through supportive and positive relationships.
In her talk, Gibb will highlight the success in the community using play-based programs that exercise working memory, cognitive flexibility and behavioural inhibition. These programs are offered through the Building Brains Together organization, funded by the City of Lethbridge and currently running in preschools, middle schools and seniors’ centres. Gibb and her team are also involved in providing cognitive testing for participants in the Chess for Life program for justice-involved youth. Their goal is to demonstrate that youth who learn to play chess with a one-on-one mentor during their 25-hour sentence show improvement in executive function skills.
This event is March 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the University of Lethbridge Science Commons, BMO Auditorium.
The final event is an open house at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. Everyone is welcome to attend and explore what the centre has to offer.
This event is Saturday, March 16 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the University of Lethbridge Science Commons