The Human Brain, Environments, Genes, Health and Behaviour? (Part 1)

Our understanding of brain development and function has fundamentally changed in the past decade. Brain development embody much more than just the simple unfolding of a genetic blueprint but rather represents a complex dance of genetic and environmental events that interact to adapt the brain to fit a particular environmental context. Thus, it is now clear that prenatal, postnatal and early childhood experiences set the brain on a trajectory that profoundly influences not only how children learn and develop but also contribute to health and wellness throughout the lifespan. The speaker will expand on this fascinating topic and also very briefly touch upon the possible effects common drugs and injuries (concussions) may have on the brain. Speaker: Dr. Bryan Kolb A native of Calgary, Bryan Kolb has been professor at the University of Lethbridge for 37 years and was the co-founder of their Neuroscience Department. He has published five books, including two textbooks with Ian Whishaw and roughly 350 articles and chapters. Bryan Kolb was awarded a Killam Fellowship from the Canada Council and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is a former President of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science and of the Experimental Division of the Canadian Psychological Association. Kolb is currently a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s program on Child Brain Development. His recent work has focused on how neurons of the cerebral cortex change in response to various factors including hormones, experience, drugs, neurotrophins, and injury, and how these changes are related to behaviour.