European Brain Awareness Week - towards a "brain positive economy"

This week is Brain Awareness Week (10 – 16 march) with many public events and seminars taking place in many countries, aiming to increase public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research and mental health.

The human brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons, which communicate through trillions of synapses, making it by far the most intricate network system known to date. It is remarkably efficient, consuming only about 20% of the body's energy, yet due to its complexity there are still many unknowns – but what we know is that diet, lifestyle and the environment have a significant impact on our brains.

However many scientists and authors such as Dukelow, Lawrence (2023) in the Five Lives Brain Health Ireland Survey (FLBHIS) shows there is a general lack of awareness in all the population regarding lifestyle factors that prevent and influence brain health and the risk of illnesses such as dementia.

A key issue is that we still have a reactive healthcare system in many countries in Europe, including Italy, where primary and secondary preventative medicine is still in its infancy. On the other hand, countries like

Denmark, Switzerland or the UK have better incorporated preventative medicine in their healthcare systems for various illnesses, but with a strong focus on mental health aspects.

According to the WHO, in Europe we have only 1 neurologist per 100,000 individuals and the annual cost of non-communicable diseases is higher for neurological ones than for diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular. Between 1990 – 2021 the DALY (disability-adjusted life years, an economic measure for the burden of disease) for neurological disorders went up by 18.2% and experts forecast it could increase by 50% by 2040.

As triggering factors such as loneliness, an aging population, economic and political turmoil, environmental crises etc. are on the rise, the European Parliament has underlined the importance of a “brain positive economy”, recognising the importance of good mental health of population for wellbeing, economic stability and growth and called for better Brain Health initiatives. On the other hand, WHO has developed the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders (IGAP) 2022-31, framework that looks to raise policy prioritisation and strengthen governance, increase brain research and innovation and develop awareness, prevention measures, better diagnosis, treatment and care in signatory countries.

Some EU institutions and programs that deal with brain research and the brain economy are:

- The European Brain Council (EBC) that advocates for brain research and policies across countries

- The Brain Capital Alliance (BCA) advancing brain health and cognitive capabilities as critical assets for economic resilience

- The Brain Economy Hub (BEH) collaborates with the BCA for the transformation towards a brain positive society

- The Human Brain Project (HBP) a large scale EU scientific project, looking to advance the understanding of the human brain and integrate neuroscience, medicine and computing

- The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) is advancing neuroscience research and education at EU level

- Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) is a global research initiative for tackling neurodegenerative diseases

- European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) for neurological education and research and the development of clinical guidelines.

Brain health and overall Mental health are crucial aspects of overall well-being of a society and an economy, so it is ultimately important for everyone in the industry to promote awareness, education and research in order to reduce stigma historically associated even with milder disorders such as depression and anxiety and to ensure the wellbeing of our societies and economies.