Category: News
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Is cardiovascular health the key to protecting the brain against dementia?
New research from the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health asks: Can “good” cholesterol protect against age-related cognitive decline? A trio of papers from researchers in Dr. Cheryl Wellington’s lab illustrate new context for the role of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) – commonly described as good cholesterol – in protecting the brain against disease.
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The two faces of depression
Major depression affects the expression of genes in the brains of women and men differently Major depression presents itself quite differently in women and men, and this dimorphism would have genomic foundations, suggests a study that has just been published in Nature Medicine. According to the first author of this study, Benoit Labonté of the…
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Pinpointing the origins of autism
Abnormalities shown to first appear in brain networks involved in sensory processing The origins of autism remain mysterious. What areas of the brain are involved, and when do the first signs appear? New findings published in Biological Psychiatry bring us closer to understanding the pathology of autism, and the point at which it begins to…
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Could olfactory loss point to Alzheimer’s disease?
Promising finding suggests odour identification tests may help scientists track the evolution of the disease in persons at risk By the time you start losing your memory, it’s almost too late. That’s because the damage to your brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may already have been going on for as long as twenty years.…
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Muscle function regained in CRISPR-treated mice with congenital muscular dystrophy, SickKids study finds
Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to correct a disease-causing mutation in mice with a form of congenital muscular dystrophy, MDC1A. The findings, published in the July 17 online edition of Nature Medicine, show significant improvement in muscle strength and function among the mice treated with CRISPR, with no remaining…
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Brains are more plastic than we thought
Researchers train brains to use different regions for same task Practice might not always make perfect, but it’s essential for learning a sport or a musical instrument. It’s also the basis of brain training, an approach that holds potential as a non-invasive therapy to overcome disabilities caused by neurological disease or trauma. Research at the…
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Making information meaningful leads to better memory
When trying to memorize information, it is better to relate it to something meaningful rather than repeat it again and again to make it stick, according to a recent Baycrest study published in NeuroImage. “When we are learning new information, our brain has two different ways to remember the material for a short period of…
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Brain area involved in addiction activated earlier than previously thought in recreational cocaine users
Non-dependent users also experience dopamine release in response to drug cues Even among non-dependent cocaine users, cues associated with consumption of the drug lead to dopamine release in an area of the brain thought to promote compulsive use, according to researchers at McGill University. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that people who consider…
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Common acne medication offers new treatment for multiple sclerosis – Study results offer safe and affordable treatment option
A Canadian clinical trial led by researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), shows that minocycline, a common acne medication, can slow the progress of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in people who have recently experienced their first symptoms. In addition to being an unexpected discovery — an…
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Researchers identify specific neurons that distinguish between reality and imagination
New Western University research shows that neurons in the part of the brain found to be abnormal in psychosis are also important in helping people distinguish between reality and imagination. The researchers, Dr. Julio Martinez-Trujillo, principal investigator and professor at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Dr. Diego Mendoza-Halliday, postdoctoral researcher at…