Donate your brains, scientists appeal to people

New Delhi: More people should donate their brains after they die for research purpose, say scientists.

They say they are lacking the brains of people with disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder for their study due to lack of knowledge among people, who do not attach much importance to these problems.

The researchers aim to develop new treatments for mental and neurological disorders, the BBC reported.

In recent years, researchers have made links between the shape of the brain and mental and neurological disorders.

More than 3,000 brains are stored at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Centre at McLean Hospital just outside Boston. It is one of the largest brain banks in the world.

Most of their specimens are from people with mental or neurological disorders.

Samples are requested by scientists to find new treatments for Parkinson`s, Alzheimer`s and a whole host of psychiatric disorders.

Scientists at McLean Hospital and at brain banks across the world do not have enough specimens for the research community.

(With IANS inputs)