Housed within a bony skull, the human brain remains, in large part, a mystery to all of us in the medical community.

Structurally complex with a challenging anatomy, the brain is believed to comprise more than 3,000 different types of cells, whereas most tissues have no more than a dozen. It is dynamic, reacting to the environment and changing over time. It is also difficult to access, and rarely biopsied.

And yet the brain is the essence of who and what we are. The brain allows us to think, communicate, interact with others, perceive, move and experience the world.

To flourish, our societies and economies depend in large part on our brains’ ability to function optimally. Given our aging populations and declining birth rates, we are facing a perfect storm — fewer children and more elderly citizens — underscoring the vital need to optimize brain health for every citizen.

The June 2026 meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Evian, France is an opportunity to make brain health a top priority.

There are many factors influencing brain health over a human lifetime. For instance, some children are born with neurodevelopmental abnormalities such as intellectual........

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