The 1990s, famously termed the “decade of the brain,” saw magnificent transformations in the field of neuroscience. Scientists explored unprecedented potentialities associated with the brain, an astronomically complex organ. Recently, brain research has received a surge of international attention, with national and provincial governments joining the race to unraveling the mysteries of the brain..It seems almost inevitable that this decade will be yet another “decade of the brain.”
May 20 marked the commencement of the seventh annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Neuroscience (CAN) at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto. The event spanned the course of five days, with CAN’s plenary symposia featuring 10 speakers. The poster sessions included dozens of presentations from the University of Toronto’s faculty and graduate students in the neurosciences.
The conference began with a public lecture at Sick Kids Hospital by U of T’s Dr. Freda Miller and Dr. Cindi Morshead. The talk, titled “The Hope and the Hype: Stem Cells for Brain Repair,” addressed the effect of brain injury on stem cell expansion and multiplication. It shed light on the latest research in stem cell transplantation, which gives hope to people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other neurological ailments.
Dr. Isabelle Aubert, an assistant professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, presented a new form of therapy called MRI-guided focused ultrasound. The technology is used to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, by using focused ultrasound to change the permeability between the brain and the blood in specific areas. It also tags the neural plaques associated with Alzheimer’s Disease with antibodies, a more effective system than has been possible so far. The procedure helps remove and halt cell death associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Dr. Robin Green, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, discussed the characteristics of traumatic brain disorder and its role in neurodegeneration.
In a talk entitled, “Hippocampal neurogenesis, forgetting and infantile amnesia,” Dr. Paul Frankland discussed why we forget the first years of our life. He pointed to the area of the brain responsible for the formation of memories, the hippocampus. Specifically, development and cell growth during the first few years of life is likely to cause infantile amnesia. He elegantly demonstrated this by slowing the development of baby mice. Interestingly, mice exhibiting delayed development were able to remember the route of a maze better than those who had gone through normal development.
CAN also featured talks from leading international researchers. Of note, University of California, San Francisco’s Dr. Anatol Kreitzer discussed the role of brain stimulation as a treatment for Parkinson’s Disease. Former Toronto researcher Dr. Helen Mayberg outlined how her lab uses MRI to guide the placement of electrodes for Deep Brain Stimulation as a treatment for depression.
Today, neuroscience stands at the forefront of interdisciplinary research, connecting with fields as diverse as engineering, law, economics, and computer science. It is at this very interface where we can begin tackling the most challenging questions of our time.
After a week of CAN poster presentations and parallel symposia, many Canadian (and U of T) neuroscientists will turn their attention to upcoming international conferences throughout the summer and fall to present their findings. The question inspired by this substantial Canadian representation at the international level is: “How will this recent governmental interest in neuroscientific research shape Canada’s identity in the field?”
The eighth CAN meeting will take place on May 25–28, 2014 in Montreal.
