Brainworks Program Offers Students Interaction with Neuroscience

For the 17th year since its creation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles presented their educational Brainworks seminar for junior high students regarding brain science and healthy habits, as part of an ongoing effort to educate the public on neuroscience, as well as engaging children with the medical field. The 140 students who participated learned more about the importance of a regular exercise routine and how that helps improve brain health. The event featured keynote speaker Dean Sherzai, MD, director of the medical center’s Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Program. “We are moving closer to understanding the role of exercise in potentially changing the course of Alzheimer’s,” Sherzai said. “This is important because once Alzheimer’s is established in the brain, no existing drugs can slow it down.” Activities during the seminar included surgical simulations, neuropathology demonstrations, therapy, instrument collections and the newly added exercise station emphasizing the benefits of physical activity on long-term brain health. The seminar’s featured speakers, who highlighted the various directions and occupations within the field, demonstrated ways for those interested in pursuing neuroscience or neurosurgery to get involved as early as high school. To learn more about this program, click here.