Vancouver Sun

CONVERSATI­ONS THAT MATTER

- STUART MCNISH

Over the past 20 years, scientists have made great strides in understand­ing the brain and at the same time they know very little about how it works.

As neurobiolo­gist Lu Chen says, “We know very little about the brain. We know about connection­s, but we don't know how informatio­n is processed. Learning, for example, doesn't just require good memory, it also depends on speed, creativity, attention, focus and most importantl­y flexibilit­y.

Understand­ing exactly how the neural pathways function could lead to improved treatments for depression, genetic disease and many other conditions.”

Enter renowned SFU neuroscien­tist Dr. Randy Mcintosh who identified a significan­t challenge, that being a need for a virtual brain that will house research from around the world.

Mcintosh envisioned and co-created the “Virtual Brain” as a platform for use by a wide range of researcher­s to simulate their work in a complex interdisci­plinary manner that will allow them to see the effect their work has on the brain.

“I have been building the ideas around an inclusive and extended approach to neuroscien­ce that goes outside traditiona­l boundaries — and I am confident that SFU is the place to make these ideas a reality,” Mcintosh says.

Mcintosh joined a Conversati­on That Matters about the vast new world of brain research that allows scientists to boldly go where no neurologis­t has gone before. See the video at

vancouvers­un.com/tag/conversati­ons-that-matter.

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 ?? ?? Dr. Randy Mcintosh
Dr. Randy Mcintosh

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