The New Zealand Brain Research Institute is undertaking ground-breaking research in Canterbury, into the effects and treatments for New Zealand’s most common brain disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and multiple sclerosis. They offer research opportunities to both emerging and established researchers from all over the world and during International Brain Awareness month are educating the wider community about brain-health and research outcomes.

Parkinson's - more than just tremors

Dr Michael MacAskill

Parkinson’s disease used to be thought of as purely a movement disorder. Researchers at the NZ Brain Research Institute have been at the forefront of defining the significant non-motor symptoms, which we now know are even more disabling. Dr MacAskill will also show why it is important to study global issues like Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis within what is just a small country in the South Pacific.

Brain imaging research at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute

Dr Tracy Melzer

Advanced imaging techniques provide unprecedented information about the state of the brain. In this talk, Dr Melzer will discuss what brain imaging can tell us about the brain and how research at the NZ Brain Research Institute is using this powerful technique to investigate Parkinson’s disease and other disorders.

Trauma and the Earthquake Brain

Dr Nadia Borlase The Canterbury earthquakes had a significant impact on the psychological functioning of Canterbury residents. The brain is sensitive to trauma, but the long term neurological impact of traumatic events in individuals who are deemed to be "coping well' is not well understood. Neuroimaging enables examination of brain structure and function and allows for further understanding of how the brain responds after exposure to trauma. Dr Borlase will discuss findings from a group of resilient Canterbury residents who experienced the Christchurch earthquakes and the long term brain adaptation that may have occurred as a response to these events.

Advances in Clot Retrieval Treatment for Ischaemic Stroke

Dr Teddy Wu

Stroke is no longer an irreversible process. Clot retrieval treatment has revolutionised treatment of severe strokes due to blockage of a major artery in the brain. Clot retrieval treatment often reverses the disability associated with severe strokes leading to full or near complete recovery. This talk will summarise recent advances in clot retrieval therapy and the ongoing research involving Canterbury patients that will enable more patients to benefit from this treatment.

Huntington’s disease – new hope on the horizon

Professor Tim Anderson

Huntington’s disease is an inherited relentlessly progressive neurological disorder that causes involuntary jerky movements, behavioural problems and dementia. Symptoms generally begin in the 30’s or 4O’s. However at our NZ Brain Research Institute Huntington’s clinic we have seen people in their teens and even in their 80’s with Huntington’s. Professor Anderson will discuss why Huntington’s disease is not diminishing but in fact increasing in prevalence in our community. New treatments look to be on the horizon and we are currently participating in a world-wide trial of one such promising treatment that is delivered directly into the spinal fluid via lumbar puncture.

Improving identification and treatment of communication difficulties

Dr Catherine Theys

Communication is one of the most important functions that defines us as humans, and loss of the ability to communicate can have a devastating effect. Even mild communication difficulties may lead to impaired occupational function, social isolation, and depressive symptoms. In this talk I will focus on stuttering disfluencies. While stuttering can have an onset in childhood, it is less commonly known that people can also start to stutter later in life. Such acquired forms of stuttering can develop following stroke, Parkinson’s disease, use of medication, and other conditions that may influence brain functioning. I will share insights from our studies focusing on improving the identification and treatment of the different types of stuttering.

Dementia: variations, risk and prevention

Professor John Dalrymple-Alford

John Dalrymple-Alford co-leads a longitudinal research programme on Parkinson's disease at the NZ Brain Research Institute. He is also a coordinator of the Christchurch arm of the "Dementia Prevention Research Clinics". Professor Dalrymple-Alford will describe some of the various reasons why people suffer from "dementia" and will talk about risk and protective factors.