John J. Ratey, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, will be the guest speaker April 4 at noon, for the 2008 Denham Harman, M.D., Ph.D., Lectureship in Biomedical Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The event, which will be held in the Durham Research Center auditorium, is open to the public. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP at 559-7268.
The talk, which is sponsored by the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences, is titled, “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. The lecture is named after Dr. Ratey’s new book released in January. The lecture will focus on exercise as a key to solving some of the most prominent health problems.
“Exercise is the single most powerful tool we have to optimize brain function,” Dr. Ratey said. “This potent idea has been proven not only through the latest studies in neuroscience but also on the playgrounds of some of America’s schools. The evidence is astounding — exercise not only makes us smarter; it also makes us less stressed, depressed, and anxious.”
Dr. Ratey lauds the benefits of exercise in improving cognitive function, reducing stress, weight, depression and memory loss associated with age. He recommends committing six hours a week to boost brain health.
“The best regime is some form of aerobic activity six days a week, for 45 minutes to an hour,” he said. “Four days should be on the longer side, at moderate intensity, and two on the shorter side, at high intensity.”
The annual lectureship was established by the University of Nebraska Foundation to honor the scientific achievements of Dr. Harman, 92, UNMC emeritus professor of internal medicine who is known internationally as the father of the free radical theory of aging. He is credited with discovering the role of antioxidants (vitamins C, E and beta-carotene) in fighting heart disease and cancer.
Pierre Fayad, M.D., chairman of the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences, said UNMC is honored to have Dr. Ratey be the Harman lecturer.
“We are honored to host Dr Ratey’s visit which brings to focus new horizons in brain function,” Dr. Fayad said. “His insight and ideas bring us back to the fundamental aspects of brain function: first that the brain is a living and adaptable organ, two, that strengthening and preserving brain function does not necessarily always require the use of medications. In more simple terms, it reminds us of the old adage: “Use it or Lose it.’ ”
As a clinical researcher he has published more than 60 papers in peer-review journals in the fields of psychiatry and psychopharmacology. In 1986 he founded the Boston Center for the Study of Autism, and in 1988 he founded a new study group of the American Psychiatric Association focused on the study of aggression, which grew out of his research and development of novel drug treatments for aggressive behavior. During this time Dr. Ratey lectured internationally on aggression and disturbances in the brain that affect social functioning.
Dr. Ratey also has a private practice in Cambridge, Mass. For more than a decade he taught residents and Harvard medical students as the assistant director of resident training at Massachusetts Mental Health Center. He continues to teach psychiatrists as a regular instructor in Harvard’s Continuing Medical Education program.
He and Edward Hallowell, M.D., began studying attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the 1980s and co-authored Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through Adulthood (1994), the first in a series of books that demystify the disorder. Dr. Ratey also co-authored Shadow Syndromes (1997) with Catherine Johnson, Ph.D., in which he describes the phenomenon of milder forms of clinical disorders.
He also authored the best selling book, A User’s Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention and the Four Theaters of the Brain (2000) which translates how neuroscience affects emotions, behavior and overall psychology.
Since 1998 Dr. Ratey has been selected each year as one of the best doctors in America by his peers. Most recently, Dr. Ratey was the recipient of the 2006 Excellence in Advocacy award from the non-profit group PE4Life, for his work to promote the adoption of regular, aerobic-based physical education.
In 1976 he earned a doctor of medicine from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh. From 1976 to 1977, he did an internship in neurology at St. Francis General Hospital in Pittsburgh. In 1980, he completed a psychiatric residency at Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston, and from 1978 to 1980, he completed a Falk Fellowship with the American Psychiatric Association.
For more information about Dr. Ratey and his book, go to http://www.johnratey.com/site/default.aspx.