Dear New Parent, How are you? Really? It’s totally ok to say you are not ok. You are in your own uncharted territory. The way you are feeling right now does not begin and end with you. There are other Mum’s and Dad’s that have felt the way you do right now. Parenting is challenging. Challenging is just the beginning. There are many new Mum’s and Dad’s that are going through the same changes, the same difficulties, at the same time as you.

Wouldn't it is amazing to be able to “look inside” your brain and see how it’s working ? Well, thanks to brain research is now possible to do just this with special brain imaging known as QEEG. Scientists have been able to measure the activity from our brain since the 1930s, and this is known as EEG (or brainwaves), which is still used today to help diagnose conditions such as epilepsy.

Two thirds of the population believes a myth that has been propagated for over a century: that we use only 10% of our brains. Hardly! Our neuron-dense brains have evolved to use the least amount of energy while carrying the most information possible -- a feat that requires the entire brain. Richard E. Cytowic debunks this neurological myth (and explains why we aren’t so good at multitasking).

This amazing video from The Allen Institute for Brain Research (<link to https://www.alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-science/ > takes us a visually stunning view of the brain, all the way from the outside to the the tiniest cells (and smaller still) on the inside: https://youtu.be/Zj3RxtJ_Ljc

The Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) is an independent collaborative of scientists, health professionals, scholars and policy experts from around the world working in areas of brain health related to human cognition. The GCBH focuses on brain health relating to peoples’ ability to think and reason as they age, including aspects of memory, perception and judgment. The GCBH is convened by AARP with support from Age UK to offer the best possible advice about what older adults can do to maintain and improve their brain health. GCBH members come together to discuss specific lifestyle issue areas that may impact peoples’ brain health as they age with the goal of providing evidence-based recommendations for people to consider incorporating into their lives.

This week is the start of International Brain Awareness Ween 2018 ! Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is the global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research, and the “brain-child” of The DANA Foundation (www.dana.org). The Perth Brain Centre is proud to be an official partner of International Brain Awareness Week 2018, and every day we will be sharing some of the amazing benefits of brain research.

International Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is the global campaign to increase public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. The Perth Brain Centre is an official partner of International Brain Awareness Week, which starts on the 12 March this year.

What are the signs of postnatal depression?

Being a mum is a real emotional rollercoaster and there can be lots of highs and lows. But if you’re finding that it’s all lows without highs that could be a sign you’ve got postnatal depression. It’s a terrible illness and can affect absolutely anyone and it really spoils the enjoyment of having a baby and at least one in ten mothers will suffer from it.