The CHU Sainte-Justine makes a giant step forward in understanding autism

Roberto Araya, Soledad Miranda Rottmann, Diana Mitchell (photo Charline Provost)

source: chusj.org

Source : CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre

MONTREAL, February 16, 2023– Results of a new study led by Roberto Araya, a neuroscientist, biophysicist and researcher at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, show that in Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of autism, sensory signals from the outside world are integrated differently, causing them to be underrepresented by cortical pyramidal neurons in the brain. Continue reading

RI-MUHC and McGill researchers make a breakthrough in understanding brain nanoarchitecture, using computer vision

image credit RI-MUHC

A new study published in Current Biology reveals the nanostructure of brain cells at an unprecedented level of resolution

SOURCE: RI-MUHC.

Brain cells are among the most anatomically complex cells in the human body. They create an intricate web of connections that enables the brain to detect, process, encode and respond to diverse information. Importantly, communication breakdown between brain cells leads to disorders and diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease that affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide. Continue reading

CAN holds its first in-person Hill Day in Ottawa November 3, 2022

The Canadian Association for Neuroscience held its first in-person Parliament Hill Day on November 3, 2022 in Ottawa. It was an opportunity for our team of neuroadvocates to meet face to face or virtually with members of Parliament, Senators, Parliamentary staff members and important senior civil servants to advocate for a increased support for CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, graduate scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships, and to make research on Brain and Mental Health a national priority. Continue reading

Saving more stroke patients

Man with heavy headache or brain stroke - conceptual artwork - 3d illustration - Gray scale Image

Man with heavy headache or brain stroke – conceptual artwork – 3d illustration – Gray scale Image

Approximately 20,000 Quebecers suffer a cerebrovascular accident every year. Nearly 90% are caused by a blood clot that blocks the brain’s blood vessels and, by the same token, its supply of oxygen and nutrients. Deprived of oxygen, some 1.9 million nerve cells die every minute following a stroke.

While no treatment can restore brain function, there is a therapeutic approach that helps limit the damage. It involves injecting a thrombolytic agent that dissolves the clot and restores blood flow. It must be administered within 4.5 hours of the stroke, after which the risk of bleeding increases. But according to the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, 66% of stroke victims don’t arrive at the hospital in time to benefit from the medication. The result: close to 3,000 deaths annually and 130,000 people living with physical and psychological effects. Continue reading

Read CAN Connection – Fall 2022

Catch up with CAN in our latest newsletter, CAN connection – Fall 2022

Table of content

UofT news: Canada must boost support of science and tech: President Meric Gertler and Alan Bernstein in the Globe and Mail

Meric Gertler and Alan Bernstein

Canada must step up its support of R&D in science and technology if the country’s innovation economy is to remain competitive globally.

That was the key message of a Globe and Mail op-ed by University of Toronto President Meric Gertler and Alan Bernstein, president and CEO of CIFAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research), who noted substantial recent investments by the U.S. government in the country’s AI, robotics, clean electricity and green energy sectors.

“The U.S. initiatives demand a commensurate response from Canada both in size and breadth. Otherwise, our economic performance will continue to lag behind other advanced economies,” Bernstein and President Gertler warn in the op-ed published Sept. 5. Continue reading

Exoskeleton robot helps researchers shed new light on learning and stroke recovery

UCalgary clinical trial maps how we learn motor skills, and the results could be a game-changer for stroke rehabilitation.

This morning, you probably reached out of bed to turn off your alarm clock, and later brushed your teeth or buttoned a shirt. Those movements are routine; mundane, even. You are long past the point of wondering how you learned to do any of those things and don’t give a second thought to the complexity of what happened in your brain so that your arm could lift your cup of coffee. Continue reading