29 Jun 2022

Quake brain does fade

From Afternoons, 1:15 pm on 29 June 2022

First today, some positive news out of the University of Otago about our brain's ability to overcome a phenomenon known as "quake brain" over time.

Now our Cantabrian listeners will know what quake brain is far too well, that fogginess or memory impairment caused by stress associated with the earthquakes.

Two to three years after the quakes, researchers put a group of otherwise healthy Cantabrians who had been exposed to quake trauma through a myriad of brain functioning tests.

Many were still experiencing issues cognitive functioning, emotion processing etc, but amazingly this same group  8 years post-quake, seem to have overcome those issues.

Lead researcher Dr Katie Douglas talks to Jesse.

People walk through debris in the aftermath of the 22 February earthquake in Christchurch.

People walk through debris in the aftermath of the 22 February earthquake in Christchurch. Photo: AFP