educational programs
BRAIN HEALTH ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
May 15, 2008, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Register Now!
Research indicates the human brain generates new brain cells and that environmental input such as aerobic exercise changes the structure and function of the brain. These findings and the work of others have unleashed a cultural shift in America that underscores the importance of brain health. This program will teach the basics of your brain and propose a brain health lifestyle. A proactive and lifelong lifestyle for brain health relates to development of brain reserves that may delay the onset of neurodegenerative disease. Leading scientists will share their findings in layman’s terms. Come and join the revolution in brain health!
MORNING PLENARY SESSION, 8:30 AM TO NOON
Moderator: Jeff Chapline, Director, Center for
Elders & Youth in the Arts (CEYA), Institute on Aging
The Importance of Brain Health
— Paul D. Nussbaum, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist and Adjunct Associate
Professor of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine; International Consultant on Brain Health
Positive Brain Changes and Creative Capacity
in the Second Half of Life: What We Can Do to Promote Our Own Brain Health
With Aging
— Gene D. Cohen, PhD, MD, Director,
Center on Aging, Health & Humanities; Professor of Health Care Sciences
and Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, George Washington
University
How Mood Affects Thought: The Role of Depression
on Cognitive Functioning and Cognition on Treatment Outcomes
— Patricia
A. Arean, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry,
School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
LUNCHEON ROUNDTABLES, NOON TO 1:00 PM
AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS, 1:15 TO 2:45 PM
** Your Brain Health Lifestyle
There is no greater or more complex system than the human brain. This
magical collection of neurons weighing no more than 4 pounds enables all
of our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Animal brain research has demonstrated
the ability for new brain cell development (neurogenesis) in an area serving
learning and memory (hippocampus). While years of science have argued
neurogenesis does not occur in humans recent research indicates otherwise.
If the human brain can generate new brain cells an entire new frontier
of discovery and opportunity emerges. This session will champion brain
health across the lifespan as an important and unique model. A lifelong
and proactive lifestyle is proposed as critical to maximizing brain health
and perhaps delaying neurodegenerative disorders late in life. Five critical
domains to a brain healthy lifestyle will be presented: socialization,
physical activity, mental stimulation, spirituality, and diet. Participants
will learn research-based activities within each domain for their own
brain health. It is never too early or late to critically evaluate our
own lifestyle and to make appropriate adjustments that facilitate our
brain’s exposure to the complex and novel.
— Paul D. Nussbaum, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist and
Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine; International Consultant on Brain Health
** Maintaining a Healthy Brain: What Does Science
Tell Us?
Dr. Elizabeth Edgerly, national spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association
Maintain Your Brain program, will present the latest on how to reduce
your risk of Alzheimer's. She will present research findings on how mental
stimulation, heart health, diet and exercise and social and emotional
well-being all impact our brain health. She'll also share tips for how
to put the findings into practice in your daily life. This is a fun, interactive
workshop on how to live a "brain healthy lifestyle."
— Elizabeth Edgerly, PhD, Chief
Program Officer, Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California
and Northern Nevada
** Cognitive and Emotional Training (Brain Fitness)
for Healthy Aging
This session will provide an overview of the major research findings on
the role of mental stimulation for lifelong brain health and cognitive
and emotional training, complemented with a clear landscape of the computer-based
programs making "brain fitness" claims.
— Alvaro Fernandez,
MBA, MA, CEO and Co-Founder, SharpBrains, Blogger, Faculty of The Science
of Brain Health and Fitness, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University
of California Berkeley
** Role of Senior Centers and Lifelong Learning
Programs on Brain Health
The New York Times reported earlier this year that in all of the studies
on healthy aging, the single most important factor, above all others was
lifelong learning. When an older adult continues to live in the world
of ideas and challenge themselves with new thoughts and experiences, they
not only create new neural pathways but they find new self-expressions.
Whether this intellectual or creative engagement happens in senior centers
or universities, the results are remarkable. Learn more about what a Bay
Area educator and a senior center director have learned in developing
new creative, social, and intellectual activities for adults over 50.
— Valorie L. Villela,
Director, 30th Street Senior Services/OnLok; Susan Hoffman,
Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of California
Berkeley
AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS – 3:00 TO 4:30 PM
** The Aging Brain: Lifelong Learning Through
the Creative Arts
The presenters will review one of the Center for Elders and Youth in the
Art's (CEYA) most popular year-long classes. By reviewing Life Story Through
Visual Art, Jeff will introduce participants to a memory eliciting process
which CEYA combines with formal instruction in drawing and painting. This
approach to visual art instruction aids in eliciting memories and stories
while also exercising the brain in learning new tasks over time. In addition
to creating artwork which illustrates stories from their life, new or
improved skills in basic and advanced visual art process are also the
result for seniors. Dr. Gene Cohen will tie-in lessons from studies showing
that art makes a difference in promoting health and in coping with illness.
This will include discussion of the "Creativity & Aging Study,"
a first-of-its kind multi-site national study, conducted with comparison
groups, for which Dr. Cohen was the Primary Investigator. CEYA was one
of three national programs participating in this study.
— Jeff Chapline, Director,
Center for Aging & Youth in the Arts, Institute on Aging; Gene
D. Cohen, PhD, MD, Director, Center on Aging, Health & Humanities;
Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral
Sciences, George Washington University
** Community Outreach With Staying Sharp
There is consensus in the neuroscience community that there are four primary
factors that can contribute to brain health and help prevent cognitive
decline as we age: physical activity, mental activity, social engagement
and control of cardiovascular health. NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community
has begun testing a variety of community outreach approaches intended
to motivate people over 50 to actively engage in these four healthy brain
behaviors. This type of community outreach is designed to present accurate
and current information on brain health by drawing from a series of video
clips of top Staying Sharp neuroscientists and brain experts. This workshop
will describe the prototype community outreach resources that have been
developed and review a number of implementation approaches that are now
being tested. Staying Sharp is a joint project of NRTA: AARP’s Educator
Community and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. Staying Sharp focuses
on understanding how the brain works and how we can use that knowledge
to maximize brain function and brain health, particularly in the second
half of our lives. A major Staying Sharp Forum will be presented on May
17th at The Event Center at Saint Mary’s Cathedral. This Staying
Sharp Forum and the development of Staying Sharp resource materials are
made possible through a generous grant from the MetLife Foundation.
— Michael Patterson, Manager, Education Segmentation
and Staying Sharp, NRTA, AARP’s Educator Community, Washington,
DC
** Food, Fitness and Brain Function
Popular press discussions on the role of nutrition, supplements, and exercise
in brain health are conflicting and incomplete. This workshop will review
the latest research findings and recommendations regarding food and fitness
choices which will keep one’s brain vigorous and strong.
— Linda Lau, MPD, RD, Nutritionist, San Francisco City and County Department of Aging and Adult Services; and Mary Louise Zernicke,
MS, MPH, RD, Nutrition and Dietetics Instructor, Merritt College
** New Breakthroughs for Healthy and Pre-Dementia
Cognitive Function
Through the latest brain imaging,
we now know what happens to the brain after neuroplasticity-based cognitive
training. Learn about recent breakthroughs in brain research among the
healthy aging and MCI populations including the largest clinical trial
ever conducted (with Mayo Clinic and the University of Southern California)
on cognitive training with an available intervention. Learn how these
populations are affected by computer-based brain fitness and what potentially
lies ahead for other conditions such as schizophrenia, chemobrain, Parkinson’s
and traumatic brain injury.
— Henry Mahncke, PhD, Vice President for Research &
Outcomes, Posit Science Corporation
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