January 22, 2015
Programs help brain recover
Maori whanau are benefiting from the work of some of the world’s leading brain experts who will be in Auckland next month.
Neuroplasticity Symposium organiser Melanie Cheung from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research says one of the highlights will be hearing from Emeritus Professor Michael Merzenich from the University of California, the leading pioneer in brain plasticity research.
His work led to the development of cochlear implants to treat deafness, and since 2002 he has been developing computer-based programmes to help aging, psychiatrically impaired, and brain-injured populations.
Dr Cheung, from Ngati Rangitihi, worked with him in San Francisco on a program to treat Huntington’s Disease, which affects a disproportionate number of Maori.
"We looked at the pathways which become dysfunctional in Huntington’s Disease very early on in the disease. And we have tried to target those pathways to strengthen them through the training programmes and prevent those cells from dying," she says.
Dr Cheung says the Health Research Council have given her funding to test whether the program works.
Professor Michael Merzenich will give a public lecture at the University of Auckland’s Grafton campus on February 3 on Brain Plasticity based therapeutics.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MELANIE CHEUNG CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjU3MDE=
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