Global Brain Awareness Week Monday, March 15, 2010 - 15:33

Monday 15 March 2010, marked the 15th anniversary of Global Brain Awareness Week (BAW) - until 21 March 2010 - which seeks to advance public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research.

Learning Through Life - the final report of a NIACE-sponsored two-year independent Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning - drew on findings that the brain can continue to learn throughout the lifecourse and that learning might even help with preventing, slowing down and catering for the needs of those with dementia. Keeping the brain active is vital to the wellbeing of individuals, which is what ultimately makes healthy and productive societies.

Professor Tom Schuller, co-author of Learning Through Life, said:

"There is mounting scientific evidence on the plasticity of the brain, meaning we can carry on learning throughout life which is the title of the Inquiry's main report. This has to be encouraging news in the context of an ageing society. But let's not forget that neuroscientific understanding needs to be linked to what we know about the social processes of learning: being part of a network is a crucial factor in enabling this plasticity to find effect. Building the knowledge-base for a learning society needs interdisciplinary work, across all stages in the lifecourse."