Tupperware containers in hand, two Mexican McGill students implored hundreds of strangers in Leacock 132 to spare some change to support relief efforts in the wake of the Sept. 19 earthquake in Mexico City. Living away from home is not easy, let alone watching tragedy strike from afar. Challenging routine[Read More…]
Tag: neuroscience
From skin cells to brain cells: McGill researchers generate a cell critical to Alzheimer’s research
Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (MNI) of McGill University have recently discovered a method for transforming patients’ skin cells into a type of brain cell critical for understanding and treating neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. According to the McGill Newsroom, the artificial cells are “virtually indistinguishable from[Read More…]
MNI researchers link lack of pleasure from music with decreased connectivity in the brain
Researchers link lack of pleasure from music to dampened connectivity in the brain.
MNI researchers create data model to isolate causes of Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease, first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906, is a progressive brain disorder that causes debilitating cognitive impairments. Today, it is the most common cause of dementia, responsible for 60 to 70 per cent of 47.5 million cases worldwide. Due to its high prevalence, Alzheimer’s disease poses a significant[Read More…]
Using chaos to examine the neurophysiology of aesthetics: Defining human appreciation for art and music
“What do we think is beautiful? How do our brains interpret what we perceive?” Physiology Professor Dr. Leon Glass asked the audience. His presentation, as part of the Cutting Edge Lectures in Science hosted by the Redpath Museum, discussed how chaos and fractals can be used to define human appreciation[Read More…]
McGill wins $84 million grant for neuroscience program
McGill University reaffirmed itself as one of the top neuroscience research centres in the world when it won an $84 million federal grant to fund the innovative Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives (HBFHL) program for the next seven years. Canada First Excellence Research Fund (CFERF) provided the grant as part[Read More…]
Summer research briefs: Brain power
Molding memories Some people find it hard to remember what they had for lunch yesterday, while others can remember every detail of the house they grew up in. Understanding how memories are retained and recalled has always intrigued researchers, especially when seeking therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Researchers speculate[Read More…]
Where’s your head at?
From the days of Karl Lashley—who believed each memory leaves a physical trace on the brain—to Dr. Wilder Penfield—whose electrical stimulation studies identified functions pertaining to specific areas of the brain—these scientists are a testament to the value of physically studying the brain in order to understand it. Last Wednesday,[Read More…]
Research Briefs—Nov. 11, 2014
Neuroscience of choking under pressure The experience of choking under pressure—in an exam, at the free-throw line, or in a presentation—is a familiar one. This week a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience attempted to explain what goes on in the brain when the stakes are raised. While monitoring their[Read More…]
Memories unravelled
In 1953, Henry Molaison underwent an experimental surgery known as bilateral temporal lobectomy to treat the severe epilepsy he had been experiencing. His surgeon removed his medial temporal lobe, including a structure known as the hippocampus—a part of the brain involved in the storage of long-term memory—in hopes of curing[Read More…]
