30 March 2011

Putting the brain on centre stage

 Story and pictures by Michelle Kiob

People do not look after their brains enough, and a good example of this is how Malaysians are on the road.  

“Motorists, especially motorcyclists, will swerve around traffic, run red lights, and ignore the speed limit; this shows that they do not know how fragile their brains are,”  Head of Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences Prof Dato’ Dr Anuar Zaini Md Zain said.

“When they think of safety, they usually think about protecting their arms and legs from being fractured or broken in an accident, rarely do they think of damage to the brain, which is even more life-threatening than a broken leg or arm.”

Prof Dato’ Anuar Zaini was speaking at the recent launch of the Brain Awareness Day organised by the Brain Research Institute of Monash Sunway (BRIMS).

In a medical sense, he explained that an increase in brain swelling the size of a pinhead could cause much pain and structural damage that might influence the mind, sight or hearing.

On the event, Prof Dato’ Anuar Zaini said he hoped it would bring neuroscientists together “in one powerful network to do brain research.”  

The one-day event also saw a talk on neuro-radiology by University of Malaya Medical Centre specialist Dr Khairul Azmi Abd Kadir and a focus on psychology delivered by Senior Lecturer Mr Paul Jambunathan.  

BRIMS Director Prof Dr Ishwar Parhar said the Brain Awareness Day was aimed at raising awareness on the importance of brain research in public health. The event is an international initiative that was organised as a joint effort between BRIMS and the NeuroMalaysia Society.  

“The human brain, with its hundred billion nerve cells, with their hundred trillion interconnections, is the most complex organ in the known universe. Decoding its language or even understanding the genetic programs that makes up the complex circuitry of the brain is discovery’s final frontier,” he said.

Unlocking the mysteries of the brain, he stressed, could assist in the development of treatments and cures for maladies such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia and even emotional disorders.  

“For the researchers, now is the time for brain research as we now have the tools and technology. It is a gold mine for research and collaborations,” he said, urging researchers to advance scientific understanding of how the mind and complex behaviours relate to the brain.  

Guest speaker Sunway Medical Centre Developmental Paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan focused on brain development in children.  

She said it was important to remember that brain development started as early as the third week of pregnancy, with brain growth influenced by the mother’s physical and emotional health.  

“The brain, as soon as we are born, is ready to receive social relationships. Many parents think that babies don’t do much in the first six weeks, but their brains are ready to take in as much as you can give,” she explained.  

A baby’s brain, she explained, was attracted to human sounds and human visual stimulations.

“For example, when our medical students wave a red ball at a baby, the baby will be more attracted to the face of the student rather than the ball,” Dr Rajini explained.  

“Nowadays, parents are worried about cognitive skills and they are using flashcards from the time the child is six-months-old, and have them watch educational DVDs from a very young age, when all you really need is face-to-face communication between parent and child to really kick-start their cognitive skills.”