The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts hosted the 2025 Brain Health Festival from Oct. 17-19. The lobby was filled with interactive exhibits, information booths and even an exhibition of Anne Adam’s paintings, the subject of the evening’s theater presentation. Relating current findings in neuroscience and the arts, the Brain Health Festival brought attention to a rare form of dementia called Frontotemporal Dementia. It is an FTD that doesn’t bring flowers, only sorrow.
Incorporating a play, “UnRavelled,” written by Jake Broder, into the overall program of education about the brain and how the arts can be used to temper the inevitable, usually swift decline in cerebral function experienced in this particular form of dementia, Broder wrote his play using the singular case of Anne Adams. She was a talented biologist at the University of British Columbia who took a break from her career to nurse her son back from a devastating accident. As time went on, she was less and less compelled to return to the lab and began painting. Her husband, Robert, a mathematician at UBC, was less than enthusiastic. Anne was an unremarkable artist and they needed her income. Not to be deterred, she continued on her chosen path. Not long after her scientific retirement, she started experiencing word finding difficulties and subtle cognitive declines, something that coincided with a blossoming of her artistic creativity and prowess. Her dreams were inhabited by stories of the composer Maurice Ravel, with whom she began to feel a hallucinatory connection. It has been suggested that Ravel suffered from FTD and his music, especially “Bolero” was infused with the kinds of repetitions that Anne was showing in her increasingly accomplished paintings.
Although the exact nature of Ravel’s decline has never been established, he suffered from a cognitive impairment, some would say madness, that perplexed his doctors. An interesting, unprovable supposition, his appearance in Anne’s dreams suffuses her paintings with relatable repetitions and increasing depth. But this isn’t really about Anne or her art, interesting side lights. This is a story about empathy, care and relationships because, even though the illness, eventually diagnosed as FTD, was Anne’s, the burden was also Robert’s, one he bore with patience, love and empathy. The role of the caretaker is fundamental to the interactive exhibits presented by the Brain Health Festival.
The needs of those with dementia are similar, whether it be Alzheimer’s, Lewy body dementia, dementia brought on by Parkinson’s or FTD. There are no cures, although medical science, including some of the panelists at the festival, promise that there is help on the horizon. But the greatest message brought forward was one of hope, help and care. As explained in their FTD Pocket Guide, “Quality Time is Quality Care” and “Perception is Reality” whether that of the normal brain or that of the diseased brain. Do not expect a person with dementia to be what they were; accept them for how they are now. It matters little which area of the brain is affected or the kind of dementia. What does matter is that the caregiver finds the right resources for help and understanding. Although Robert, in the play and in real life, scoffed at a support group, he eventually found a path to understanding his role, strengths and limitations in assisting his wife and himself. Robert Adams was in the audience on Friday night; a panel, including their son Alex, the playwright and renowned neuroscientists from UCLA and UCSF, spoke following the play.
Besides the play and the interactive exhibits, the Brain Health Festival sponsored workshops on storytelling, music, movement and visual art. Acclaimed UCSF neurologist Bruce Miller, founding director of the Global Brain Health Institute, one of the post play panelists and a leading expert on FTD, presented the case of Anne Adams at a specially convened Grand Rounds at Cedars-Sinai.
An important resource for information about dementia, how to find a caregiver and things you can do to understand and lessen the burden can be found on the website fortheirthoughts.org. The goal of the For Their Thoughts Foundation is to help families find a community, and, to quote from their website: “equip caregivers, cultivate empathy and lift the stigma.” The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (aFTD) lists state by state resources, including a help line: www.theaftd.org. And, although Alzheimer’s and FTD are different types of neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, alzheimersla.org, is a good source to know about.
Do not hesitate to contact your doctor for advice and help. It’s out there. You are not alone. Knowledge is power.
