While Baycrest scientists continue studying how the brain functions in health and in the presence of illness or injury, others, like Dr. Elsa Marziali and Dr. Sylvain Moreno, are applying this knowledge to help people in the real world.

Dr. Marziali, senior scientist at the Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied and Evaluative Research Unit (KLAERU), is currently evaluating Internet-based video-conferencing interventions for family caregivers and older adults with long-term disabilities and degenerative diseases, such as dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.

“We know from our studies that effective online support reduces caregiver stress and significantly reduces mental health problems,” she explains. “This in turn prevents caregivers from becoming ill or overwhelmed and needing to use the health-care system themselves. Better health in caregivers may delay the need to place the chronically ill family member into a long-term care facility.”

Dr. Marziali is also developing and evaluating a web-based program for older adults with chronic illnesses like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes and those affected by stroke who aren’t following through with behaviours aimed at rehabilitation.

“The goal of the web-based program is to identify personal barriers to self-management of a chronic condition and to help people resume rehabilitation behaviours,” she says. “The end result is helping them achieve an optimal level of well-being while living with an incurable disease.”

While Dr. Marziali has been at Baycrest for more than a decade, Dr. Sylvain Moreno is among the newest hires. He did his post-doctoral research with adjunct Rotman Research Institute scientist Dr. Ellen Bialystock of York University in Toronto, and officially joined Baycrest as a scientist in January of 2011.

Dr. Moreno’s main interest is in what scientists call “brain plasticity”: the brain’s ability to change (for better or worse) throughout life.  “There are many implications of this ability,” he explains. “For example, we may be able to train the healthy brain in ways that boost cognitive reserve, so that age-related memory problems and dementing illnesses are delayed or prevented. This information may also help us design new and better cognitive rehabilitation programs.”

Dr. Moreno has studied both musical training and bilingualism as experiences that depend on brain plasticity to modify cognitive networks. “In fact, my research shows these types of training influence processing related to attention, memory, language, and intelligence,” he says.

He is currently developing and testing “smart aging” training software for cognitive rehabilitation. His research shows that language, reading, and memory skills improve within months of using such software. He is also making use of the technology and expertise available at the Institute – from behavioural testing to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

The progressive decline in brain fitness, either via the normal course of aging or from devastating brain disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease and stroke, is expected to put enormous pressure on the healthcare system in the next two decades, especially as the population ages.

Dr. Moreno is the lead scientist at Baycrest’s Centre for Brain Fitness which commercializes evidence-based technologies and interventions. “Our shorter-term goal is to develop practical tools for the earlier detection and prevention of age-related memory decline, along with new options for cognitive rehabilitation,” he explains. “The longer-term goal is to help people maintain their cognitive abilities as long as they can so they can live as independently as long as possible.”