Mind-Body Interventions for Cognitive and Brain Health
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Mind-body interventions encompass a growing range of non-pharmacological approaches increasingly being used to support cognitive and brain health in older adults. Capitalizing on the reciprocal relationship between psychological and physiological processes, these interventions are designed to improve physical functioning through changes in in mental health and well-being, and vice versa. Mindfulness-based interventions represent one class of mind-body demonstrated to reduce stress, improve attentional control, and enhance overall quality of life. Dr. Ruchika Prakash is distinguished professor of psychology at The Ohio State University and serves as their director of the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging.
Harnessing Neuroplasticity to Enhance Exposure Therapy: Implanted Vagus Nerve Stimulation for PTSD and Beyond
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Neuroscientist Mark B. Powers, PhD, director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) at UT Dallas, discusses exposure therapy and approaches to improving treatment outcomes, including implanted vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). His talk traces the translational development of VNS paired with exposure therapy for PTSD and shares why VNS, when precisely paired with behavioral experiences, provides a novel strategy.
AI and the Copernican Revolution in Intelligence
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If intelligence can increasingly be modeled, measured, and replicated, what remains distinctive about human beings? SMU Perkins School of Theology professor Robert Hunt, PhD, argues that the age of AI represents a “Copernican revolution” in our understanding of intelligence. Just as Copernicus removed humanity from the physical center of the universe, AI is removing humans from the intellectual center of the world they inhabit.
Mindset: Why What You Believe Matters More Than You Think
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In this compelling talk, moderated by KERA's Krys Boyd, Alia Crum, PhD, explains how mindsets — the beliefs and expectations we hold — actively shape our physical health, emotional well-being and ability to build a healthy relationship with stress. Recently featured on The Mel Robbins Podcast, the Stanford psychologist leads groundbreaking research focused on understanding how mindsets affect important outcomes outside the realm of medicine, in the domains of behavioral health and organizational behavior to show how perceptions of stress, willpower and the body can alter biological responses and real-world outcomes. This event is for ages 21+. Sponsored by The Encompass Group.
Brainspan: How The BrainHealth Project Can Inform Dementia Prevention
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Dementia is one of the main culprits undermining what should be our most rewarding years. Most current dementia-prevention trials are labor-intensive and hence expensive and difficult to scale to the hundreds of millions who need it. Internationally recognized cognitive neuroscientist Ian Robertson, PhD, shares an inside look at The BrainHealth Project, and how the longitudinal study is measuring and targeting improvements in the brain health of 100,000 people over ten years using a telehealth, web-based interface and real-time remote coaching.
From Mindset to Marketplace
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As a follow-up to our October 22 BrainHealth Presents with Stanford psychologist Alia Crum, PhD, executive advisor and leadership expert Tony Bridwell, PhD, Chief Talent Officer, at The Encompass Group, joins us for an exclusive executive breakfast focused on turning groundbreaking research into practical business impact. Together, we'll explore how mindset influences performance, leadership, culture, and organizational outcomes, and discuss how to translate these insights into actionable strategies for today's marketplace realities. Free registration.
Modeling Maternal Adversity in Rodents to Study Intergenerational Effects
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Millie Rincón-Cortés, PhD, leads the Developmental and Maternal Neurobiology Lab at UT Dallas, a developmental behavioral neuroscience lab that studies how exposure to adversity compromises behavioral and brain function throughout the lifespan. Her research reveals how maternal adversity in rats (modelled through resource scarcity) disrupts the brain's reward circuitry, causing reduced maternal motivation and diminished responsiveness to pups. These behavioral changes correspond with disruptions in the brain's reward circuitry (also known as the mesolimbic dopamine system). Her team has further demonstrated that early life adversity affects reward-related behaviors during adolescence.
Healthy Friction: The Science of Productive Disagreement
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Psychologist Eli Finkel, PhD, dissects how polarization and misperception derail productive dialogue, offering practical strategies for engaging across differences — and tools for transforming conflict into insight and competitive advantage. Founding co-director of the Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement, Dr. Finkel is the Morton O. Schapiro Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, where he leads the Relationships And Motivation Lab (RAMLAB), and also co-host of the popular podcast Love Factually. This event is for ages 21+. Sponsored by the Northwestern and Kellogg DFW Alumni Clubs.
How Blood Can Now Tell Us About Brain Health: Integration and Implementation of Blood Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease
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Dr. Melissa Petersen's is assistant professor of Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her research focuses on the utility of blood-based biomarkers in the detection of neurodegenerative disease states including Alzheimer's disease among different racial and ethnic groups. Her collaboration and work with the Health and Aging Brain Study- Health Disparities (HABS-HD) cohort allows access to a biologically well characterized sample of Non-Hispanic Whites, Black, and Hispanics ranging from age 30 and above with available MRI, PET (Amyloid, Tau), blood-based biomarkers and cognitive data.
Topic: Neuropsychology and Brain Health
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TALK TITLE COMING SOON: Vonetta Dotson, PhD is a neuropsychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research focuses on positive and negative modifiers of brain health, including the intersection of depression with cognitive and brain aging, and the impact of health disparities on brain health. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, and private foundations.
Mission Restored: Novel Treatments for Veterans
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A panel of distinguished veterans and brain scientists lead a candid, high-level conversation on approaches to neuroplasticity enhancement, addiction disruption, and emotional and psychological reset using psychedelic compounds, featuring former Texas Governor Rick Perry; renowned Center for BrainHealth neuroscientist Francesca Filbey, PhD; veteran and BrainHealth trainer Thad King; neuroscientist and neuroengineer Jamie Tyler, PhD; and clinical psychologist Charles Green, PhD. This event is for ages 21+. Sponsored by Livewire Technologies, Inc.
Immersive Intelligence: Using Virtual Reality, Digital Twins, and AI to Understand and Enhance Human Performance
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Jeff Price, MFA, directs the Virtual, Augmented, and Simulation Technology (VAST) Lab at UT Dallas, where he researches the impact of immersive technologies on the study, training and understanding of human behavior. This talk explores how virtual reality, augmented reality, digital twins, spatial computing and artificial intelligence can be combined to create controlled yet highly realistic environments for studying cognition, behavior, decision-making and human performance.
Understanding Risk, Improving Health: Leveraging Technology to Understand and Reduce Health-Risk Behaviors Across Adolescence and Young Adulthood
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Adolescence and young adulthood are critical developmental periods during which health-risk behaviors can emerge and become established, with important implications for long-term health and well-being. UT Arlington professors Melissa A. Lewis, PhD, and Dana M. Litt, PhD, discuss advances in digital technology that are transforming how researchers identify the cognitive, social and contextual mechanisms underlying these behaviors and how interventions are developed and delivered to reduce risk.