Thinking of donating your brain to science? This is what they might do with it

Researchers say taking a peek inside a person's brain is as difficult as understanding the universe or discovering the ocean in its entirety.

Researchers say taking a peek inside a person's brain is as difficult as understanding the universe or discovering the ocean in its entirety.

Nevertheless, they march on, all in the name of science.

"The brain is a fascinating organ," says Dr. Viviane Poupon, president and CEO of Brain Canada. "I don't think we [do enough to explain] to the public the complexity of how it functions. It has many connections between the neurons and the different cells that we have."

Brain Canada is a nonprofit organization created in 1998, then called the NeuroScience Canada Partnership and Foundation.

"Our focus is in supporting research on the brain, understanding better how the brain functions in health and in disease, and really support the entire Canadian ecosystem," said Poupon. "It's really, really important that we make breakthrough discoveries about our brain. So, this is really our key mission."

She says the goal is simple: allow Canadians to live life with as healthy a brain as possible for as long as possible.

"You also like to try to look at commonalities because it can be the same mechanism that leads to different neurodegenerative diseases," she said. "You need to understand these drivers because they can have implications in one disease or another."