Brain Week
Welcome to Virtual Brain Week 2022
This year, the annual schedule of events in partnership with Otago Museum, the Brain Health Research Centre and the Neurological Foundation is going digital! The best part of this change is that Brain Day will instead be Brain Week!
During Brain Week – 10 March – 17 March you’ll be able to navigate from this page to a range of different events and activities. Help us as we celebrate our amazing brains and raise awareness for brain disease and disorders.
Community groups have always been an important part of Brain Week, so this year we’ve created a fun, digital ESCAPE ROOM where you find clues by interacting with content from our friends at Multiple Sclerosis Otago, Alzheimer’s Otago, Music for Dementia, Essential Tremor, the Stroke Foundation, and Dunedin Brain Injury.
Once you’ve been through our escape room, make sure you print off our colouring competition PDF, and get those pens and pencils out to be in to win an awesome prize pack! Entries close on the 4 April and can be sent in to: [email protected]
Download the Colouring Competition
PS. You might even recognise a few of the characters in it!
Get crafting with this DIY glowing pipe cleaner neuron! Create your own neural network by linking your neurons together and watch them ‘fire’ under a UV light!
In the video, neon pipecleaners and a UV torch show how neurons fire - but don’t worry if you don’t have these things! Any coloured pipe cleaners and beads of any shape will do, and a UV torch is not necessary.
Sit back, relax and enjoy some neuro–poetry or neuroscience seminars with a selection of specially recorded presentations from Brain Health Research Centre and Neurological Foundation-funded researchers.
Xiao-Wen Yu
Astrocytes and SAPPa – A New Hope for Alzheimer’s Disease?
Meghan Mulligan
Understanding the Causes of Brain Disorders in New Zealand Children
Claire Lacey
Poetry and Brain Injury
Professor Nick Draper
Measuring Collisions in Junior Rugby: Can We Make Rugby Safer?
You can also find the websites of our fantastic community groups below. If you are looking to learn more about these specific brain diseases and disorders, you can get in touch with them.
Multiple Sclerosis Otago
The Otago Multiple Sclerosis Society aims to empower people with Multiple Sclerosis and allied diseases, providing them and their families with professional support, education, information, and skills. It supports people to participate actively in the community in ways that are meaningful to them.
Brain Injury Association Otago
A brain injury affects not only the injured person but the whole family – from financial challenges to social upheaval, isolation, and job loss. The Brain Injury Association is an independent, community-based organisation supporting affected individuals and their families.
Essential Tremor Support Group Otago
Essential Tremor is a neurological disorder that causes a rhythmic shaking of the arms or other body parts. The Essential Tremor Support Group is a national organisation providing information and support to those living with essential tremors, their caregivers and physicians.
Music for Dementia
Music for Dementia aims to bring targeted music therapy to dementia sufferers throughout New Zealand. Clients are provided with individually-tailored music tracks of personal significance to listen to on integrated, dementia-friendly headsets. This meaningful music stimulates the brain to retrieve memories previously thought lost, and frequently helps sufferers to reconnect with their loved ones
Stroke Foundation NZ
The Stroke Foundation is a national charity dedicated to stroke prevention and recovery. For over 40 years, they have actively promoted ways to avoid stroke, and work closely with stroke survivors, their family, whānau and carers.
Alzheimer’s New Zealand Otago
Alzheimer’s Otago provides support, information and education for people living with dementia, their family and whanau across Otago. At a national level, they raise awareness, provide information and resources, advocate for quality services, and promote research about prevention, treatment, cure, and care.