Month: May 2014
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Timing is everything
Scientists control rapid re-wiring of brain circuits using patterned visual stimulation In a new study, published in this week’s issue of the journal Science, researchers show for the first time how the brain re-wires and fine-tunes its connections differently depending on the relative timing of sensory stimuli. In most neuroscience textbooks today, there is a…
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Scientists discover a new way to enhance nerve growth following injury
New research published out of the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) uncovers a mechanism to promote growth in damaged nerve cells as a means to restore connections after injury. Dr. Doug Zochodne and his team have discovered a key molecule that directly regulates nerve cell growth in the damaged nervous system. His study…
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New research may explain loss of early childhood memories
Why do we tend to forget earlier memories, especially those from childhood, as we get older? New research from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) brings fresh insight into the mystery of infantile amnesia and begins to explain why we have no memories from our earliest years. Researchers demonstrate that new neuron formation, or neurogenesis,…
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The scent of a man
Mice and rats stressed by male experimenters; reaction may skew research findings. Scientists’ inability to replicate research findings using mice and rats has contributed to mounting concern over the reliability of such studies. Now, an international team of pain researchers led by scientists at McGill University in Montreal may have uncovered one important factor behind…
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Sleep behaviour disorder linked to brain disease
Researchers at the University of Toronto say a sleep disorder that causes people to act out their dreams is the best current predictor of brain diseases like Parkinson’s and many other forms of dementia. “Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is not just a precursor but also a critical warning sign of neurodegeneration that can lead…
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Researchers uncover ways to help cells survive after a stroke
Researchers from the uOttawa Brain and Mind Research Institute have made an important discovery in stroke research that could significantly advance recovery for patients. Their findings were published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications on April 1, 2014. When a person suffers a stroke, oxygen—a vital component for cell survival in the human brain—is cut…