Our Brains: Movement, Stroke, and Stem Cells
This course provides an introduction to normal brain function and how that function can be altered in neurological diseases. The following topics will be presented:
- Movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease, are conditions that alter our ability to walk safely, speak, swallow, and perform daily activities.
- Strokes are vascular events that may deprive us of the ability to move, feel, speak, and/ or perceive the world. There have been significant advances in therapy for stroke.
- Stem cell therapies are in their infancy, yet have the potential to improve many neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injury and Alzheimer’s disease. There are no prerequisites for this course.
Faculty Bio
Peter Ralston received his M.D. from UCSF, with additional training in New York and London. He held faculty positions at Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin and served as chair of UCSF’s Department of Anatomy, where he was a professor. During his 35-year career at UCSF, he directed the medical school’s course in neuroscience and ran an NIH-supported research lab.
This is an In-Person Livestreamed + Recorded Course
- Classes will meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 202/204, at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
- Classes will also stream live simultaneously, and be recorded
- You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.
Schedule Highlights
- Course starts on Wednesday, June 5, and ends on Wednesday, June 26
- Classes meet for 3 weeks, 2 hours per session (1–3 PM)
- There is no class on Wednesday, June 19
- Videos will post on Fridays in Member Dashboards
- All course materials, including videos, will remain available to view and enjoy through Aug. 31
Member Praise for Peter Ralston
Dr. Ralston was engaging, knowledgeable and was able to teach an extremely complex subject in a manner that was understandable ... Great course.
Lecture notes were very well organized and followed the lecture. They were particularly useful due to the color showing each areas of the brain, or illustration a particular action of the nervous system.