Amber Starlight’s life as a teen was dictated by her seizures, sometimes happening several times a day. Her doctor knew something had to be done to gain seizure control – but with so many treatment routes to go down, it could be a long and challenging road ahead.

Luckily for Amber, it was an unusual cause of her seizures that proved to be the key: brushing her teeth.

The latest technology in imaging, particularly in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), allows us to see the brain and its activity in an entirely new way. Researchers are finding new ways to push the boundaries of this technology every day.

Amber’s experience of triggering a seizure during an advanced MRI scan enabled her doctors to take decisive action. And because they were able to see the precise location of the brain that they needed to treat, they were able to perform necessary surgery in a far less invasive way.

In this episode, we speak to: patient Amber Starlight; neurologist Dr David Vaughan who is also a clinical researcher at The Florey and works on how MRIs can pinpoint sites for brain surgery; and physicist Associate Professor Heath Pardoe, head of neuroimaging at The Florey, who is interested in using neuroimaging to measure brain health.

Send us a message

Support the show

What would you like our neuroscientists to talk about? Email us at info@florey.edu.au

Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in the world affecting 50 million people. But the myriad of seizures types, seizure severity, clinical history, genetics and responses to medication can make it increasingly difficult to fully diagnose and treat.

Add to this the variability in healthcare systems and infrastructure, the ‘postcode lottery’ of services available – particularly in rural and regional areas – and it’s no wonder that seizure control can feel out of reach for many.

But does the digital era hold the key to improving outcomes for patients with epilepsy? What role can AI play in giving more people seizure control?

In this episode, we speak to Max Luca, aged 22, who has absence seizures – a type of epilepsy that causes brief lapses in consciousness. Even those closest to him struggled to figure out what it might be and if it was serious.

Professor Graeme Jackson, Clinical Director from The Florey, joins us having spent decades treating epilepsy patients and more recently leading the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) – a digital research project turned healthcare model designed to expedite diagnosis and treatment for epilepsy.

We are also joined by Professor Aileen McGonigal, Clinical Director of the Epilepsy Unit at Mater Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Aileen has spent years in specialist clinical environments globally, including in the UK and France, and has signed her current unit up to the AEP. Aileen is also Max Luca’s doctor.

Send us a message

Support the show

What would you like our neuroscientists to talk about? Email us at info@florey.edu.au

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a highly complex condition to diagnose, treat and live with.

Affecting 1 in 1000 people, and with symptoms usually presenting in people between the age of 20 and 40, the impact of MS can vary person to person. Any part of the central nervous system can be impacted - from vision, to sensory perception and sometimes cognition.

In this episode, we dive into the complexities of this disease with perspectives from leading MS clinician and researcher Professor Trevor Kilpatrick, Florey scientist Michele Binder, and Catherine, a doctor who has lived with MS for 20 years.

The Brain Matters Podcast is brought to you by The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and hosted by Dr Shane Huntington.

Send us a message

Support the show

What would you like our neuroscientists to talk about? Email us at info@florey.edu.au