The subjective experience of pain varies drastically between people, but subjective measures of pain correlation provide an important understanding of its underlying mechanisms. Emerging literature on pain points to a relationship between muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA)—a measure of how active the sympathetic nervous system is while signalling blood vessels[Read More…]
Tag: neuroscience
Fact or fiction: Is your brain wired for a specific learning style?
You have likely encountered the idea that everyone learns best through a specific ‘learning style.’ Social media, classroom discussions, and even online quizzes often promote this claim, categorizing students as auditory, visual, writing and reading, or kinesesthetic learners. This conception sounds convincing, and after many years in the educational system,[Read More…]
A new approach to chronic pain management in children and teens
Chronic pain is not unique to adults; it affects millions of children and teenagers worldwide. In fact, about one in four children will experience a period of chronic pain—pain which lasts three months or more—at least once in their lives. This often-invisible burden can interfere with school, friendships, physical activity,[Read More…]
SCAnning the genome to uncover the genetics of a neurological disorder
Recent advances in molecular biology techniques are bringing new insights into complex diseases. These insights extend to spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), a group of progressive neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the deterioration of the cerebellum—a brain structure critical for balance and movement coordination. In 2019, between 30 and 48 per cent of[Read More…]
Neurodevelopment through an infant’s eyes
Before kids obtain the ability to smoothly track a moving object with their eyes, there is a brief period in infancy when this skill is out of reach. Visual tracking, a crucial milestone in our cognitive development, begins to develop about one month after birth. In a recent publication in[Read More…]
Upping the ante: The latest research on communication in ant societies
On Feb. 29, McGill’s Department of Biology hosted a lecture on ant societies, led by Daniel Kronauer, an associate professor at Rockefeller University and a leading researcher in the field of ant evolution, genetics, and neuroscience. “In my lab […] we try to understand how ant societies have evolved, how[Read More…]
Human Cognition: Moving away from the brain
Long before Francis Schmitt coined the term “neuroscience” in 1962, scientists have been interested in demystifying the secrets of the human brain. Although neuroscience primarily focuses on the functions of the cortex—the outer layer of the brain— researchers have begun to highlight the importance of more primitive brain anatomy: Namely,[Read More…]
Neuroscience myths and facts: Alcohol and the spectrum of human senses
If you are as curious as the rest of this Tribune special issue, then this article will hopefully answer some of your burning questions about two topics that merge neuroscience and student life seamlessly: Alcohol and human senses. In this second round of myth debunking in our Neuroscience myths and[Read More…]
Making scientific data accessible to all
On Nov. 30, neuroscience and data-sharing experts came together for a day of insightful talks at The Neuro’s fifth annual Open Science in Action Symposium. Kicking off the event, Annabel Seyller, CEO of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute (TOSI), emphasized the growing prevalence of open science across scientific institutions in[Read More…]
Neuroscience myths and facts: What is going on up there?
Several regions of your brain, such as Wernicke’s area and the left temporal region, are currently hard at work as you read this Tribune article. With its approximately 86 billion neurons, the adult human brain fascinates not only neuroscientists, but all sorts of individuals, including students, artists, and writers. This[Read More…]
