Your Complex Brain

We often talk about the physiology of stress, how it affects us physically and mentally, but in this episode of Your Complex Brain, we delve much deeper to talk about the science of stress. What is actually happening in our brain and our body when activates the stress response and how these insights could lead to new approaches and therapies for treating disease.

Though women make up nearly half of the world's population and have higher rates of neurological disorders, there is still a gap when it comes to better understanding and treating women living with brain-related illnesses. We speak with Dr. Mary Angela O'Neal and Dr. Esther Bui about how various neurological conditions affect women differently at various stages of their lives.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is complex brain surgery in which electrodes are placed at strategic, predetermined targets within a patient's brain. DBS was introduced as a treatment option for people living with Parkinson's disease more than 20 years ago, it was a game changer. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Suneil Kalia and Dr. Alfonso Fasano about the future of DBS.

Whether as a patient, a caregiver, a neighbour or a friend, chances are, one day, we will all be touched by Alzheimer's or dementia. This disease steals our memories and cruelly robs us of our loved ones, often when we need them the most. We speak with Dr. Donald Weaver and Dr. Saskia Sivananthan about the momentum in the world of Alzheimer's research.

What happens when a vision researcher has a chance meeting with a pediatric oncologist and that collaboration leads to unexpected and promising results? In Episode 5 of Your Complex Brain, we are talking about a homegrown vision rehabilitation program helping young brain cancer survivors, whose sight has been impacted by their tumours, improve their vision.

When you think about your favourite memories, what comes to mind? Is it the championship win at your high school football game? Your child's first words? Or the lyrics to a song you loved? In Episode 6 of Your Complex Brain, our experts tackle the big & thought-provoking questions, such as: How does our brain log & store memories? Where do memories go as we age? And why do we remember some things and not others?

Every year, 40 million people worldwide sustain a concussion, a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a hit or jolt to the head. While the vast majority of those who suffer a concussion recover in time, there are many who experience lasting symptoms, and researchers and clinicians want to know why, including Dr. Charles Tator, who's made it his l​ife's mission to educate the public and the healthcare community about the impact of concussion.

When Brynn Ladley was born, she was a smiling, happy and healthy baby, hitting all of her developmental milestones. Then, at six weeks old, she began having seizures and eventually was diagnosed with CDKL5, a rare and debilitating genetic disorder that has no cure. We'll hear from Dr. James Eubanks, Brynn's mother Natalie and from Richard Logan, Dr. Eubanks' long-time lab manager, who are optimistic about advances in this research, in the years ​to come.

More than eight million Canadians, like Lara, are currently living with the effects of debilitating chronic pain. But there is hope… In Episode 9 of KBI's podcast, 'Your Complex Brain,' we delve into the connection between chronic pain and the brain, including the latest & most effective treatments, the stigma - how do you study and treat something that you often can't see? And, is there a way to build 'pain resilience'?