The European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB) is an organization of 212 eminent brain scientists, including five Nobel laureates, from 29 countries.
Launched in 1997, and modelled on the US-based Dana Alliance for the Brain Initiatives, EDAB is committed to enhancing the public's understanding of why brain research is so important.
EDAB brings the excitement of scientific progress to the general public and opinion-formers by working in partnership with charities, universities, schools, hospitals, the arts, the media and professional organizations.
Every March, EDAB coordinates Brain Awareness Week, during which hundreds of public events in dozens of countries celebrate the progress of brain research.
The Francis Crick Memorial Conference: Consciousness in Human and Non-Human Animals
The conference, which will be held on July 7 at the University of Cambridge, UK, aims to provide a purely data-driven perspective on the neural correlates of consciousness. The most advanced quantitative techniques for measuring and monitoring consciousness will be presented, with the topics of focus ranging from exploring the properties of neurons deep in the brainstem, to assessing global cerebral function in comatose patients.
The New Technologies—a Brain-Changer?
By: Barbara Rich, Ed.D
A Q&A with Baroness Susan Greenfield, an Oxford University Professor of Pharmacology and a member of the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, who reflects on the potential of how new digital technologies affect who we are.
European Dana Alliance Member Petit Shares Brain Prize 2012
The Brain Prize 2012 is jointly awarded to Christine Petit and Karen Steel "for their unique, world-leading contributions to our understanding of the genetic regulation of the development and functioning of the ear, and for elucidating the causes of many of the hundreds of inherited forms of deafness." The € 1 million prize is awarded by the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Foundation.
NOVEL INSIGHTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYNAPTIC DYNAMICS: THE EXCITATORY / INHIBITORY BALANCE FROM NEUROBIOLOGY TO PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS
Venue: University of Barcelona, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585, 08007 Barcelona, very well located in downtown.
12-13 July 2012
The main purpose of the symposium is to bring together scientists working in related areas to raise awareness of the potential impact of redox signalling systems on brain development, and to discuss ongoing research on their role in psychiatric disorders.
SESSIONS WILL COVER:
- Synaptic dynamics and excitatory inhibitory balance
- Redox signalling and oxidative stress
- The role of stress and immune activation on the modulation of inhibitory circuits
- Developmental aspects of interneuron maturation and redox modulation – highlighting changes occurring during adolescence and their impact on the emergence of psychiatric disorders
REGISTRATION (mandatory) is requested by May 15, 2012 (but please, note that it is limited to 150 persons).
Registration fee includes lunches, aperitif and coffee breaks.
Please register on http://www.nccr-synapsy.ch/fens2012satellite
Neuroscientists and the Law
The Royal Society recently released a report, entitled Neuroscience and the Law, that focuses on the impact of neuroscience research on the practice of law. Several members of the European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB) were members of the Working Group that produced the report, including Professor Alan Baddeley, Sir Michael Rutter, and EDAB Executive Committee member Professor Wolf Singer. The report is part of a larger project called Brain Waves, which aims to investigate advances in neuroscience and their effects on society and public policy. Brain Waves is overseen by a Steering Group, chaired by EDAB Executive Committee member Professor Colin Blakemore.
FINANCIAL TICKING TIMEBOMB FOR BRAIN DISORDERS IN EUROPE
For some years we have known that we are living longer and Governments have long been warned about the social and economic consequences of an ageing population. A new report by the European College on Neuropsychopharmacology and the European Brain Council talks of a financial ‘ticking time-bomb’ across Europe. And the problem is now: one in three people in 2010 suffered a brain disorder or was caring for somebody with one - and the figure is rising.
The report, entitled, ‘The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the brain in Europe 2010’, was published in European Neuropsychopharmacology (2011 21, 655–679). Hans-Ulrich Wittchen and colleagues from 19 European centres carried out a study covering 30 countries (the European Union plus Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) with a combined population of 514 million people. They investigated all major mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, insomnia, addiction and schizophrenia, and several neurological disorders, including stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Previous studies underestimate the burden of brain disorders in the EU which currently costs Europe almost €800 billion a year.
The true size of “disorders of the brain” is considerably larger yet less than one third of all cases receive any treatment. The cost of treating brain disorders, such as depression, insomnia, Parkinson's and stroke, has more than doubled in just six years, according to the study.
Lead author of the report, Professor Wittchen, from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, said: “We have to address two high priority issues. First, the immense treatment gap for mental disorders has to be closed. Because mental disorders frequently start early in life, they have a strong malignant impact on later life. Second, both groups of disorders share many common mechanisms and have reciprocal effects on each other. Only a joint approach covering the spectrum of disorders of the brain across the lifespan will lead to an improved understanding of the causes and improved treatments”.
The most frequent disorders are anxiety disorders (14 percent), insomnia (seven percent), major depression (almost 7%). More than four percent are alcohol and drug dependent. Attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorders occur in five percent of young peoole, and one percent of people aged 60-65 has dementia, rising to 30 percent among those aged 85 and above.
The ECNP and the EBC are calling for action to be taken as a priority to include substantially increased funding for basic, clinical and public health research in order to identify better strategies for improved prevention and treatment for disorders of the brain as the core health challenge of the 21st century.
Mara Dierssen: What Brain Awareness Week Partners Do
How do you plan a Brain Awareness Week program for more than 3,000 people? Mara Dierssen of the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona discusses collaborations and topic selections that have led to such a successful program.
Roland Pochet: What Brain Awareness Week Partners Do
Will 2014 be the European Year of the Brain? Roland Pochet, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, discusses the efforts of the Belgian Brain Council to educate the government about the need for more neuroscience research support.
Free Resources from the European Dana Alliance Available
The European Dana Alliance for the Brain offers a wide range of free publications on topics about the brain as well as health awareness and patient information resources.
The publications produced are available in several languages including English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Recently, Hungarian, Czech, and Polish have been added to the EDAB publication list. All are available to download in PDF form.
Our Staying Sharp Series provides information for patients, carers, health professionals and families. Topics covered in this series touch on Chronic Health Issues, Depression, Learning Throughout Life, Memory Loss and Aging and Quality of Life.
For interests in Brain Research our Annual Report on Brain Research describes and interprets important advances in neuroscience of the previous year.
We also have resources for teachers and secondary school students with Mindboggling and More Mindbogglers which is packed with information for the brain in fun format of games, riddles and puzzles.
For those who wish to have those common questions about brain research answered there is our pamphlet Q&A: Answering your Questions About Brain Research. This will provide answers to commonly asked questions about the brain and its disorders e.g. how brain-imaging techniques have affected neuroscience research.