19. Acting on climate to protect the brain

“The climate crisis is a health crisis, but for too long, health has been a footnote in climate discussions” – these words of the WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hold true for brain health as well. However, we are only beginning to understand how the changing climate is negatively impacting the human brain. Emerging evidence suggests that excessive heat can be severely damaging. Heat stress often leads to neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, brain ischemia or neuronal damage. This can result in the worsening of the neurological disease symptoms, increased mental distress, or cognitive dysfunction.

Burcin Ikiz, who is Paweł Świeboda’s guest in this episode of the NeuroCentury podcast, is an award-winning neuroscientist working on neurodegenerative diseases, a founder and chair of the International Neuro Climate Working Group. As of 2023, she leads EcoNeuro, a research initiative dedicated to exploring the intersection of neuroscience and climate change for global health advancement. She leads many global initiatives aimed at addressing the link between climate change and brain health.

The conversation addresses the existing evidence with respect to the impact of climate and environmental pollution on the brain, as well as gaps in our understanding which require further research. It explores the mechanisms of action when pollutants enter the brain, the importance of taking both outdoor and indoor pollution into account, patient-driven research, the data which is needed to study the impact of the environment and climate on the brain, evidence-based interventions that will significantly improve outcomes of environmentally related mental illnesses, and the importance of international collaboration.

At the end of the exchange, Burcin shares a few great tips for a brain health routine.

neurocentury.com

Music for the NeuroCentury podcast is composed by Rafał Kulczycki