Author: Julie

Victims of childhood maltreatment or sexual abuse often suffer from serious psychiatric disorders as well as sexual dysfunction. The underlying mechanisms mediating this association are poorly understood. A group of scientists lead by Prof. Christine Heim, Director of the Institute of Medical Psychology at Charité University Medicine Berlin, together with Prof. Jens Pruessner, Director of the McGill Centre for Studies in Aging, at McGill University used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine 51 adult women who were exposed to various forms of childhood maltreatment. Continue reading →

Study compares data from hundreds of people in childhood and old age

A new study shows compelling evidence that associations between cognitive ability and cortical grey matter in old age can largely be accounted for by cognitive ability in childhood. The joint study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, The Neuro, McGill University and the University of Edinburgh, UK was published today, June 4 in Molecular Psychiatry. Continue reading →

Researchers at Western University have used neuroimaging to read human thought via brain activity when they are conveying specific “yes” or “no” answers.

Their findings were published today in The Journal of Neuroscience in a study titled, “The Brain’s Silent Messenger: Using Selective Attention to Decode Human Thought for Brain-Based Communication.” Continue reading →

Using brain imaging, researchers at Western University and Queen’s University have revealed new insights into how the human brain supports the use of everyday tools like plastic tongs. Continue reading →

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  Dr. Kalle Gehring  in the Department of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, have discovered the three-dimensional structure of the protein Parkin. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

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 “Population Neuroscience”, a topic he presented in the Presidential lecture at the 2012 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Vancouver. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

Discovering key spinal cord circuits – 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. Continue reading →