Neuroscience takes centre stage during Brain Awareness Week

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:15:55 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's annual Brain Awareness Week will take place March 23 to 28 and include a number of activities. The community is invited to celebrate ULethbridge researchers, students, community partners and the significant advances in brain research that have increased our understanding of the brain and raised awareness and support for ongoing research.

Science Commons will host the activities for Brain Awareness Week, Mar. 23-28.

“Brain Awareness Week is an opportunity to highlight the research advances and contributions of our ULethbridge researchers, students and community partners toward ongoing study of the brain,” says Dr. Robbin Gibb (BASc (BSc) ‘77, MSc ‘01, PhD ‘04), Chair/Professor for the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). “These events bring our community together to explore the latest discoveries in neuroscience and see how they shape our understanding of the brain.”

On Tuesday, March 24, in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's BMO Auditorium (Science Commons), Dr. Claudia Gonzalez (MSc ’00, PhD ’04) will provide a talk, From Action to Cognition: How the Body Shapes the Brain. The presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. and explore how everyday behaviours, from grasping a cup to reaching for something in the dark, reveal the deep links between action and cognition.

On Friday, March 27 at the Galt Museum, Dr. Gerlinde Metz will present, The Stressed Brain: Lessons from Earth and Space. This event will begin at 5:30 p.m. and examine how experiences such as stress and social isolation can shape how our brains function and influence both mental and physical health.

The week concludes with the always popular CCBN Open House event on Saturday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Science Commons. Take a tour of the Department of Neuroscience and learn what the labs are researching, interact with a variety of community organizations that support brain and mental health, and explore the kids’ room for fun, engaging, brain-building activities. Free parking for the event is available in Lot S or K.

“During the open house, there will be tours of the department where the community can ask questions about the different research in the labs, a community booth fair to learn more about great local organizations that support brain and mental health, as well as a kids' room with fun brain-themed activities for the family,” says Jade Oldfield (BEd '18, MSc '25), a neuroscience graduate student and organizer of Brain Awareness Week. “This year brings a lot of great people and organizations together, and we're looking forward to engaging with the community!”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to celebrate Brain Awareness Week

caroline.zentner — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 20:49:22 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is inviting the public to learn more about the brain and the world-renowned research being done at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) in advance of Brain Awareness Week from March 13 to 19.

Dr. Artur Luczak will discuss the brain's ability to predict the future and how that may help explain consciousness.

“The CCBN is a world-class research facility and we encourage members of the public to visit us and learn about the incredible activities taking place right here in southern Alberta,” says Dr. Artur Luczak, a neuroscience professor, and a Brain Awareness Week speaker.

On Saturday, March 11, the CCBN is hosting an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event which includes activities for children. Parking is free and the CCBN is located on Level 8 of Science Commons.

“We have an exciting lineup of activities for folks, including a guided tour of the dry labs, various fun activities in the kids’ room and an opportunity to see a real human brain,” says Jade Oldfield, a neuroscience student and co-organizer of Brain Awareness Week along with fellow student Cameron Beazer and professor Dr. Masami Tatsuno. “Brain Awareness Week happens only once a year and it gives us the perfect opportunity to welcome the community to the CCBN.”

From 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Luczak will give a free talk titled Predictive Neurons: Consciousness and Artificial Intelligence in the Science Commons Atrium on Level 7.

Talk summary — Correctly predicting the future can be very helpful for survival. In fact, the main reason why animals have brains could be to improve predictions of where the food is and how to best get it. Consciousness, the most mysterious feature of the brain, also seems to be related to predicting the future and detecting surprise. In this talk, Luczak will discuss how the ability of neurons to predict their future activity may be the key to understanding the brain, how it may help to explain consciousness and how it may allow us to build super-intelligent computers.

UNews - Jade Oldfield

Neuroscience takes centre stage during Brain Awareness Week

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��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to celebrate Brain Awareness Week

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to celebrate Brain Awareness Week