Vancouver neurologist Jon Stoessl was doing his undergraduate degree in physiology and psychology when he pulled a book off the library shelf during a late-night study session and found the content so engrossing that it triggered a lifelong passion and influenced his entire career.

Although that was a couple of decades ago, the codirector of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health is just as fascinated—and mystified—by the human brain as ever before.

“I vividly remember…reading about Wilder Penfield [a neuroscience pioneer], and in order to do epilepsy surgery he would stimulate over certain areas of the brain, and when he did that, people would come back with these vivid memories of what had happened in their childhoods,” Stoessl, the head of neurology at UBC and Vancouver General Hospital, says by phone. “I remember sitting there reading that and feeling absolutely spellbound. Although I considered other areas [of medicine] along the way, it was always neurology that drew me.

“The more I read, the more I loved it,” he adds. “I was hooked. Who can fail to be fascinated by the brain?”

That’s a hard point to argue, and anyone remotely interested in the brain’s workings and wonders will have the chance to learn all about the organ at an upcoming Brain Health Fair, a first for Vancouver.

Presented by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), it takes place at the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 15, which Mayor Gregor Robertson has proclaimed as Brain Health Awareness Day.

The event will feature some of the 12,000 neurologists who will be in town for the AAN’s annual meeting, which is the largest gathering of brain-health experts in the world. The fair offers the chance to learn about diseases and conditions of the brain, including concussions, migraines, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. It will also provide information on how to keep the brain healthy.

Stoessl, UBC’s Canada Research Chair in Parkinson’s disease, will be among those at the Ask a Neurologist booths, where members of the public can pick doctors’ brains. People will also be able to hold a human brain and walk through a giant inflatable brain. There will also be activities for kids, like brain-related arts and crafts and physical activities.

Stoessl specializes in movement disorders, Parkinson’s, and related conditions. Much of his research involves functional imaging to look at biomarkers of Parkinson’s to understand the disease’s progression and complications. He’s also looking at disease interventions.

“We’re currently looking at the effect of exercise on Parkinson’s disease and the mechanisms by which it may contribute to short-term improvement,” Stoessl says. “There’s also the suggestion that exercise may help slow disease progression, so we’re trying to understand that.”

More research is pointing to the “profound” benefits of regular physical activity for a range of neurological disorders, he says. Other ways to boost brain health include getting enough sleep—“It has a much bigger impact than most people realize,” Stoessl says—social interaction, mental exercises, and even diet.

Other studies are looking into conditions that haven’t traditionally been considered neurological at all.

“One of the really fascinating areas that is only just starting to get the attention it deserves is the view that psychiatric and neurological diseases often have a common basis,” Stoessl says. “As we move forward, we understand that many of these things have more in common than differences.”

Stoessl says the fair will appeal to people of all ages, whether they’re patients, family members, caregivers, kids, students, or simply the curious-minded. Animal brains will be on display, and people will be able to explore some of Science World’s Body Works exhibits and Blow Your Mind demonstrations. Free bike helmets will even be given out.

Although neurology was known in the past as a “hopeless” area of medicine, Stoessl says it’s never been a more exciting time for brain health.

“People should not look at this [diseases of the brain] as a quagmire of hopelessness, but people should be energized by all the work that’s being done and new treatments that are emerging,” he says. “People should feel excitement not only about [advances in treating] diseases of the brain but also the unbelievable, wonderful organ it is in terms of its normal function.”

The American Academy of Neurology’s 2016 Brain Health Fair takes place at the Vancouver Convention Centre on April 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free; sign up at the Brain Health Fair website.