Exploring memory and the aging brain

The relationship between the aging brain and various cultural influences will the focus of a Jan. 14 public lecture at McMaster.

Neuroculture, Memory and the Aging Brain: Sociological Reflections on Cognitive Health will be hosted by McMaster researcher Dr. Parminder Raina, holder of the Raymond and Margaret Labarge Chair in Research and Knowledge Application for Optimal Aging.

Stephen Katz, a professor of sociology from Trent University, has been booked as the keynote speaker.

Katz is is well known for his research involving aging and cognitive health. He has worked in the field for more than 25 years, and his current research is focused on the cultural aspects of memory, which will also be the subject of an upcoming book.

In 2009, he received the prestigious Trent University Distinguished Research Award for his work in critical aging studies.

He is also the author of numerous publications, including two other books on aging: Disciplining Old Age, which explores how political and social sciences have differentiated the elderly as a special kind of population characterized in negative terms; and Cultural Aging: Life Course, Life Style and Senior Worlds, which looks at how changes in demographics, longevity and life course patterns have transformed the social roles and experiences of elderly people.

Members of the general public are welcome to attend, including those with an interest in the study of aging or cognitive health, as well as those who want to know more about how our brains age and what we can do to maintain good cognitive health.

The event was organized by the McMaster Health Forum with the support of the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative, and will take place Jan. 14 in the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery (Room 3020) from 5:30 to 7 p.m.