The Brain and Stroke

Class | Registration opens 7/20/26 10:00 AM

Zoom: 5 weeks
Sep 17-Oct 15, 2026
2:15 PM-3:45 PM on Th
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$60.00

The Brain and Stroke

Class | Registration opens 7/20/26 10:00 AM

The course will focus on stroke and functions of the brain. Stroke is one of the most feared conditions for most individuals in their later years.  What is more frightening and devastating than to suddenly become unable to speak, understand speech, move an arm or leg, stand, walk, balance, hear, see, read, feel, write, or remember? Readily accessible information about stroke is lacking and difficult for many individuals to understand.  Discussing the basics regarding stroke involves, among other information, describing the brain and how it functions and symptoms related to loss of function. This information relates to other brain conditions which are also open for discussion.

The course will begin by defining stroke and the major types of stroke. We will then discuss how the brain gets blood and what types of conditions cause abnormalities in those feeding blood vessels and continue with discussions of the brain and how it functions. This discussion leads into symptoms patients develop as a result of decrease in brain functions. The last sessions will discuss risk factors and their management and stroke diagnosis and treatment.

 

The format will be lecture with power point slides, with questions and discussion encouraged.  No prep time is required, but material in the suggested books can be read to amplify the presentations.



  • Books and Other Resources:

     

    These materials are recommended but not required.  Many of the books are available in the Minuteman Library System.  All were written for the general public, not medical experts.

     

    Caplan, L.R., Dyken, M.L., Easton, J.D. (eds): The American Heart Association Family Guide to Stroke: Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention. New York: Times Books, Random House, 1993.

     

    Caplan, L.R. Stroke.  St. Paul, MN: AAN Press (New York, NY:  Demos Medical Publishing), 2005.

     

    Caplan LR. Navigating the Complexities of Stroke. New York, Oxford University Press, 2013.

     


Louis Caplan

Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital (1969-1970). Since then I have been in academic medicine in leadership positions at the U of Chicago, Tufts, and Harvard. I now am Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School where I still practice Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medica Center and teach. During my medical career I have had considerable experience with lay audiences in small and large groups. I am the author or editor of 52 books, mostly on aspects of stroke and other brain conditions, over 750 articles and chapters in medical journals and books. I live in Brookline with my wife Brenda.