‘Brain Oscillations in Epilepsy’ is the title of a talk by neuroscientist Vincenzo Crunelli from Cardiff University’s School of Bioscience, to be held on Wednesday at 7pm at the Italian Cultural Institute, St George’s Square, Valletta, by Malta Café Scientifique.
The event will start with Prof. Crunelli and fellow neuroscientist Giuseppe Di Giovanni talking to two people who have overcome epilepsy. This will be followed by a screening of a film about Trudy Kerr. After suffering a horse riding accident that led to her developing a type of epilepsy, she managed to beat it by running marathons in Malta and London, and through treatment.
After the film, Prof. Crunelli will take the audience through a journey into the human brain – a small mass just 1.3kg wet grey tissue. He will also talk about brain rhythms and electrical oscillations in the brain that give rise to consciousness and sleep and how failures in these rhythms can lead to a variety of brain disorders such as epilepsy.
Prof. Crunelli has recently been appointed affiliate professor at the University of Malta’s Department of Physiology and Biochemistry.
The event is part of Malta Brain Awareness Week, a national campaign to increase public awareness on the progress and benefits of brain research organised by the University’s Malta Neuroscience Network and supported by the University’s Research Trust, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Malta Chamber of Scientists.