Year: 2011
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How do we split our attention?
DEC. 21, 2011 – McGill’s Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab team finds that we are natural-born multi-taskers Imagine you’re a hockey goalie, and two opposing players are breaking in alone on you, passing the puck back and forth. You’re aware of the linesman skating in on your left, but pay him no mind. Your focus is on the…
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Study finds new way to predict MS diagnosis in children
Early MRI scans can help predict the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in children, which may permit earlier initiation of treatment, according to a new national study.
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A breakthrough in pinpointing protective mechanisms in Multiple Sclerosis
December 1st, 2011 – In an article published today in the prestigious journal Science, a team of researchers led by Dr Alexander Prat and postgraduate fellow Jorge Alvarez at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) sheds light on how the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) works to prevent the incursion of the immune system into the…
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Researchers from Université Laval affiliated CHUQ discover a new therapeutic target for Lou Gehrig’s disease
November 14, 2011. – A research team from Université Laval, led by Jean-Pierre Julien, has taken a new step in understanding the cellular mechanisms involved in Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This disease is characterized by degeneration of neurons that control muscle activity.
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What you want versus how you get it – New neuroeconomics study from The Neuro shows how you make decisions
October 21st – New research reveals how we make decisions. Birds choosing between berry bushes and investors trading stocks are faced with the same fundamental challenge – making optimal choices in an environment featuring varying costs and benefits.
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Scientists Highlight Link Between Stress and Appetite
Researchers in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine have uncovered a mechanism by which stress increases food drive in rats. This exciting discovery, published in the journal Neuron, could provide important insight into why stress is thought to be one of the underlying contributors to obesity.
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Potential harm, but no demonstrated benefit from depression screening in primary care
September 19, 2011 – The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommends routine screening for depression during primary care visits when systems are available for coordination of assessment and treatment. An article by an international panel of experts, published in the October issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, argues that there is no…
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Study exposes major flaws in research on depression screening questionnaires – Research on detection of depression “forecasting yesterday’s weather,” say investigators
August 16, 2011 – A new analysis, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), reports that flawed research studies have exaggerated the degree to which depression screening questionnaires are able to accurately detect people with untreated depression. The number of untreated patients who would actually be detected using these questionnaires may be less than half…
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Children of depressed mothers have a different brain – MRI scans show their children have an enlarged amygdala
August 15, 2011 – Researchers think that brains are sensitive to the quality of child care, according to a study that was directed by Dr. Sonia Lupien and her colleagues from the University of Montreal published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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No room for inaccuracy in the brain
July 20, 2011 – Dr. Ed Ruthazer is a mapmaker but, his landscape is the developing brain – specifically the neuronal circuitry, which is the network of connections between nerve cells. His research at The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro at McGill University, reveals the brain as a dynamic landscape where connections…