The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre regret to announce the death of William Feindel, O.C., G.O.Q., MDCM, D. Phil., one of Canada's most distinguished neurosurgeons and The Neuro’s third director. Dr. Feindel passed away quietly at The Neuro on Sunday night following a brief illness. Our deepest sympathies go out to Dr. Feindel’s family.
The BigBrain atlas developed by Dr. Alan Evans and colleagues at The Neuro’s Brain Imaging Centre has been chosen as one of the top 10 discoveries of the year in Quebec Science.
BigBrain: a revolutionary new 3D digital brain atlas
New study sheds light on most common and deadly form of brain cancer
Images of The Neuro is literary eyewitness to medical history
In a new collection of insightful essays and selected photos, one of Canada’s most eminent medical figures, Dr. William Feindel, shines a personal light on the world-famous institution that he headed for 12 years, the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, McGill University, as well as on some giants of medicine like Osler, Willis, Gilbert and Penfield.
The brain is plastic - adapting to the hundreds of experiences in our daily lives by reorganizing pathways and making new connections between nerve cells. This plasticity requires that memories of new information and experiences are formed fast. So fast that the body has a special mechanism, unique to nerve cells, that enables memories to be made rapidly.
The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, McGill University has raised more than $49 million, with an additional $7 million in planned gift expectancies, in the largest ever campaign of its 79 year history. The ‘Thinking Ahead’ Campaign, a $40 million initiative, has enabled The Neuro to implement ambitious and innovative research, training, and patient care programs aimed at tackling the most pressing neurological problems - strengthening The Neuro’s global leadership in understanding and repairing the brain.
Mechanism meant to maintain efficiency of brain network involved in neurodegenerative disease
As part of The Neuro’s Thinking Ahead Campaign, a $240,000 donation from Desjardins Group, the largest financial cooperative group in Canada, to The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, McGill University has enabled the creation of the Desjardins Outstanding Student Award. Twelve awards of 20 000 $ each will support top-rated graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are advancing research to better understand the nervous system and neurological disorders and aid in developing new therapies.
Scientists at The Neuro find important time factor in second-language acquisition
The age at which children learn a second language can have a significant bearing on the structure of their adult brain, according to a new joint study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro at McGill University and Oxford University. The majority of people in the world learn to speak more than one language during their lifetime. Many do so with great proficiency particularly if the languages are learned simultaneously or from early in development.
Photo exhibit dives into the heart of creativity and the human brain
WATCH the video clip (30sec): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LuKKTdgFzw
(English transcript below)
Imagine being able to zoom into the brain to see various cells the way we zoom into Google maps of the world and can see houses on a street. And keep in mind that the brain is considered the most complex structure in the universe with 86 billion neurons. Zooming in is now possible thanks to a new brain atlas with unprecedented resolution. BigBrain is the first 3D microstructural model of the entire human brain, and is free and publicly available to researchers world-wide.
A new study shows that memory pathology in older mice with Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed with treatment. The study by researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, at McGill University and at Université de Montréal found that blocking the activity of a specific receptor in the brain of mice with advanced Alzheimer’s disease (AD) recovers memory and cerebrovascular function. The results, published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation in May, also suggest an underlying mechanism of AD as a potential target for new therapies.
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease in which progressive muscle weakness leads to paralysis. ALS is a result of the death of motor neurons (nerve cells) in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Most people survive less than five years following diagnosis, but a small percentage of patients live for ten years or even longer. So far, there is no cure. About 3,000 Canadian adults have ALS and less than 1 in 10 patients have a family history of the disease.
Dr. Frederick Andermann, neurologist and researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, McGill University has been named an Officer of the Order of Quebec. Dr. Andermann is among 33 distinguished recipients who will be decorated by Premier of Quebec Pauline Marois at a ceremony on June 6, 2013 at the salle du Conseil législatif de l’hôtel du Parlement.
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.
