News
Sir Michael Palin supports The Brain Charity appeal
The much-loved acting and comedy legend donated his time due to his personal experience of the trauma of neurological conditions
A charity which supports people with neurological conditions has won the support of Sir Michael Palin in making a national fundraising appeal.
The Brain Charity is the focus of a BBC Lifeline appeal, which shows its work to a national audience by telling the stories of three people who have benefitted from its support.
Acting and comedy legend Sir Michael donated his time to present The Brain Charity’s appeal from his personal experience of the impact of neurological conditions – his wife was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour more than 25 years ago, and he saw his Monty Python colleague Terry Jones face the effects of dementia before his death last year.
He said: “Neurological conditions have the potential to wreak havoc on the lives of those they affect; something my family and I can relate to.
“My wife was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour more than 25 years ago, and it was a worrying and frightening time for our family.
“That’s why the important work of The Brain Charity is a cause very close to my heart.
“I am delighted to support them by presenting their Lifeline appeal, and hope the film encourages many much-needed donations for such a worthwhile cause.”
Over the past month, the BBC Lifeline crew has travelled across the UK to see first-hand how The Brain Charity helps people with all forms of neurological condition to lead longer, healthier, happier lives by providing practical advice, emotional support and creative activities.
They filmed with mum-of-three Lindsey, from Dunbar, Scotland, who was diagnosed with secondary progressive MS in her brain in October 2020.
The 60-year-old former deputy headteacher went from being a highly paid, hard-working professional to wondering how her family was going to cope.
She found the practical advice she received from The Brain Charity’s information and advice officer Janet ‘life-changing’ and said this reminded her that there was still a future for her post-diagnosis.
The eight-minute film also features Rachel, 46, from Cheshire, who spent two weeks in a coma and had to learn to walk and talk again after experiencing a brain haemorrhage.
After an operation to remove the tangle of blood vessels which had cause the haemorrhage, Rachel began to make a physical recovery, but struggled mentally.
She found it difficult to leave the house due to low confidence around her speech, which had been affected, and experiencing debilitating night terrors that she was back in intensive care.
In May 2020, she was offered six weeks of free counselling from The Brain Charity – which she said was a lifeline. She has since decided to give back by becoming a volunteer phone befriender.
Finally, the feature will focus on 18-year-old Sammee, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and recently moved to Liverpool from London.
The Brain Charity’s Brain Changer Arts Project sessions – which combine neuro-physiotherapy and dance – have helped him gain confidence, express himself creatively and make new friends.
The Lifeline appeal will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer here
All funds raised from the Lifeline appeal will go towards The Brain Charity’s Sixmas appeal, which is raising £60,000 for urgent mental health support for the one in six people left out in the cold to deal with their neurological condition alone this Christmas.
News
Royal Rehab opens Australia’s largest technology centre
The centre caters for people living with disabilities across the country
News
Neuro Convention returns next week
The event brings together neuro-rehab professionals and leading organisations from across the UK
News
Role of sleep in memory and learning uncovered
Research findings could aid development of assistive tools for people with neurological injury or disease
New research into sleep may help explain how memories are formed and how learning is consolidated, and could aid the development of assistive tools for people affected by neurological injury or disease.
Scientists previously studying laboratory animals discovered a phenomenon known as ‘replay’ that occurs during sleep – a strategy the brain uses to remember new information.
Scientists believe that this replay of neuronal firing during sleep is how the brain practices newly-learned information, which allows a memory to be consolidated, and converted from a short-term memory to a long-term one.
However, replay has only been convincingly shown in lab animals.
Now, a new study has investigated whether replay occurs in the human motor cortex — the brain region that governs movement — focusing on a 36-year-old man with tetraplegia who cannot move his upper and lower limbs due to a spinal cord injury.
The man, identified in the study as T11, is a participant in a clinical trial of a brain-computer interface device that allows him to use a computer cursor and keyboard on a screen.
The investigational device being developed by the BrainGate consortium, a collaborative effort involving clinicians, neuroscientists and engineers at several institutions with the goal of creating technologies to restore communication, mobility, and independence for people with neurologic disease, injury, or limb loss.
In the study, T11 was asked to perform a memory task similar to the electronic game Simon, in which a player observes a pattern of flashing coloured lights, then has to recall and reproduce that sequence.
He controlled the cursor on the computer screen simply by thinking about the movement of his own hand. Sensors implanted in T11’s motor cortex measured patterns of neuronal firing, which reflected his intended hand movement, allowing him to move the cursor around on the screen and click it at his desired locations.
These brain signals were recorded and wirelessly transmitted to a computer.
That night, while T11 slept at home, activity in his motor cortex was recorded and wirelessly transmitted to a computer.
“What we found was pretty incredible,” said Dr Daniel Rubin, lead author and a neurologist at the MGH Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery.
“He was basically playing the game overnight in his sleep.
“This is the most direct evidence of replay from motor cortex that’s ever been seen during sleep in humans.”
Most of the replay detected in the study occurred during slow-wave sleep, a phase of deep slumber.
Interestingly, replay was much less likely to be detected while T11 was in REM sleep, the phase most commonly associated with dreaming.
The researchers see this work as a foundation for learning more about replay and its role in learning and memory in humans.
“Our hope is that we can leverage this information to help build better brain-computer interfaces and come up with paradigms that help people learn more quickly and efficiently in order to regain control after an injury,” said neurologist Dr Sydney S. Cash, co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery at MGH.
News4 weeks agoThink Therapy 1st set for future through leadership change
- Spinal4 weeks ago
Walton Centre secures Centre of Excellence spinal status
- Spinal4 weeks ago
NeuroAiD shows potential in spinal cord injury recovery
- Therapies4 weeks ago
How visualisation can support emotional wellbeing
- Tech4 weeks ago
THERA-Trainer develops revolutionary music tool
- Brain injury4 weeks ago
Breath test could detect repetitive blast injury
- Inpatient rehab4 weeks ago
‘Getting the foundations right is a platform for growth’
- Tech4 weeks ago
Fourier Intelligence: ‘All eyes are on us now’
