By Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs - (@morrittjacobs on Twitter)

“We Are Our Brain:” U of L Researcher Named To Order of Canada

Jan 4, 2017 | 10:07 AM

LETHBRIDGE – He has been recognized worldwide for his leadership in scientific understanding of brain function and development. Now, University of Lethbridge neuroscience researcher Bryan Kolb can add recipient of the Order of Canada to his list of accomplishments.

Dr. Kolb was notified Dec. 30 that he would join the likes of 100 men and women who have been newly appointed to the Order of Canada.

He credits the honour to his written work, which includes two textbooks written with fellow U of L researcher Ian Whishaw: Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology, 7th Edition; and Introduction to Brain and Behavior, 4th Edition.

“One of the big points out there when I started in 1968 was that the brain doesn’t change. We now know that the brain is plastic and it changes all the time. There was also this idea that once you are born you don’t develop anymore neurons. We discovered that you can generate neurons after an injury and facilitate recovery,” Dr. Kolb said.

The U of L researcher is a former president of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science, and a former president of the Experimental Division of the Canadian Psychological Association.

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Dr. Kolb currently sits as a member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s program in Child and Brain Development. Over his career, he has worked to debunk myths surrounding child brain injuries.

“There was this view that it is best to have brain injuries early on. This is not true, the worst time to have a brain injury is as a child,” he said.

Along these lines the researcher cited understanding what factors hinder and promote brain development as a critical component in fosters healthier brains for future generations.

“We are our brain and we need to know why we behave the way we do. I Hope to see age related diseases cured and prevention of disorders by understanding the cause and intervening early,” he said.

In the classroom Dr. Kolb takes a “questions-over-answers,” curiosity driven approach.

“Instead of saying ‘we are going to focus on the visual or audible system today’ we can say ‘how do you understand music?’ If you don’t understand the questions or can’t see the questions you’ll never know the answer,” he said.

This curiosity-driven research is not directed at a specific disease but at basic questions. Dr. Kolb added that most of the time the answers related to disorders come by accident, something that will help to cure neurological diseases and disorders.

The U of L researcher was to accept the Order of Canada in January, and planned to continue to revise his literature and attend conferences during 2017.