Athought-provoking public lecture was held at the University of South Australia Mount Gambier Campus last week.
Professor of neuroscience and rehabilitation and Dean of research in allied health and human performance at UniSA Susan Hillier discussed recent research and insights on brain health.
Prof Hillier explored what people find fascinating about the brain, how people change their minds and why people find it difficult to change their behaviour.
“The things that we are particularly interested in is this idea that a brain can change, can be flexible and adaptable and how that manifests, being able to think in different ways, think creatively, we have all of the metaphors, thinking outside the box, different points of view,” she said.
“This more recent research, it is not our research, it has been done particularly in the States, is that by really getting people to understand their brain can change and if their brain is their thoughts and their feelings and emotions they can change.
“Simply that education and awareness helps people, so therefore I thought let’s talk about that here.
“The key takeaway was to have a bit of hope around if you are feeling stuck in your thoughts or your behaviour, there are ways that you can learn to be more flexible.
“It is just the beginning, you start with baby steps, to at least understand that we know now the brain has the mechanisms to do that and we are starting to understand more what that means, what people have to actually do to enact those changes in the brain.”
Prof Hillier said she was very pleased with the turnout on the evening and how people responded to the lecture.
“I know the audience down here is really receptive, you get people who are very open minded, we have got all these metaphors, so I thought it would be interesting to see how people react to that kind of information,” she said.
“I really love country communities because I do think there is an open mindedness and people take opportunities to go to community events, they are looking for something new and something stimulating.”
Prof Hillier said her passion for brain health stemmed from her background as a physiotherapist and she has always worked with people who have experienced brain trauma.
“I see what damage to the brain can do to people and their sense of self,” she said.
“Traditionally we look at the way they walk and the way they talk and so on but over the years I have become increasingly interested in the negative impact it has on them as an individual and how they feel about themselves, and society is not kind to people with disabilities.
“So there is a whole range of things there, how they lose their confidence and lose their sense of identity and then of course the evidence coming out now that that can change.
“As therapists we have always been very obsessed about strengthening muscles, but actually if we really want to help the individual, we need to strengthen the way they think.”
