It’s brain awareness week, the global campaign to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science! VASCage runs a series of interviews with some of our researchers.
-WHAT FASCINATES YOU ABOUT THE BRAIN?
The brain is a highly complex organ, and we are only at the start of unravelling how the brain works. It fascinates me how billions of nerve cells and non-neuronal cells act together and bring forth concepts like thought, experience, and consciousness. I am especially interested in what happens to the brain in the case of stroke or dementia, and how these diseases affect cognition and behavior.
-HOW DOES YOUR RESEARCH CONTRIBUTE TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BRAIN?
In my work I am focusing on small brain infarcts. Because of the small size of these brain infarcts, they are usually unnoticed. However, we can detect such lesions with MRI. It is my ambition to better understand why some people have these small brain infarcts while others do not, and whether persons having such small brain infarcts are also more likely to suffer stroke or dementia in the future.
-WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE FOR PEOPLE WITH YOUR RESEARCH?
Once we better understand the mechanisms behind small brain infarcts, we can eventually provide people with directed therapy or prevention strategies.
