Sep 7, 2008
Gerontology and the Brain
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Last Friday, during the American Society on Aging’s Brain Health day, a participant made a comment along the lines, “I just completed my Masters in Gerontology at University XYZ. Despite my best efforts, I could not find a single brain-related class to attend as part of my studies. Which is why I decided to come to a conference like this”.
Incredible that this happens in 2008, a decade after the “Decade of the Brain”.
Healthcare and cognitive science seem to have inhabited different universes for too long. I hope we start to see more active cross-pollination between both fields. Gerontology would be a great place to start, given the growing demand for preventive programs to contribute to the cognitive health of an aging population.
Alvaro,
After years of working to create “interdisciplinary” dialogue within undergrad and grad programs, and in light of the low public attendance at the UCLA Anti-Aging Friday forum offered this summer, I’m not surprised by the Gerontology students claim.
I will write to you under separate cover, how I think we as a budding brain empowerment community can speak to the issue.
M. A. Greenstein, Ph.D., R.Y.T.
The George Greenstein Institute for the Advancement of Somatic Arts and Science