Good brain health plays a significant role in an individual's well-being and profoundly impacts the collective economy and society. Brain development does not stop at birth, and some aspects continue throughout childhood and adolescence, allowing the full development of cognitive functions. Different determinants related to physical health, healthy environments, safety and security, life-long learning and social connection as well as access to quality services influence the way our brains develop, adapt and respond to stress and adversity. Ongoing progress in neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience allows the design of better prevention and intervention strategies to help avoid brain deficits and/or limit their impact and maintain brain health. The European Brain Council (EBC) convened an expert meeting during the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2024 to address youth brain health challenges. In recent years, the importance of brain health has garnered significant attention across scientific, medical and policy-making communities. Although much focus has traditionally been on neurodegenerative conditions affecting the elderly, a paradigm shift towards prioritizing brain health in youth is both timely and necessary. This shift can profoundly impact individual lives and society, necessitating an interdisciplinary approach that brings neuroscience to the forefront of public health and informs evidence-based policy. The topic is of utmost importance as EBC launched this year a new campaign on No Health Without Brain Health rallying support with its member organizations and the wider brain community for the increased prioritization of brain health on EU health and research agendas.

Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health Istituto Superiore di Sanità Rome Italy

Child and Adolescent Department Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón CIBERSAM IiSGM School of Medicine Universidad Complutense Madrid Spain

Department of Health Economics Center for Public Health Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden

Department of Psychiatry University of Oxford Oxford UK

Eotvos Lorand University Budapest Hungary and Oslo New University College Oslo Norway

European Brain Council Brussels Belgium

European Federation of Associations of Families of People With Mental Illness Leuven Belgium

Federal Public Service Public Health Brussels Belgium

Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Brussels Belgium

Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen Netherlands

Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden

National Institute of Mental Health Prague Czech Republic

OBC Ter Wende Leuven and OBC Espero Haren Belgium

Sector for Health Reforms DG REFORM Labour Market Education Health and Social Services European Commission Brussels Belgium

The European Paediatric Neurology Society Children's Hospital Datteln Witten Herdecke University Witten Germany

The Swedish Schizophrenia Association Stockholm Sweden

University of Oxford Oxford UK

University of Warwick Coventry UK

WHO Athens Office for Quality of Care and Patient Safety Athens Greece

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