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
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. Children born with ATRX syndrome have cognitive defects and developmental abnormalities. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Powerful treatment improves patients’ lives and provides new insight into mechanisms of the disease. A new study by Multiple Sclerosis researchers at three leading Canadian centres addresses why bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has positive results in patients with particularly aggressive forms of MS. Continue reading