Our society has a long philosophical and cultural history of separating the body and the mind. Recent advances in neuroscience have demonstrated that precisely the opposite is true. Cognitive and emotional well-being are greatly influenced by a complex interplay among the body’s neural, endocrine, metabolic, and immune systems. This has important personal and public health implications. In this lecture, Dr. Simmons will provide an overview of evidence for the links between physical and mental health, with particular attention paid to child and adolescent development. Key themes will include: (a) how physical activity improves brain health, thereby affecting cognition and emotional wellbeing; (b) how a healthy diet affects brain and body function, and (c) the critical importance of sleep in brain development.
Dr. W. Kyle Simmons completed his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at Emory University, and his postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. Currently, Dr. Simmons is a tenured Associate Professor at The University of Tulsa and Principal Investigator and Director of the Appetitive and Interoceptive Psychopathology Lab at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa.
