'AMAZING BRAIN' TOPIC OF UF TALK MARCH 15
March 11, 2008
Nothing yet built by human hands compares with the brain - the most complex living structure known in the universe.
With more circuits than a supercomputer, the brain hums along, its cells communicating with one another through electrochemical reactions. This sophisticated communication regulates bodily processes and enables us to understand the world, to walk and sleep, to create and feel emotions - essentially, it endows us with the qualities that make us human.
Only now are scientists grasping how important the brain's electrical connections are to good health.
"We can potentially treat any disease if we understand the underlying circuitry," said neurosurgeon Kelly Foote, M.D., co-director of the Movement Disorders Center at the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute. "The notion that malfunctioning circuits in the brain cause human disease and therefore can potentially be modulated with electrical stimulation is very exciting."
Foote will discuss "The Electric Brain: How Deep Brain Stimulation Can Be Used to Treat Neurological Diseases" at 10 a.m. March 15 at the DeWeese Auditorium on the ground floor of the McKnight Brain Institute, 100 S. Newell Drive, Gainesville.
The talk is part of Brain Awareness Week, which is being recognized worldwide March 10-16 to increase public understanding of the human brain. A neurosurgeon and authority in movement disorders associated with Parkinson's and other neurological diseases, Foote is a pioneer in deep brain stimulation, or DBS - a technique where surgeons implant tiny electrodes into targeted areas of a patient's brain to deliver continuous, low-voltage pulses.
For a select group of patients with movement disorders, DBS helps them to lead normal lives. But now the procedure is showing promise as a potential treatment for depression, memory loss and a host of other neurological problems.
"The field is exploding with possibilities," Foote said. "As we understand more, we will be able to relieve more human suffering with the application of this technology."
The talk will last for about 45 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session. Anyone from middle-school students to retirees who want to learn more about the brain or about how McKnight Brain Institute scientists are trying to cure neurological diseases is invited.
