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
A team of basic and clinical scientists led by the University of Montreal Hospital* Research Centre’s (CRCHUM) Dr. Nathalie Arbour has opened the door to significantly improved treatments for the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Continue reading
A new study led by an international team of biologists has identified some of the brain chemicals that allow seals to sleep with half of their brain at a time. Continue reading
Babies as young as seven months can distinguish between, and begin to learn, two languages with vastly different grammatical structures, according to new research from the University of British Columbia and Université Paris Descartes.
Montreal researchers find that music lessons before age seven create stronger connections in the brain
If you started piano lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers. Those lessons you dreaded – or loved – helped develop your brain. Continue reading
New research from the University of British Columbia is shedding light on why enticing pictures of food affect us less when we’re full.
Guidance proteins regulate brain plasticity
Our ability to learn and form new memories is fully dependent on the brain’s ability to be plastic – that is to change and adapt according to new experiences and environments. Continue reading