Neuroscience
From the CBC:
Brain banks: Crucial for research, clamouring for donors
Last Updated: Monday, September 22, 2008 | 7:56 AM ET
By Gloria Troyer
CBC News
Read the full article
[snip]
Brain banks. The work they do is not widely publicized — most people who consider signing donor cards think along the lines of organs such as the hearts and kidneys for transplant — but it's crucial for many researchers trying to understand the causes and characteristics of myriad diseases.
"Brain donations and brain banks are absolutely essential to neurological and psychiatric research," says Dr. Margaret Fahnestock, professor of neuroscience in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton.
"One of the main reasons is that there are few to no good cellular or animal models of most neuropsychiatric conditions — schizophrenia and autism, for example," she says. "This is because we currently have a poor understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of most neuropsychiatric disorders."
Fahnestock says that in light of the lack of good experimental models, one of the best ways to make progress in understanding these disorders — and thereby to make progress in prevention or therapy — is to compare the chemistry and structure of normal and abnormal human brains.
"Thus, the generosity of donors of both normal and abnormal brains is critical to our research effort," she says.
[snip]
- Neuroaesthetics
From the BBC: Understanding the brain on dance 27 February 2012 Last updated at 23:29 ET [snip]"How does the brain perceive and interpret beautiful movement? "This is one of the key questions being asked by scientists at Bangor University who have enlisted...
- Congratulations Dr. Trevor Robbins!
Cambridge University figures in New Year Honours list The Cambridge Student Online 31 December 2011 [snip] "A CBE is awarded to another medical man, Professor Trevor Robbins, "for services to Medical Research". Professor Robbins is Head of the Department...
- The Insula Keeps Getting Its Due From The New York Times!
From today's New York Times A Small Part of the Brain, and Its Profound Effects By SANDRA BLAKESLEE [snip] According to neuroscientists who study it, the insula is a long-neglected brain region that has emerged as crucial to understanding what it...
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From The Globe and Mail:Rampaging mice made more human By CAROLYN ABRAHAM Wednesday, July 6, 2005 Updated at 8:57 AM EDT From Wednesday's Globe and Mail A breakthrough experiment has used a human gene to turn vicious mice into very gentle creatures...
- Hoarding Behavior In Brain Damage
From a University of Iowa press release:Brain Region Identified That Controls Collecting Behavior [snip] By studying patients who developed abnormal hoarding behavior following brain injury, neurology researchers in the University of Iowa Roy J....
Neuroscience
Brain Banks
From the CBC:
Brain banks: Crucial for research, clamouring for donors
Last Updated: Monday, September 22, 2008 | 7:56 AM ET
By Gloria Troyer
CBC News
Read the full article
[snip]
Brain banks. The work they do is not widely publicized — most people who consider signing donor cards think along the lines of organs such as the hearts and kidneys for transplant — but it's crucial for many researchers trying to understand the causes and characteristics of myriad diseases.
"Brain donations and brain banks are absolutely essential to neurological and psychiatric research," says Dr. Margaret Fahnestock, professor of neuroscience in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton.
"One of the main reasons is that there are few to no good cellular or animal models of most neuropsychiatric conditions — schizophrenia and autism, for example," she says. "This is because we currently have a poor understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of most neuropsychiatric disorders."
Fahnestock says that in light of the lack of good experimental models, one of the best ways to make progress in understanding these disorders — and thereby to make progress in prevention or therapy — is to compare the chemistry and structure of normal and abnormal human brains.
"Thus, the generosity of donors of both normal and abnormal brains is critical to our research effort," she says.
[snip]
- Neuroaesthetics
From the BBC: Understanding the brain on dance 27 February 2012 Last updated at 23:29 ET [snip]"How does the brain perceive and interpret beautiful movement? "This is one of the key questions being asked by scientists at Bangor University who have enlisted...
- Congratulations Dr. Trevor Robbins!
Cambridge University figures in New Year Honours list The Cambridge Student Online 31 December 2011 [snip] "A CBE is awarded to another medical man, Professor Trevor Robbins, "for services to Medical Research". Professor Robbins is Head of the Department...
- The Insula Keeps Getting Its Due From The New York Times!
From today's New York Times A Small Part of the Brain, and Its Profound Effects By SANDRA BLAKESLEE [snip] According to neuroscientists who study it, the insula is a long-neglected brain region that has emerged as crucial to understanding what it...
- Genetics And Aggressive Behavior In A Mouse Model
From The Globe and Mail:Rampaging mice made more human By CAROLYN ABRAHAM Wednesday, July 6, 2005 Updated at 8:57 AM EDT From Wednesday's Globe and Mail A breakthrough experiment has used a human gene to turn vicious mice into very gentle creatures...
- Hoarding Behavior In Brain Damage
From a University of Iowa press release:Brain Region Identified That Controls Collecting Behavior [snip] By studying patients who developed abnormal hoarding behavior following brain injury, neurology researchers in the University of Iowa Roy J....