29th Annual Conference of the Society for Neuropsychology at the University of

Neuropsychological therapies aimed at regaining cognitive abilities in brain diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's and dementia are the focus of the 29th annual conference of the Society for Neuropsychology. It will take place from 18 to 20 September at the University of Oldenburg.

Conference presidents are the psychologists Prof. Dr Helmut Hildebrandt (Centre for Neurology, Bremen East Clinic) and Prof. Dr Stefan Debener (University of Oldenburg). They are expecting around 400 participants from German-speaking countries.

The development and research of neuropsychological therapies has become increasingly important in recent decades. The demands of everyday academic appointments are increasingly cognitive in nature and affect concentration, memory and the ability to react neurally. At the same time, longer life expectancy is increasing the number of stroke victims and dementia cases. "In the foreseeable future, there will be no comprehensive causal therapy for these patients to restore their cognitive abilities," explains conference president Hildebrandt. For this reason, functional training treatments must be provided that promise the greatest possible therapeutic success. Patients also need help in coping psychologically with the consequences of their illness. The aim of the conference is therefore to link current neuroscientific methods with practical developments in neuropsychological therapies.

To kick off the conference on Thursday, 18 September, 6.30 to 8.15 pm, the internationally renowned neuropsychologists Prof. Dr Walter Sturm and Prof. Dr Friedemann Pulvermüller will give overview presentations on the treatment of attention and speech disorders in the Hörsaal-Zentrum (Haarentor campus, building A14). On Friday, 19 September, lectures and symposia will focus on the mechanisms of disease processing, pharmacological interventions and short-term memory disorders. At the same time, there will be training courses for prospective neuropsychologists. They can practise reading and interpreting clinical brain images or find out about therapy options using "neurofeedback". At the end of the conference on Saturday, 20 September, current research on motor paralysis, Parkinson's disease and dementia will be presented.