46 / NeuroDevNet Annual Report 2012 / 2013 / Events
EVENTS: WICKFEST
Wickfest photos by Dave Holland, Doug Swanson, and Anthony Santelices
NeuroDevNet sheds light on the teen brain at Wickfest A large and popular youth hockey tournament might seem like an unusual setting for brain development outreach, but NeuroDevNet’s debut at Wickfest in November 2012 was a slapshot. Invited by Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser, network staff and trainees shared information about the developing brain with hundreds of girls aged 9-16 and their parents—mainly through play. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common association between the brain and hockey, but NeuroDevNet participated in Ms. Wickenheiser’s annual tournament with the intention of showing that brain development is important to everyone. NeuroDevNet-funded researchers who have developed computer-based games and devices for therapeutic purposes stepped up to showcase how increased focus, improved proprioception—knowing where you are in space—and eye-hand coordination can improve your game even if you’re a top youth athlete.
Researcher Chris Bertram (r) from the University of the Fraser Valley, with Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser. Bertram turned the assumption that video games are bad for your brain on its head with Wickfest presentation on re-wiring the brain with video games.