Brain Awareness Week 2025 is approaching

Brain Awareness Week 2025 (Settimana del cervello 2025) will be held from 3 to 13 March, and this year's theme will be decision-making. L'ideatorio of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) is one of the event's promoters.

The week's programme includes two public evenings and a scientific symposium. The first evening will be held on Monday, 3 March at 8:30 pm, with the screening of the film "Giurato numero 2" at the LUX Art House in Massagno. Claudio Städler, neurologist and president of Brain Awareness Week, will speak. Free reservations can be made at the following link.

The second event, which will be held on Tuesday, 11 March at 8:30 pm at Studio Foce in Lugano, includes the conference "Who decides, me or my brain?". During the evening, thanks to the help of experts and interactive moments, the audience will reflect on the often invisible mechanisms that come into play during our decision-making. Daniela Ovadia, a science journalist, and Giuseppe Sartori, a psychologist, will speak. Neurobiologist Giovanni Pellegri will moderate the dialogue. Free reservations can be made at the following link.

The scientific symposium "Decision-making: between neuroscience, clinical activity and society" will be held (in Italian) on Thursday, 13 March, from 4 pm to 7 pm, at the Aula Magna of Ospedale Regionale di Lugano. The topic of decision-making will be analysed from a clinical perspective, from a psychodynamic point of view and from a more general angle. What are the neuroscientific mechanisms underlying decision-making processes? What are the clinical implications in paediatrics and patients with neurodegenerative diseases? What are the challenges in the economic and political spheres? Do we truly determine our own destiny, or are we completely malleable? We will try and answer all these questions, and then discuss the ethical implications of decision-making, particularly in the legal context. The symposium is aimed at all healthcare professionals, lawyers, and all those who have to ask themselves these questions in their professional field. Speakers will include lawyer Bruno Balestra, jurist and former Attorney General of the Canton of Ticino; Dr Barbara Goeggel-Simonetti, Neuropaediatrician IPSI, ORBV Bellinzona; Dr Romanos Ioannis, MD, Head of Department, OSC Chiasso and Mendrisio; Dr Alain Kaelin, Medical and Scientific Director, INSI EOC, Lugano; Rosalba Morese, PhD, Research Doctor in Neuroscience, USI; Dr Alberto Pagnamenta, Deputy Chief Physician, Intensive Care Medicine, EOC Lugano; Dr Pietro Pietrini, Director, Molecular Laboratory (MoMiLab), IMT School of Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca; Dr Leonardo Sacco, INSI Neurology Clinic EOC Lugano and Mendrisio and Dr Claudio Städler, INSI Neurology Clinic EOC Lugano and Mendrisio, President of Brain Awareness Week in Southern Switzerland. The complete programme of the event and the link for registration (compulsory) are available at the following link.

Brain Awareness Week in Southern Switzerland is organised by a scientific committee composed of representatives from the Institute of Clinical Neurosciences of Southern Switzerland (EOC), the Cantonal Socio-Psychiatric Organisation and L'ideatorio USI.

Brain Awareness Week is sponsored by the City of Lugano and supported by BancaStato.

The complete programme of the event is available at the following link.