Can your brain rewire itself? How is the brain built and what can go wrong? And should the secondary school day start later to compensate for teenage sleep patterns?
Neuroscientists from the University of Oxford address all these questions in our new exhibition – Brain Diaries – Modern Neuroscience in Action. Created in partnership with Oxford Neuroscience, the exhibition and event programme kicked off last week to coincide with international Brain Awareness Week, which runs from 13-19 March.
Here we present a selection of videos from the exhibition. The full set is available on our YouTube channel now. And if you’re not able to visit the exhibition itself, we’ve built a special Brain Diaries website which contains all that neuroscience goodness.
Is brain-building a tricky business?
Professor Zoltán Molnár of the University of Oxford specialises in the development of the brain. In this video he talks about the complex processes at play during the brain’s early development, including how things can sometimes go wrong.
Can my brain rewire itself?
Associate Professor Holly Bridge works in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Her research focuses on using MRI scans of the human brain to understand the organisation of the visual system in people with normal vision and in those with abnormal visual function. Here she talks about how the brain can rewire itself to compensate for damage to certain sensory areas.
School’s out – should the school day start later?
Dr Christopher-James Harvey works at the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford. As part of the Teensleep research project, he is investigating how changes in the natural rhythm of sleep in adolescents, and the effects of sleep education, might impact on academic, health and sleep outcomes. Here he talks about initiatives to trial a later starting time for the secondary school day.
To read more about Brain Diaries and see the full programme of public events see braindiaries.org.
More Than A Dodo 
Can norepinephrine synthesized in the locus coeruleus end up as “bone norepinephrine”?
Hi, my name is Anja and I work with a school project about our brain. I have a question to you: If we get severe brain bleeding and the temporal lobe stops working, do we still have any memory and can we get it back. I need a fast answer. Cincerely Anja. 🙂
Hi Anja. Thanks for your question. It’s not something we can answer directly I’m afraid. I think the best bet might be to search the scientific literature online if you need a quick response.