Brain Capital

Winter 2024 | By Avery Ruxer Franklin 

Brain health is a critical aspect of human well-being that affects cognitive abilities, socioemotional stability and quality of life, says Harris Eyre, a fellow in brain health at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a physician and neuroscientist.

The statistics are attention grabbing. According to Eyre and co-authors in a paper titled “Call to Action: Putting Brain Health on the Global Agenda,” up to 1 billion people were living with a neurological condition and 970 million people were living with a mental health disorder in 2019. Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most common, and brain disorders, including chronic pain and multiple sclerosis, are widespread, disabling and difficult to treat.

“The growing prevalence of brain disorders is” also “taking a steep economic toll,” Eyre and his co-authors write in “The Global Brain Capital Dashboard.” “Mental health disorders alone are estimated to cost the global economy $5 trillion per year, and this is projected to rise to $16 trillion by 2030.” 

This economic burden has inspired Eyre to champion “brain capital.” Eyre’s research looks at the interconnected and interdependent systems that can benefit from stronger brain health. To Eyre, the idea of brain capital encompasses a nation’s cognitive and emotional resources, including brain skills. This includes “cognitive capability, emotional intelligence and the ability to collaborate, be innovative and solve complex problems, and brain health which includes mental health, well-being and neurological disorders that critically impact the ability to deploy brain skills effectively, build and maintain positive relationships, and display resilience against challenges and uncertainties,” according to findings published in “Building Systemic Resilience, Productivity and Well-Being: A Mental Wealth Perspective.”

“Although brain skills and brain health are commonly examined at an individual level, brain capital represents a broader, collective concept and national asset that is a fundamental contributor to economic and social productivity,” Eyre explains.

But “the main reason for improving brain health is not to address a perceived burden. It is to allow people to thrive — to live in health and in happiness, to power our labor markets and economies, and to build for future generations.” 

Eyre’s full strategy and road map of how to achieve a next-generation brain technology industry were unveiled at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit Sept. 18–19, 2023. The plan includes neuroscience-inspired technologies, physical and digital infrastructure helpful to physical and mental fitness, and prioritizing the needs of communities alongside financial interests of shareholders to ensure workforce preparedness.

At the summit, Eyre and colleagues urged the importance of recognizing brain health as a priority in making global action plans. “There is no health without brain health,” he wrote in a brief drafted after the United Nations event.

Read more about how to achieve a next-generation brain technology industry here.