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How to Fix a Broken Brain. What a title for an address.
Professor Mark Cook , St Vincent's Head of Neurology and clinician turned researcher took us through a mind blowing presentation on the advances of medical science in his specialty field of Epilepsy treatment.
Fellow medical man and member Kevin Rose introduced Mark. Mark is the recent winner (for his team) of the Shark Tank Competition at the Florida conference on Anti-Epileptic Drug & Device Trials. The team's goal has been looking to develop minimally-invasive technology that can auto detect a seizure and counter-stimulate to stop it. Their achievement relates to the device where a series of 16 electrodes on the brain connected via a wire to a hand held unit that sits under the skin. This acts to predict seizures and counter them.
Mark led us to this point by describing the brain functions. There is no doubt it is an electrical maize! What with neurons and thousands of interconnections and related activity (in some people anyway!) medical science has progressed to allow researchers to observe much of the process, and more over is progressively becoming more capable of understanding and observing the electrical activity in different parts of the brain. We saw images identifying how specific areas of the brain were concerned with the control, and reactivity to external functions and emotions, experienced by/of the human body.
Some past held "truths" have changed.
The current status of Stem Cell rectification to brain damage was explained. Perceived limitations, no longer is it limited to the use of embryonic cells, have changed.
The concept whereby one started life with a number of neurons which are never replaced has been overturned. Even in mature adults cells formed deep with the brain are continually migrating to the surface, that is the outer cortex where the action is.
Within certain limits the brain can retrain itself to control functions otherwise lost to damaged tissue. Other parts peripheral to the damaged area can take over the required function.
What came through in a fascinating address was the complexity of the brain's electrical activity and increasing skill in researchers understanding it. Whereas new and replacement cells can be introduced to facilitate brain repairs and overcome abnormalities, in theory, the actual identification of the relevant micro-area of the brain and then siting such cells to that point is a massive task and will be the subject of research for years.
Still, in response to an audience question, maybe in 50 plus years we will be able to record our brains electrical responses for some wonderful experience and maybe replay it.
Thanks Mark for a great address on a highly technical field, without cloaking the subject with obvious technical points beyond our understanding we were given a clear overview of the current research on the brain.
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