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	<title>Canadian Association for Neuroscience</title>
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		<title>Unleashing the watchdog protein</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/unleashing-the-watchdog-protein</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/unleashing-the-watchdog-protein#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 01:16:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3194</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Research opens door to new drug therapies for Parkinson’s disease McGill University researchers have unlocked a new door to developing drugs to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Collaborating teams led by Dr. Edward A. Fon at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, and&#160; Dr. Kalle Gehring &#160;in the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, have discovered the three-dimensional structure of the protein Parkin. Mutations in Parkin cause a rare hereditary form of Parkinson’s disease and are likely to also be involved in more commonly occurring forms of Parkinson’s disease. The Parkin protein protects neurons from cell death due to an accumulation of defective mitochondria. Mitochondria are the batteries in cells, providing the power for cell functions. This new knowledge of Parkin’s structure has allowed the scientists to design mutations in Parkin that make it better at recognizing damaged mitochondria and therefore possibly provide better protection for nerve cells. The research will be published online May 9 in the leading journal Science. VIDEO: Parkin protein https://www.dropbox.com/s/er0avqkwou8lakk/ParkinStructureEnglish.mov “The majority of Parkinson&#8217;s patients suffer from a sporadic form of the disease that occurs from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors which are still not fully understood, [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Snout and brains</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/snout-and-brains</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/snout-and-brains#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 16:43:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3203</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Nature paper: Discovery of a region of the brain that allows the mouse to coordinate breathing and whisking Mice explore their environment by sniffing and whisking more than 700 times per minute. These motor commands must be perfectly synchronized in the brain. Anyone who has ever seen a mouse or hamster soon realized that these little creatures explore the world and interact with their peers through their snout and their whiskers. What is less obvious is how to harmonize these frantic sniffles and beating whiskers. How do they manage not to interfere with normal breathing or chewing of the animals? The answer lies in a well-defined region of the brain that acts as central breathing clock. This area also coordinates the commands sent to the muscles involved in orofacial behaviors (movements of the face and ears). This is what an international team of researchers, which are associated with Martin Deschênes and Maxime Demers of the Faculty of Medicine from Université Laval, propose in the April 28 edition of the journal Nature. &#8220;Rodents explore their environment by sniffing and shaking their whiskers, hairs that are actually tactile organs, says Dr. Deschênes. The frequency of sniffles and whisker beats may exceed 700 [...]]]></description>
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		<title>New brain research shows two parents may be better than one</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/new-brain-research-shows-two-parents-may-be-better-than-one</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/new-brain-research-shows-two-parents-may-be-better-than-one#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 19:29:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3174</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Adult human brain cell production may be triggered in childhood A team of researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) have discovered that adult brain cell production might be determined, in part, by the early parental environment. The study suggests that dual parenting may be more beneficial than single parenting. Scientists studied mouse pups that were raised by either dual or single parents and found that adult cell production in the brain might be triggered by early life experiences. The scientists also found that the increased adult brain cell production varied based on gender. Specifically, female pups raised by two parents had enhanced white matter production as adults, increasing motor coordination and sociability. Male pups raised by dual parents displayed more grey matter production as an adult, which improves learning and memory. “Our new work adds to a growing body of knowledge, which indicates that early, supportive experiences have long lasting, positive impact on adult brain function,” says Samuel Weiss, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the HBI. Surprisingly, the advantages of dual parenting were also passed along when these two groups reproduced, even if their offspring were raised by one female. The advantages [...]]]></description>
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		<title>New Population Neuroscience reference book published</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/new-population-neuroscience-reference-book-published</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/new-population-neuroscience-reference-book-published#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2013 17:18:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dr. Tomáš Paus, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Senior Scientist at The Rotman Research Institute has published a new reference book entitled &#8220;Population Neuroscience&#8221;, a topic he presented in the Presidential lecture at the 2012 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Vancouver. Description from Springer, the book&#8217;s publisher: First book-length treatment of population neuroscience Breaks new ground in its effort to interlink genetics, epidemiology and cognitive neuroscience Provides the practitioners of these three fields with the tools and knowledge base to collaborate on large-scale imaging studies of the developing, mature and aging brain Follow this link for more details about the book: http://www.springer.com/biomed/neuroscience/book/978-3-642-36449-5]]></description>
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		<title>Why we buy music</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/why-we-buy-music</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/why-we-buy-music#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:41:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3156</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[New study shows what happens in the brain to make music rewarding A new study reveals what happens in our brain when we decide to purchase a piece of music when we hear it for the first time. The study, conducted at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, McGill University and published in the journal Science on April 12, pinpoints the specific brain activity that makes new music rewarding and predicts the decision to purchase music. Participants in the study listened to 60 previously unheard music excerpts while undergoing functional resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, providing bids of how much they were willing to spend for each item in an auction paradigm. “When people listen to a piece of music they have never heard before, activity in one brain region can reliably and consistently predict whether they will like or buy it, this is the nucleus accumbens which is involved in forming expectations that may be rewarding,” says lead investigator Dr. Valorie Salimpoor, who conducted the research in Dr. Robert Zatorre’s lab at The Neuro and is now at Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research Institute. “What makes music so emotionally powerful is the creation of expectations.&#160; Activity in [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Getting a grip on hand function</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/getting-a-grip-on-hand-function</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/getting-a-grip-on-hand-function#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:22:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Discovering key spinal cord circuits &#8211; Professor and neurosurgeon Dr. Rob Brownstone and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Tuan Bui have identified the spinal cord circuit that controls the hands’ ability to grasp. The world’s leading neuroscience journal, Neuron, published the breakthrough finding in its latest issue. The researchers have found that a certain population of neurons in the spinal cord — called the dI3 interneurons — assess information from sensory neurons in the hands and then send the appropriate signals to motor neurons in the spinal cord, and hence to the muscles, to control the hands’ grip. Importance of hand-grip control “This circuit allows us to subtly and unconsciously adjust our grasp so we apply the right amount of force to whatever we’re holding,” says Dr. Brownstone, a professor in the Department of Medical Neurosciences and the Division of Neurosurgery. “This mechanism is disrupted in spinal cord injuries, which can completely eliminate the ability to grasp, and in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, which can lead to an uncontrollable reflexive grasp such that people grab and can’t let go of what they touch.” Impaired hand function has a devastating effect on people’s independence and ability to function in daily life. As [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Shedding light on a gene mutation that causes signs of premature aging</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/shedding-light-on-a-gene-mutation-that-causes-signs-of-premature-aging</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/shedding-light-on-a-gene-mutation-that-causes-signs-of-premature-aging#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:12:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3144</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Research from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute sheds new light on a gene called ATRX and its function in the brain and pituitary.&#160; Children born with ATRX syndrome have cognitive defects and developmental abnormalities.&#160; ATRX mutations have also been linked to brain tumors.&#160; Dr. Nathalie B&#233;rub&#233;, PhD, and her colleagues found mice developed without the ATRX gene had problems in in the forebrain, the part of the brain associated with learning and memory, and in the anterior pituitary which has a direct effect on body growth and metabolism.&#160; The mice, unexpectedly, also displayed shortened lifespan, cataracts, heart enlargement, reduced bone density, hypoglycemia; in short, many of the symptoms associated with aging.&#160; The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. &#160; Ashley Watson, a PhD candidate working in the B&#233;rub&#233; lab and the first author on the paper, discovered the loss of ATRX caused DNA damage especially at the ends of chromosomes which are called telomeres.&#160; She investigated further and discovered the damage is due to problems during DNA replication, which is required before the onset of cell division.&#160; Basically, the ATRX protein was needed to help replicate the telomere.&#160; &#160; Working with Frank Beier of the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Major health benefits of music uncovered</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/major-health-benefits-of-music-uncovered</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/major-health-benefits-of-music-uncovered#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:47:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3139</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the first large-scale review of 400 research papers in the neurochemistry of music, a team led by Prof. Daniel J. Levitin of McGill University’s Psychology Dept. has been able to show that playing and listening to music has clear benefits for both mental and physical health. In particular, music was found both to improve the body’s immune system function and to reduce levels of stress. Listening to music was also found to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety prior to surgery. “We’ve found compelling evidence that musical interventions can play a health care role in settings ranging from operating rooms to family clinics,” says Prof. Levitin. “But even more importantly, we were able to document the neurochemical mechanisms by which music has an effect in four domains: management of mood, stress, immunity and as an aid to social bonding.” Indeed, the information gathered as part of this first large-scale review of the literature showed that music increased both immunoglobulin A, an antibody that plays a critical role in immunity of the mucous system, and natural killer cell counts (the cells that attack invading germs and bacteria). Levitin and his postgraduate research fellow, Dr. Mona Lisa Chanda, [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Researchers shine light on how stress circuits learn</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/researchers-shine-light-on-how-stress-circuits-learn</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/researchers-shine-light-on-how-stress-circuits-learn#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:27:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3131</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute have discovered that stress circuits in the brain undergo profound learning early in life. Using a number of cutting edge approaches, including optogenetics, Jaideep Bains, PhD, and colleagues have shown stress circuits are capable of self-tuning following a single stress. These findings demonstrate that the brain uses stress experience during early life to prepare and optimize for subsequent challenges. The team was able to show the existence of unique time windows following brief stress challenges during which learning is either increased or decreased. By manipulating specific cellular pathways, they uncovered the key players responsible for learning in stress circuits in an animal model. These discoveries culminated in the publication of two back-to-back studies in the April 7 online edition of Nature Neuroscience, one of the world’s top neuroscience journals. “These new findings demonstrate that systems thought to be ‘hardwired’ in the brain, are in fact flexible, particularly early in life,” says Bains, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. “Using this information, researchers can now ask questions about the precise cellular and molecular links between early life stress and stress vulnerability or resilience later in life.” Stress vulnerability, or [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Preventing chronic pain with stress management</title>
		<link>http://can-acn.org/preventing-chronic-pain-with-stress-management</link>
		<comments>http://can-acn.org/preventing-chronic-pain-with-stress-management#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:20:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Julie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://can-acn.org/?p=3074</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For chronic pain sufferers, such as people who develop back pain after a car accident, avoiding the harmful effects of stress may be key to managing their condition. This is particularly important for people with a smaller-than-average hippocampus, as these individuals seem to be particularly vulnerable to stress. These are the findings of a study by Dr. Pierre Rainville, PhD in Neuropsychology, Researcher at the Research Centre of the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM) and Professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at Université de Montréal, along with Étienne Vachon-Presseau, a PhD student in Neuropsychology. The study appeared in Brain, a journal published by Oxford University Press. “Cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, is sometimes called the &#8216;stress hormone&#8217; as it is activated in reaction to stress. Our study shows that a small hippocampal volume is associated with higher cortisol levels, which lead to increased vulnerability to pain and could increase the risk of developing pain chronicity,” explained Étienne Vachon-Presseau. As Dr. Pierre Rainville described, “Our research sheds more light on the neurobiological mechanisms of this important relationship between stress and pain. Whether the result of an accident, illness or surgery, pain is often associated with high [...]]]></description>
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