UNM scientists to take on "Your Dazzling Brain" at free public lecture

University of New Mexico scientists will discuss the power of "Your Dazzling Brain" during a free public talk in Albuquerque next month.

The March 15 event takes place during International Brain Awareness Week and will include discussions on the latest discoveries in the neurosicences, behavioral health and speech and language development.

"Your Dazzling Brain - Keep it Bright" is scheduled to run 6:30-7:45 p.m. at the Albuquerque Academy Simms Center for the Performing Arts, 6400 Wyoming Blvd NE.

"The human brain contains 80 to 100 billion neurons, each of which has tens of thousands of connections," says UNM neuroscientist Bill Shuttleworth, PhD, who will present at the event.

"This gives you, right between your ears, the most powerful computational device in the known universe," says Shuttleworth, director of the UNM Brain and Behavioral Health Institute. "Your choices and experiences control how your brain is set up, and how it adapts to change - and we'll explain how."

"Your Dazzling Brain" will be moderated by Barry Ramo, MD, and will also include presentations from UNM speech-language pathologist Jessica Richardson, PhD, and UNM psychiatrist David Quinn, MD.

Richardson works closely with investigators at the newly created UNM Center for Brain Recovery and Repair on research that focuses on brain recovery and neural plasticity. Quinn is conducting NIH-funded research on the treatment of deficits after traumatic brain injury with noninvasive brain stimulation.

Although brain illness and injuries can cast a shadow on how well we function, the brain is continually working to adapt and repair itself, making the brain "much more dynamic than we realized even five years ago," according to Shuttleworth.

"Choices we make influence how our brains change," he says, "and there's much more potential than most people think."

In addition to the public talk, attendees also will see and be able to touch a preserved human brain before the presentations get underway.

You can register for the event at http://www.aa.edu/Page/Community/Community-Academy. For more information, contact Lori Peterkin at 505-272-8085 or lpeterkin@salud.unm.edu.