Author: Julie
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Rapid eye movement sleep: keystone of memory formation
For decades, scientists have fiercely debated whether rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – the phase where dreams appear – is directly involved in memory formation. Now, a study published in Science by researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute (McGill University) and the University of Bern provides evidence that REM sleep does, indeed, play…
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Mechanisms underlying efficient coding of natural stimuli revealed
Maurice Chacron and his team at McGill University have discovered that sensory neurons can efficiently encode stimuli by ensuring that the neuron’s tuning function is matched to the statistics of the input found in the organism’s natural environment.
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What makes the brain tick so fast?
New study sheds light on the workings of brain neurotransmitter receptors Surprisingly complex interactions between neurotransmitter receptors and other key proteins help explain the brain’s ability to process information with lightning speed, according to a new study. Scientists at McGill University, working with collaborators at the universities of Oxford and Liverpool, combined experimental techniques to…
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Location may be key to effectively controlling pain
Targeting the pain receptor at the cell’s nucleus has a major effect on its ability to transmit pain signals. In real estate, location is key. It now seems the same concept holds true when it comes to stopping pain. New research published in Nature Communications by a team of researchers led by McGill University’s Director of Anesthesia Research…
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Accidental finding leads to brain circuit development discovery
Researchers at the University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute have pinpointed a set of rules that govern how brain circuits develop during early life, offering clues into neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Published in Neuron, one of the most influential journals in the field of neuroscience, their study shows how neuroplasticity…
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Neurons actively modify the features of astrocytes in the brain
The brain gives up more secrets – Montreal scientists unveil a key mechanism that could improve brain function A research team, led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montreal, has broken new ground in our understanding of the complex functioning of the brain. The research, published in the current issue…
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Graham Collingridge – 2016 Brain Prize winner
The Brain Prize for 2016 is awarded to Timothy Bliss, Graham Collingridge and Richard Morris for their ground-breaking research on the cellular and molecular basis of Long-Term Potentiation and the demonstration that this form of synaptic plasticity underpins spatial memory and learning. Learn more on the Brain Prize website
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Vulnerability to depression linked to noradrenaline
First-ever connection between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression The team of Bruno Giros, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and professor of psychiatry at McGill University, reports the first-ever connection between noradrenergic neurons and vulnerability to depression. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, this breakthrough paves the way for new depression…
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Sweets and treats rewire animal brains
Overeating is the largest determinant of obesity, which is one of the biggest health crises affecting Canadians. A new animal study out of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine provides new insight into how high fat diets rapidly rewire the reward circuits in the brain, which can…
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Animal electricity – how we learned that the body and brain are electric machines
A new book by Robert B. Campenot, Professor Emeritus at University of Alberta offers a comprehensive overview of animal electricity, examining its physiological mechanisms as well as the experimental discoveries that form the basis for our modern understanding of nervous systems across the animal kingdom. Learn more about this book, and others, in our neuroscience…