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Past BMI News and Announcements
2018 News and Announcements
December 28,
BMI Neuroscientist Receives Royal Recognition
BMI neuroscientist Adrian Owen receives the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services in scientific research
CRC designations awarded to BMI Researchers
BMI researchers Michael Anderson, Ali Khan
DI-BMI Exchange Program Award Recipients
Spencer Jones, Geoffrey Ngo, and Christina Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden were successful in securing DI-BMI Trainee Exchange Programme support this year. The exchange programme offers postdocs in Cognitive Neuroscience an amazing opportunity to engage in collaborative research at Radboud University
Exploring How Sleep Impacts Productivity
BMI neuroscientists from Adrian Owen's lab discover too much shut-eye can be as bad as too little sleep
Cognitive Neuroscience Talks
Upcoming talks at the Brain and Mind Institute.
September 24, 2018 | Announcements
Hiring Opportunities
Faculty opportunity in Computational Neuroscience.
August 10,
Recognizing Familiar Voices
Emma Holmes, Ysabel Domingo and Ingrid Johnsrude publish findings that indicate familiar voices are more intelligible, even when not recognized as familiar.
July 30,
The Brain Game Myth
Western-led study finds that Brain game doesn't offer brain gain. Research Scientist, Bobby Stojanoski, in the Owen Lab at the Brain and Mind Institute is the lead author and that explains it merely improves their abilities in those specific games
New BMI Faculty Member
Psychology. Blake explores auditory system development, cortical neuroanatomy, and crossmodal plasticity following deafness.
June 29,
Testing Alzheimer's Treatments
With support from a
Adaptation of Visual Pathways
Brain and Mind Institute neuropsychologist Jody Culham and her team are unlocking new understanding
May 9,
New BMI Faculty Member
The Brain and Mind Institute is looking forward to welcoming Dr. Laura Batterink this summer. Laura will be joining the cognitive neuroscience research team in new the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building
Creativity is a State of Mind
Marc Joanisse's collaboration with Joel Lopata and Elizabeth Nowicki finds creativity is a state of mind
Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards
The 2019 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship competition has just launched! To learn more, visit the agency's website
Western Interdisciplinary Research Building
Western University celebrates the completion of the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, which houses the Brain and Mind Institute, BrainsCAN and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy. This new location brings several disciplines together under one roof to excel Cognitive Neuroscience research and move the research to the people and organizations that can benefit from it.
April 13,
NSERC Discovery Grant Awards
Several BMI researchers have secured NSERC Discovery Grant funding this year, including Paul Gribble, Stefan Köhler, Scott MacDougall-Shackleton, Ken McRae, Derek Mitchell, J. Bruce Morton, Adrian Owen, Susanne Schmid, Corey Baron, Janis Cardy, Haojie Mao
April 10,
Schulich's Awards of Excellence
Andrew Pruszynski is one of the 2018 Awards of Excellence recipients - Dean's Award of Excellence for Junior Faculty. Congratulations Andrew!
March 29,
Connecting to Artificial Limbs
A study co-authored by BMI neuroscientist, Jody Culham, suggests brain rewires to embrace artificial limb.
March 12,
New BMI Members Receives Early Researcher Award
BMI core member Ryan Stevenson has received an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario to help build a research team in Autism-focused lab
BMI Researcher Honoured with Early Career Award
BMI core member Andrew
January 24,
CIHR Project Grant Recipients
Congratulations to BMI researchers Paul Gribble and Stephen Lomber, who are both recipients of the Fall 2017 CIHR Project Grants.
January 12,
BMI Researcher Awarded JFAR Fellowship
Congratulations to BMI core member Daniel Ansari, who has been recently awarded a Jacobs Foundation Advanced Research Fellowship.
January 2,
The BMI Has Moved!
The BMI has moved to the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building effective January 2, 2018. The BMI's reception is located on the 3rd floor (room 3190) and its new address is The Brain and Mind Institute, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, 1151 Richmond Street North, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7.
2017 News and Announcements
November 27,
The Brain and Mind Institute is moving
The Brain and Mind Institute is moving from the Natural Science Centre to the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building over the next few weeks. Effective January 2, 2018, the BMI will officially be housed in WIRB
BrainsCAN Human Cognition and Sensorimotor Core positions
The following three Human Cognition and Sensorimotor core positions in BrainsCAN are now posted on the Human Resources website Working at Western: Sleep & Electrophysiology Lab Coordinator, Clinical Research Recruitment Coordinator, and Community Research Coordinator.
October 19,
The Brain and Mind Institute hosted its first Distinguished Speaker visit from October 19 - 20, 2017. Dr. Robert Zatorre from Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University delivered a talk on Thursday, October 19 at 4:00 pm in WSC55 about “Why do we love music? A view from cognitive neuroscience”.
October 19,
Two junior (tenure-track) Faculty positions in Computational Neuroscience
The Faculty of Science is inviting applications for two probationary (tenure-track) faculty positions at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor in Computational Neuroscience. These positions are initially funded through BrainsCAN, a $66M initiative funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund at Western University. Both successful candidates will become members of the Brain and Mind Institute
The Scholars to Leaders Speaker Series is a unique initiative of the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies that is open to all students and scholars across all careers at Western. The monthly luncheon events showcase guest speakers who share valuable insight and expertise on critical aspects of leadership from their own career experiences. Dr. Melvyn Goodale will be speaking next Wednesday, September 27 at 12:30 pm about Fifty Years at Western: A Personal History. The Wire
September 15, 2017 | Announcement
Research Technician position open under BrainsCAN Human Cognition and Sensorimotor Control Core. For more information and to apply please
September 7,
BMI researcher named Canada Research Chair
Congratulations to Dr. Lisa Saksida for her CRC appointment in Translational Cognitive Neuroscience (Tier 1). Learn More
August 18, 2017 | Announcement
Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude appointed to NSERC Biological Systems and Functions Evaluation Group for a 3-year term. See members list
August 15, 2017 | Announcement
Sleep & Electrophysiology Laboratory Coordinator position open under BrainsCAN Human Cognition and Sensorimotor Control Core. For more information and to apply please
August 11,
Dr. Tutis Vilis' book, "Survival Skills for Graduate Students and Post Docs" is now available on Kindle.
Find out More
July 12, 2017 | Journal of Neuroscience
The Journal of Neuroscience identifies popular BMI authored publication
BMI's Stefan Köhler's article titled "Heroes of the Engram", written with Sheena Josselyn and Paul
Learn More
July 11, 2017 | Cognitive Neuroscience Society
BMI graduate student is
BMI's Anna Blumenthal, in Dr. Stefan Köhler's lab, is exploring how we remember the structure of things.
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BMI Postdoctoral Fellow publishes
BMI's Molly Henry is studying how people focus on single conversations.
Learn More
June 30, 2017 | Announcement
Neuroimaging Analyst position open under BrainsCAN Computational Core
For more information and to apply please
June 26,
World's largest sleep study launched at BMI
BMI's Adrian Owen is leading the largest known study on how sleep deprivation
Media Relations
June 23, 2017 | APS
Newly Named Fellows of APS
Congratulations to Jessica Grahn and Stephen Lomber, Professors in the Department of Psychology at Western University, who have been named Fellows of the Association for Psychological Science (APS).
See
Owen's book examines borders of consciousness
'Into the Gray Zone', written by Western Neuroscientist Adrian Owen, explores the spaces in between life and death for people in a vegetative state.
Western News
May 9, 2017 | Research Western
Contradicting the common belief that smiling makes people appear younger
BMI Director, Dr. Mel Goodale, along with Tzvi Ganel of Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, study the effect smiling has on age perception.
Medicalxpress Western News
May 4, 2017 | Research Western
Adversity leads pre-teens to be more impulsive by making their brains more sensitive to rewards
Niki H. Kamkar and J. Bruce Morton of Western’s Department of Psychology and Brain and Mind Institute are exploring how adolescents experiencing tough times are more likely motivated by small instant incentives.
Read More
April 28, 2017 | Announcement
BMI Core Member article published in Gehirn & Geist
Congratulations to Stefan Köhler who's
Read More - fee to access
Western names BMI Core Member Faculty Scholar
Brian Corneil, a professor in the department of physiology and pharmacology, a Robarts scientist and a Core Member of the BMI, was recognized along with 10 others from across the University for significant achievements in teaching and research.
Find out More
April 18, 2017 | Announcement
Associate Member Receives Young Investigator Award
Dr. Lena Palaniyappan receives Young Investigator Award from the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP). The award recognizes outstanding contributions in neuropsychopharmacology by a young basic scientist or clinical investigator in Canada.
Read More
April 13, 2017 | Research Western
NSERC & SSHRC Awards received by BMI Members
Congratulations to the BMI Core Members and Associate Members who were successful applicants for NSERC & SSHRC awards.
NSERC
Daniel Ansari, Blake Butler, Melvyn Goodale, Matthew Heath, Ingrid Johnsrude, Julio Martinez-Trujillo, and Ryan Stevenson
SSHRC
Ryan Stevenson
More
Welcome to the Sound of Science, a radio show featuring Western faculty and student researchers making
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BMI Graduate Student took First Place in 6th Annual 3MT
Tamara Tavares, a Graduate student in Derek Mitchell’s Emotional Cognition Lab at the Brain and Mind Institute, took first place in the 6th Annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. The competition is a great opportunity for research students’ to develop their presentation and communication skills and to also develop their capacity to explain their research in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience. She will move on to represent Western at the 3MT Ontario 2017 Provincial competition at the University of Waterloo on Wednesday, April 12th. Congratulations Tamara!
Western News Western Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies
April 5, 2017 | Announcement
International Graduate Student Scholarship recipients
Congratulations to Bailey Brashears (Minda lab), Sudesna Chakraborty (Köhler lab), Maryam Nouri Kadijani (Martinez-Trujillo lab), and Adrian Sardinas (Ansari lab). This scholarship supports up to 4 international graduate students by helping to offset the differential in international (as compared to domestic) tuition and fees.
Learn More
April 4, 2017 | The London Free Press
Robots took over Thompson area at Western University
The Beal Robotics Team 5024 successfully finished qualification matches ranked 1st overall (out of 35 teams) and were the captains of the winning alliance for the inaugural robotics competition at Western University. In addition, the team was also recognized and received the highest award possible, the Chairman's Award. This award
London Free Press CTV London
March 24, 2017 | Western News
APS recognizes BMI Postdoc with prestigious Rising Star designation
Molly Henry, from Jessica Grahn's Music and Neuroscience Lab, has been named a 'Rising Star' by the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Congratulations Molly!
Learn more See APS announcement
March 8, 2017 | UNESCO
L'Oréal and UNESCO recognizes BMI postdoctoral researcher
Congratulations to Lorina Naci from the Owen Lab! Lorina was the only Canadian recognized by L'Oréal and UNESCO for her outstanding contribution to science.
Learn more CTV
Listen to an award-winning play inspired by the work of CIFAR Koerner Fellow & Co-Director of the Azrieli program in Brain, Mind & Consciousness, Adrian Owen.
Learn more
February 17, 2017 | Western Media
New brain scan analysis
Western researchers, including BMI member Dr. Andrea Soddu, have developed a new brain scan analysis to better treat head injuries.
Learn More CTV
DI-BMI Exchange Program
Congratulations to Chao Gu, Kathryn Manning and Molly Henry in receiving support from the DI-BMI Trainee Exchange Programme to conduct collaborative research at Radboud University.
Learn
Concussion blood test
BMI member Mark Daley, along with researchers associated with Western, have developed a concussion blood test with 90-per-cent accuracy rate.
Learn more
2016 News and Announcements
December 21,
Claudio Bassetti and Andrea Soddu are working together to explain how sleep improves an injured brain. Learn More Neurology (Article)
October 19,
New life hack for ‘de-blurring’ visual images without glasses.
An international team of neuroscientists has shown that a person’s ability to see fine visual detail can be sharpened by simply staring for a few seconds at a rapidly flickering display.
Read More CBC Radio - Quirks and Quarks (Audio only)
September 30,
Western welcomes federal support from the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund for BMI's new home in the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building. Learn More
September 21, 2016 | Announcement
2016 Regional Undergraduate Award, Psychology Category
Mallory Jackman, who graduated from Western University’s Honours Specialization in Neuroscience program in June 2015, has won the 2016 Regional Undergraduate Award, an international essay writing competition for undergraduates. Her paper, "Conflict processing across development: The progression of response inhibition networks" was judged the highest performing Highly Commended paper from Canada & US in the Psychology category. Jackman's paper was written for the course 'Research in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience' (Psychology3485F-001), taught by Dr. J. Bruce Morton, a Core Member of The Brain and Mind Institute. Congratulations Mallory!
September 6,
Western Receives $66 Million Federal Grant for Brain Research
Western University's BrainsCAN initiative received a substantial $66 million investment from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) today – the largest research grant in the university's history – providing a significant boost to ongoing research in cognitive neuroscience and imaging at Western. Find out More
August 30, 2016 | Announcement
Postdoctoral position open in Imaging Analysis and Computational Motor Control
Visit Dr. Jörn Diedrichsen's website to find out more information - Lab page
August 19, 2016 | Announcement
Congratulations to the following Highly Commended Entrants of the Undergraduate Awards 2016.
Life Sciences
Allison Bell - BMI, Western University, Grahn Lab
Philosophy
Victor Parchment - BMI, Western Western University, Grahn Lab
Psychology
Celina Everling - BMI, Western University, Grahn Lab
Sarah Schwanz - BMI, Western University, Grahn Lab
Visit website: The Undergraduate Awards Highly Recommended 2016
July 25,
Postdoctoral Fellow / Associate in Sensorimotor Neuroscience Opportunity
Visit Dr. Andrew Prusznski's website to find out more information - Lab
BMI core members recipients of CIHR grants this year
Congratulations to Stefan Everling, Ravi Menon and Andrew Pruszynski (Programs Leaders for CIHR Foundation Grants), as well as Stefan Köhler/Ali Khan (Lead PIs for a CIHR Project Grant). Read More
June 22, 2016 | Announcement
Several BMI Graduate Students receive awards this year
Congratulations to Jordan De Kraker and Tamara Tavares (Alexander Graham Bell Canada Award - CGSD), Eva Berlot (Ontario Trillium Scholarship - OTS), Mazen El-Baba (Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship - CGSM NSERC), Alex Major (Ontario Graduate Scholarship - MSc), and Tamara Tavares (Jonathan & Joshua Memorial Graduate Scholarship - PhD).
June 7,
Consciousness and phantoms
New research, led by Andrea Soddu, may bring us closer to managing phantom sensation by helping us understand the origins
New virtual reality ‘toolbox'
Neuroscientists at Western University, including BMI's Julio Martinez-Trujillo, have developed a new virtual reality ‘toolbox’ that can be used to build video games with a unique capacity for teaching and testing both humans and animal models
BMI Member, Dr. Lorina Naci, received the Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year award from Western University. This award recognizes a Western Postdoctoral Scholar for having shown exceptional commitment and potential as an emerging scientist. The Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year stands out among his/her peers for excellence displayed in research, leadership, service, outreach, and/or teaching. This award recipient was selected based on a nomination and review
April 28,
Abnormal brain interactions harm consciousness
Over the past few years, a great amount of scientific research has shown that even when the brain is “at rest” it still works. An international research team has now investigated the interactions of the ‘resting-state networks’ in different states of consciousness.
Learn More London Free Press
April 22,
BMI's Jessica Grahn named one of 2016's Faculty Scholars
The Faculty Scholars Award recognizes significant recent scholarly achievements in teaching or research. Also, the recipients have an international presence in their discipline and are considered
Read More
April 20, 2016 | Western News
New Western neuroscience study shows how we learn from watching others
A study from Western University shows that the parts of our brain that provide us with our sense of touch are activated when we watch someone else learn a manual skill.
Learn More
April 14, 2016 |
Diminished Brain Connectivity
A new study shows that loss of responsiveness induced by propofol, a commonly used anesthetic, is associated with greatly diminished brain connectivity in the frontal cortex and significant changes in resting state brain networks.
Read More (pdf)
April 13, 2016 | Announcement
Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Lomber for his Excellence in Education award and Dr. Stefan Everling for the Dean's Award of Excellence for Faculty in Research.
Recipient List
April 8, 2016 | Announcement
Six core researchers and two associate members at the Brain and Mind Institute have recently received NSERC funding. Congratulations to this year's NSERC Discovery grant recipients: Brian Corneil, Jody Culham, Jörn Diedrichsen, Jessica Grahn, Marc Joanisse, Stephen Lomber, Roy Eagleson and Lindsay Nagamatsu.
April 8,
Research Associate Opportunity in the TCNLab
April 5, 2016 | Western News
BMI Postdoctoral Fellow in Köhler lab suggests following your heart to remember.
Investigators at Western’s renowned Brain and Mind Institute have discovered that signals from inside your body can affect memories.
Medical News Today - April 9, 2016
April 4, 2016 | Announcement
Congratulations to Dr. Bruce Morton, who has just been awarded
April 4,
Congratulations to Dr. Stefan Everling for being chosen as a recipient of a 2016 Faculty Scholar Award and cross-appointee Dr. Kevin Shoemaker for being named a 2016 Distinguished University Professor.
March 17,
Screen time helps reveal
Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida explore how memory triggers reactions by teaching mice how to touch screens on tablets. Read More
March 17, 2016 | Western News
Internationally renowned neuroscientists join the Brain and Mind Institute
Western Research Chair, Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida specialize in understanding cognition, as well as developing and discovering new techniques for translating data, to help treat patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Read more or see CTV Videoclip
March 10, 2016 |
Jörn Diedrichsen and his collaborators are using robotics to study human movement to develop better treatments for strokes and spinal cord damage in humans.
Western News
Motherboard
The London Free Press
March 1, 2016 | Western News
Construction underway
Construction has now started on the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB). This facility will serve as the new home for the Brain and Mind Institute and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy.
Learn more
February 19, 2016 | Announcement
CRC Chairs at Western
Congratulations to BMI's Andrew Pruszynski on being named one of six Canada Research Chairs!
Read Article
January 29, 2016 | Announcement
Dr. Tutis Vilis' textbook title "Physiology of the Senses" is now available to access for FREE, for a limited time, at the iTunes Store
CBS Talks
The Computational Brain Science group, an inter-departmental effort to promote computational neuroscience at Western, is launched. Learn more about the biweekly Methods-lunch meetings and featured invited talks.
See Calendar
January 4, 2016 | APS
Newly Named Fellow of APS
Congratulations to Daniel Ansari on being named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (APS).
See List
January 4, 2016 | APS
2015 APS Rising Stars
Ian Lyons, from Daniel Ansari's Numerical Cognition Lab, has been named a 'Rising Star' by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Congratulations Ian!
See List
January 4, 2016 | Western News
New imaging technique
An international research collaboration, led by Western University, has developed a new imaging technique that makes it possible for doctors and scientists to assess changes in metabolic activity in clinical cases with patients suffering severe brain injuries and disorders of consciousness.
Learn more
2015 News and Announcements
December 18,
Making room to grow
To make room for the growing demand
Learn
Lorina Naci was
November 30,
Cloudy with a chance of discovery
Created in 2012, the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform (SOSCIP) has progressed research at Western by pairing state-of-the-art technology, including cloud and agile computing platforms, with leading scientists who analyze the brain in real-time to diagnose schizophrenia, autism and Alzheimer’s more quickly. A new $65 million investment from IBM Canada Ltd. will enable SOSCIP to take similar research collaborations to new heights.
Learn
London's newest (academic) supergroup
Western University’s Brain and Mind Institute and the nearby Don Wright Faculty of Music have started a new partnership — formerly called Musical Learning Across the Lifespan (MLAL) — is more about brain development than it is Grammy nominations. But if you’re at all curious about how music and the brain intertwine, you’ll want to keep an eye on this new supergroup.
Learn
Calling for a truce in the classroom math wars
For years, Canadian parents and educators have engaged in
CBC Radio - Article
Education Canada - Article
November 3, 2015 | Western News
Western Student Wins International Undergraduate Award
Jane Hutchinson, an undergraduate student in one of Daniel Ansari's Psychology courses, won Best Overall Performance for her paper on Neuroscience and Education. The Undergraduate Awards are the “world’s only pan-discipline academic awards program that identifies leading creative thinkers through their undergraduate coursework”. Students from the best universities in the world submit their third- and fourth-year papers to be judged against other students’ papers in 25 different subject categories. This year, the Undergraduate Awards received 5,117 submissions from undergraduates studying at 255 universities across 39 countries.
Learn
2015 Governor General Gold Medal
Dr. Melanie Kok was recently awarded the 2015 Governor General Gold Medal. Professor Stephen Lomber, Melanie’s thesis supervisor, considers her to be “one of the most promising and creative young scientists” whom he has had the pleasure to know. Congratulations Melanie!
Read
Silence on Science degrades Canada
“Canada is falling behind in many international comparisons of research productivity and innovation” shared Prof. Daniel Ansari in his recent submission to the London Free Press. “Scientists and researchers across the country are deeply concerned about the future of their field in Canada. From coast to coast we have faced severe cuts in the
Full Article
October 2015 | Announcement
Musical Learning Across the Lifespan (MLAL)
The launch event for this a new research initiative will be a Public Symposium on Musical Learning Across the Lifespan, held on Saturday 17th October 2015, in the Paul Davenport Theatre, Don Wright Faculty of Music. Further information -
A study published by The Journal of Neuroscience challenges the more traditional scientific belief that using touch to recognize objects depends on visual circuitry in the human brain.
Read More
October 5, 2015 | Presentation
Neurophilosophy Speaker
Hugo Critchley will be the next presenter in the Neurophilosophy Speaker Series. His talk entitled "Interoception, Emotion
Events calendar for The Rotman Institute of Philosophy for other upcoming events -
Western University develops
A team of doctors, neuroscientists and philosophers have developed the first-ever ethical framework for researchers and research ethics committees to design, conduct and review functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies for
Read More
August 16, 2015 | The London Free Press
Western Scientists tap into the brain
From conversing with someone in a vegetative state to detecting a crisis long before it erupts, find out how technology and computers are changing the way researchers think of health care.
Read More
August 7, 2015 | Announcement
Dr. Yoshiko Yabe was awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to continue her work with Prof. Mel Goodale in the BMI. Congratulations Yoshiko!
Fellowship Information
August 2015 | Announcement
Inaugural Brain and Mind Symposium
Our International Scientific Advisory Board will be at Western University to see first-hand the cutting-edge research taking place at the Brain and Mind Institute for our Inaugural Symposium this fall on Sunday, September 20th
Congratulations to the following BMI PI's on their CIHR Operating Grant Awards: Brian Corneil, Stephen Lomber and Julio Martnez-Trujillo.
Read More
July 21, 2015 | Research2Reality
Mathematics and Mental Health
Gone are the days of the lone scientist. Mark Daley speaks about the importance of research done in collaboration across multiple disciplines to find solutions to the complex problems that surround us including the human brain and mental health.
Find out More
July 6, 2015 | Globe and Mail
New CIFAR program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness
The Globe and Mail announce Adrian Owen and Mel Goodale to direct a new CIFAR program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness
Western University scientists rethinking traffic flow in the brain
Dr. J. Bruce Morton and fellow scientist R. Matthew Hutchinson use video imaging to scan brains and are finding out things may not be 'hardwired' as once thought.
Western News - Read
London Free Press -
Quirks & Quarks Question Period: Big Brains
Dr. Melvyn Goodale helps answer a question posed by Baily Kaupp, a 10-year-old from Blaketown, Newfoundland, about why people are smarter, on CBC’s Quirks & Quarks.
Listen
Menon earns elite citation from imaging group
Today, Menon became one of only six Canadians ever selected as a senior fellow by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). He is being recognized for his significant contributions to advancements in fMRI and ultra-high field MRI at the ISMRM’s 23rd Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Toronto.
Find out More
May 25, 2015 | London Free Press
Western University scientists say dynamic views of the brain may improve treatment of mental illness
Dr. J. Bruce Morton and fellow scientist R. Matthew Hutchinson use video imaging to scan brains and find out things may not be wired as we once thought they were.
Read more
May 22, 2015 | London Free Press
Grade 12 student who mentored at the BMI, wins Science Award
Dan Alferov is a Grade 12 student at Lucas secondary school and has mentored at the BMI since Grade 9. Recently, he won a gold medal and received the Senior Discovery Award at the Thames Valley District school board fair.
Find out More
May 2015 | Announcement
Daniel Ansari has received the award for 'postdoctoral supervisor of the year' by the School for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) at Western University. This award is given to Postdoctoral Supervisors who have demonstrated exemplary support for postdoctoral scholars at Western by going above and beyond supervisory expectations. These mentors have given their time and put forth extra effort to ensure a successful experience for postdoctoral scholars. Congratulations Daniel!
May 2015 | Announcement
Chao Gu, a
May 5,
Ethics and Neuroimaging
Charles Weijer, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Bioethics at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, gave a presentation last week at the University of California, San Diego on the ethical issues surrounding the management and treatment of patients in
You can listen to the interview - Here
May 4, 2015 | The London Free Press
Beal Secondary School Robotics Team Wins Award at World Competition
BMI is proud to have sponsored Raider Robotics, a London high school robotics team, who won the Creativity Award at the First Robotics World Competition held in St. Louis MO.
Read more here:
The London Free Press
Twitter
April 29, 2015 | Announcement
Call for the BMI-Kaloy Prize 2015
The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and The Kaloy Foundation have created "The Brain‐Mind‐Kaloy Prize (BMI‐Kaloy Prize)" in order to link neuroscientific research to philosophical questions.
Find out More
April 21, 2015 | CBC News
Brain training games: No proof they prevent cognitive decline
The idea of playing a game to make you sharper seems like a no-brainer, but do they really help your brain perform better in everyday life?
Read More
April 21, 2015 | Global News
A world of echoes: Canadian research into how the blind use sound to see
The practice of
Find out More
April 10, 2015 | Western News
Western adds two new CRC chairs, three more renewed
Already recognized as one of the world’s top
Read More
March 19, 2015 | Western News
Faculty Scholar Awards
Dr. Paul Gribble of the BMI was one of 12 selected for this year’s Faculty Scholar Awards recognizing their significant achievements in teaching or research. Congratulations Paul!
Find out More
March 13, 2015
2015 London Brain Bee
The 2015 London Brain Bee will be taking
Get more
Bartha awarded Alzheimer Foundation grant
Medical Biophysics professor Dr. Robert Bartha has been awarded the Alzheimer Foundation London and Middlesex Premier Research Grant to support research, personnel and supportive infrastructure. Bartha is a member of Western’s Brain and Mind Institute.
Read
Research at the BMI could help kids master numerical skills at
Daniel Ansari’s Lab is the only one in Canada exploring precisely how our brains tackle math. They are combining psychology with MRI scanners to see which parts of the brains do the heavy lifting.
Read
In recognition for his outstanding work, Dr. Daniel Ansari is being awarded the NSERC Steacie Fellowship in an official ceremony this evening along with other Canadian scientists and engineers. Congratulations Dr. Ansari!
Read More
February 9, 2015 | Spark on CBC Radio
Your bed is listening to you while you sleep
CBC Radio's Spark speaks with Stuart Fogel about the rise in popularity of devices that help us monitor and track our sleep.
Listen
New 3D printer a matter of Brain and Mind
After diligent work, a new 3D printer forms the new centerpiece of the Physics and Astronomy machine shop.
Read More
January 21, 2015 | New Publication
A paper recently released from the Ansari Lab “Qualitatively different coding of symbolic and nonsymbolic numbers in the human brain“ is featured on the cover of the current issue of Human Brain Mapping.
Paper in PubMed
Current Issue of Human Brain Mapping
January 21, 2015 | Announcement
Elizabeth Hayden was named APS Fellow by the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Congratulations Dr. Hayden!
View APS page -
Alzheimer's Research at Western
Canada AM featured some of the cutting edge equipment found at Western University used to diagnose Alzheimer's.
Watch the story -
Congratulations to Jeremy Viczko who was awarded the Ralph S Devereux Award in Psychology and to Valya Sergeeva who was awarded the Reva Gerstein Fellowship for Masters Study in Psychology. Great work sleep lab
2014 News and Announcements
December 22,
Echolocation acts as a 'sixth' sense for the blind
Human echolocation operates as a viable 'sense,' working in tandem with other senses to deliver information to people with visual impairment.
Western News
December 12, 2014 | Western News
Brain able to determine size even with no conscious experience with the object
Interview with CBC News - Listen Here
Interview with Fairchild TV - Watch
Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy
Three Postdoctoral Fellow job
Postdoc needed for Sleep Lab
We are currently seeking to fill a 2-year funded position for a Postdoctoral Fellow to work collaboratively with Dr. Adrian Owen (http://www.owenlab.uwo.ca) in the BMI Sleep Research Laboratory (http://bmisleeplab.uwo.ca). Interested candidates can contact Dr. Stuart Fogel by email (sfogel[at]uwo.ca) to
Western News
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience - Full Article
New Scientist -Discussion of
Graduate student Raechelle Gibson (supervisor: Dr. A. Owen) has been awarded a Canada Graduate Scholarship - Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement (CGS-MSFSS) from NSERC for her current Vanier CGS. The CGS-MSFSS Program supports high
November 26,
New ways of detecting covert awareness in patients with disorders of consciousness
Paper released today showing that some patients, despite their lack of
Full Article
November 6, 2014
Interview on CTV London -Watch
BMI helps high school student publish scientific research
After several years of supervised research at the BMI, a local high school student named Dan Alferov co-authors an original research article “Inter-element orientation and distance influence the duration of persistent contour integration” in the international scientific journal
Read
Shift work can age your brain
Listen to an interview with Stuart Fogel on CBC about shift work and how it
Listen Here
Second interview -
Raechelle Gibson from the BMI will be speaking in the Scholars to Leaders Series on Wednesday, October 29th at 2:30 p.m. This is a unique initiative by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to listen to academic and private-sector professionals who are uniquely skilled. This will be held in the International and Graduate Affairs Building – 1st Floor Classroom (IGAB 1N05)
Neuroimaging Made With IBM Cloud. Made with IBM.
Researchers at Western University are using IBM Cloud and Analytics to watch regions of the human brain communicating with each other to diagnose and describe brain disorders in real time
Watch Clip
September 18,
BMI Investigator named as
Daniel Ansari, a Principal Investigator at the BMI, has been named among three Western professors and one King’s University College professor, inaugural members of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists
Full Article
September 15, 2014 | Western
Hitchcock movie used to detect consciousness in the Vegetative State
Researchers from the BMI at Western University have used a short Alfred Hitchcock movie to detect consciousness in vegetative state patients. Lorina Naci, and her colleagues, Rhodri Cusack, Mimma Anello, and Adrian Owen, reported their findings today in a study titled, "A common neural code for similar conscious experiences in different individuals."
Read More
September 12, 2014 | Western News
Vanier celebrates the nation’s finest
Seven Western graduate students, including Raechelle Gibson, a member of the Owen Lab here at the BMI, are recipients of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Gibson’s research will help identify the neural mechanisms that allow humans to coordinate movements with auditory and tactile stimulation. Congratulations!
Read More
September 11, 2014 | Announcement
Congratulations to Stephen Beukema for his successful proposal to visit the School of Mind and Brain in Berlin! Stephen is currently in his second year of an MSc in Psychology and works closely under Dr. Adrian Owen. He will be representing Canada during his visit, along with 14 other students traveling from Argentina, Austria, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Japan, Serbia, The Netherlands
September 2,
Western Neuroscientist explores nuances of 'touchy' subject
Andrew Pruszynski, a new addition to the BMI here at Western, and his collaborator and current supervisor Roland S. Johansson from Umeå University in Sweden shared their discovery, which redefines how touch signals are processed by the nervous system.
Full Story
August 22, 2014 | Announcement
Graduate Student Kathryn Manning, a member of Ravi Menon's Lab and the BMI, has received an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship for her doctoral work studying MRI biomarkers of Concussion. Congratulations Kathryn!
August 22,
Banting fellowship adds up for Lyons’ math anxiety research
Ian Lyons, a member of the BMI and Daniel Ansari’s Numerical Cognition Lab, receives a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to assist his research of math anxiety. Full Story
July 24, 2014 | Announcement
Lindsay Oliver, a
July 10,
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude, one of Canada’s most innovative neuroscientists, to Western and the BMI where she will further her research into understanding human
Western News
June 27, 2014 | Neuron
Overt Responses during Covert Orienting
In a review published recently in Neuron, the Brain and Mind's Brian Corneil discusses the role of the superior colliculus (SC) during orienting. Because of differences in how SC outputs are processed, neck and limb muscle recruitment, pupil dilation, and microsaccades reflect covert oculomotor processes in the absence of saccades.
Full Story
June 20, 2014 | Western News
Mel Goodale and Adrian Owen to lead human consciousness network
After a year-long international competition, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) has selected Brain and Mind’s Adrian Owen and Mel Goodale to lead a new research network focused on the brain, mind
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PET scans
New research by Physics and Astronomy professor Andrea Soddu touts the ability of PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans to identify patients in a minimally conscious state far more accurately than other imaging technologies.
Read More
June 5, 2014 | Western News
Postdoc unravels secrets to implant effectiveness
Dan Stolzberg, a postdoctoral student in Western’s Brain and Mind Institute under the supervision of Professor Stephen Lomber, was recently rewarded with a Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship that will allow him to advance the understanding of why the performance of sensory prostheses implanted during adulthood is often limited by specific mechanisms in the brain.
Read More
May 29, 2014 | BMC Medical Ethics
Ethics of neuroimaging after serious brain injury
Serious brain injuries place an enormous burden on patients, families, and the healthcare system. Patient outcome after serious brain injury is highly variable. Following a period of coma, some patients make a good recovery, while others progress into a vegetative or minimally conscious state. As it is difficult to predict recovery after serious brain injury, families and physicians are forced to make treatment decisions in the face of uncertainty. Recent advances in neuroimaging may address this problem. Neuroimaging offers the prospect of improved prediction of patient outcome and diagnostic accuracy in
BioMed Central
May 26, 2014 | The London Free Press
BMI High School Student wins ISEF Special Award
Dan Alfrerov, who works with Li-Ann Leow and Lars Strother at the Brain and Mind Institute, won the first place $2500 Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology Award, at the prestigious Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In exciting work crossing the fields of visual perception and music, Dan has shown that the perception of facial emotions is sensitive to changes in the individual's emotional state induced by music
Western Cognitive Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada has funding available for 5 new postdoctoral fellows. The BMI is recognized as one of the world’s leading research institutes in cognitive neuroscience and aims to understand how the brain allows us to perceive the world, makes sense of what we see and hear, remember the past and plan for the future, communicate our thoughts to others, choose goals, plan actions and carry those actions out
A journey through the mind
The Education-Neuroscience Symposium 'Minds on Minds" was held on Friday, May 23, 2014. Visit their website to read more and to listen to podcasts from the event
Graduate students connect education and neuroscience
Western graduate students Stephanie Budgen and Anna Matejko’s work in the area of cognitive neuroscience is now part of a new web-based, open-access science journal recently launched by Nature Publishing Group.
Read
The London Brain Bee 2014
The 6th annual London Brain Bee was recently hosted here at Western University for the best and brightest high school students from London and
Full Story
April 11, 2014 |
Two New Faculty Scholars at the BMI
Western has announced 13 new Faculty Scholars across all faculties in recognition of their significant achievements in teaching and/or research. The recipients will hold the title for two years. Two of the new Faculty Scholars are PIs at the BMI - Marc Joanisse and Stefan Köhler. Congratulations Marc and Stefan! One of last year's recipients, Elizabeth Hayden (who still holds the title), is also a PI at the BMI
The Sixth Annual "Psychology: The Science of Being Human" Lecture Series
The Sixth Annual "Psychology: The Science of Being Human" Lecture Series begins on April 10 and is being held at London Central Library. This
The International Conference on Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation
The International Conference on Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation (UCNC) will be held here at Western this July and will provide an exciting opportunity to build some interdisciplinary bridges.
March 26, 2014 | CBC Radio
A lack of sleep may damage the brain
Research indicates that a lack of sleep may cause permanent loss of brain cells -Read More
Also, listen to BMI's Stuart Fogel discuss sleep loss on CBC's Calgary Eyeopener -Here
March 7, 2014 | Talk Announcement
Neurophilosophy Speaker Series: Howard Eichenbaum, March 12, 2014
Join us in March for a talk by Howard Eichenbaum, of Boston University. In his talk, Eichenbaum will review our understanding of the Hippocampus and its functionality in supporting episodic memory in animals.
The lecture takes place on Wednesday, March 12,
2014 London Brain Bee, Saturday, April 5th
High School students who are interested in topics like intelligence, memory, emotions or addiction come out and take part in the London Brain Bee
Congratulations to Daniel Ansari, and Co-Investigators Adrian Owen and Charles Weijer, on their successful CIHR Operating Grant awards.
January 31,
Big Brains, Big Data, Big Challenges
Join Mark Daley, principal investigator at Western’s Brain and Mind Institute, for a complimentary lecture as he discusses the challenges and opportunities of “big data” with examples from cutting-edge neuroscience research. To find out more click –Here
January 30, 2014 | Western News
International collaboration develops
A research team led by Western University, in collaboration with The University of Liège in Belgium and Central University Colombia, has developed a new strategy to study the human brain while it's resting, which gives scientists and health care providers a baseline for measuring states of awareness.
Western News - Here
CTV News Story -
Stephen
The London Brain Bee will be on April 5th
High school students from London and
January 20, 2014 | CBC News
Neuroscience journal edited by kids, for kids
Children pair up with scientists to edit neuroscience papers. Daniel Ansari, a professor of psychology at Western University and a member of the BMI, is among the 47 scientists who joined the project.
Find out more -
Kevin Johnston and Brian Timney have shown that alcohol greatly affects the ability to adjust vision for brightness and contrast.
Read more -
Mel Goodale has just been elected a Fellow of the Society of Biology, a learned society in Great Britain that was created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Congratulations Mel!
January 7,
BMI featured in Western's Be Extraordinary Campaign
Watch the Campaign video - Here
Get More Information - Here
2013 News and Announcements
November 27,
Western imaging research improves MS diagnosis
A new study from the Robarts Research Institute has found a better way to use MRI scans to detect and possibly follow the progress of multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. CTV News Story - Here
Medical News Today - Here
November 19 2013 | Western News
Western researchers explore links between learning disorders in children
New interdisciplinary research from Western University has uncovered fundamental links among three major learning difficulties in some school-age children. Although many children have specific problems with dyslexia, specific language impairment
Read Article in PLoS ONE - Here
You can watch the CTV News Story - Here
Abnormal brain activity points to damage in former players
Researchers at Imperial College (London, U.K.) and Western's Brain and Mind Institute have teamed up to study brain injuries in former National Football League (NFL) players. Read More - Here
October 31 2013 | BMI Announcement
Western University neuroscientist investigates why humans sleep
As North America prepares to turn its collective clocks back an hour this weekend, consequently gaining an hour of sleep, a neuroscientist at Western University is investigating one of the dominant hypotheses that would explain the unsolved mystery of why humans sleep. Read More - Here
October 28 2013 |
Understanding
New research led by Dr. Ravi Menon at Western University is providing
Dr. Grahn is interviewed for an article on the power of musical rhythm in "The New Brain", a Special Edition of Maclean’s Magazine. "In The New Brain, Maclean’s best writers examine the most intriguing ideas about the body’s most complex organ. Once the domain of philosophers, phrenologists, priests
The root of the problem: This is your brain on math
Take a look at this recent Globe and Mail story about research in Daniel Ansari's lab which is measuring the relationship between brain activity in children's brains and their ability to solve simple arithmetic problems. As
Globe and Mail story -
The Treachery of Images
Jody Culham did an interview with Nora Young on CBC Radio1's Spark program. She discussed work done in collaboration with Jacqueline Snow (former postdoctoral fellow, now a professor at the University of Nevada Reno) on how real objects differ from photographs. You can listen to the interview - Here
August 21 2013 |
Why do we forget?
The Director of the US National Institute of Mental Health, Tom Insel, just identified an opinion paper recently co-authored by scientists at Sick Kids Hospital and BMI researcher Stefan Köhler as a major advance in understanding the neural basis of forgetting.
Check out his blog - Here
August 13 2013 | BMI Announcement
Research looks to communicate with coma patients
With the help of fMRI,
More - Here
July 2 2013 | Western News
Western team wins brain mapping hackathon
A team of researchers, fuelled predominantly by Western's Brain and Mind Institute, won
Read more - Here
May 29 2013 | BMI Announcement
Clarke Road Grade 10 Student off to Brain Bee
Coming off a recent win at the London Brain Bee, Clarke Road Secondary School student Melanie Colvin is preparing to duke it out with some of the best brains in the country during the Canadian National Brain Bee at Hamilton’s McMaster University. Read More - Here
May 21 2013 | BMI Announcement
MRI Research Technologist Needed
The Brain and Mind Institute at Western University in London Ontario is seeking an MRI Research Technologist to assist with MRI (particularly fMRI) data acquisition and analysis. At the moment the position has term temporary full-time status until Dec. 2013, but incoming funds are anticipated to enable us to convert the position to full-time permanent status
Mel Goodale elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
On 2 May 2013 the Director of the Brain and Mind Institute,
Apr. 30 2013 |
Analyzing brain activity in near real time
Jingyun Chen, Jinhui Qin, Rhodri Cusack
Apr. 22 2013 |
2013 London Brain Bee
On
Apr. 1 2013 |
Daley and the Science Leadership Program
Mark Daley has been invited to participate in the Science Leadership Program being held May 2-4, 2013, at the University of Toronto. Only 8 people outside of U of T were chosen from across Canada to be SLP Fellows. Congratulations Mark!
Mar. 26 2013 |
TEDxWaterloo
Is “home” a concept or a reality? A place to begin from or a place to return to? Is home where the heart is or wherever you say it is? From our home planet to most intimate interactions in home life, TEDxWaterloo 2013 is chasingHOME and what happens when it is lost and found. Jessica Grahn will be speaking Wednesday, March 27th.
Mar. 25 2013 | BMI Announcement
Canada-Israel Symposium on Brain Plasticity, Learning, and Education
The symposium will take place at Western University from June 14 to 16, 2013. Both Canada and Israel have a number of groups that are investigating issues
Prof. Tutis Vilis has just published an e-textbook for medical students.
"My Brain Notes for Medical Students" went on sale in the iTunes bookstore March 15,
Mar. 1 2013 | BMI Announcement
Delusions of Identity in Alzheimer’s Disease
Dr. Stefan Köhler,
Feb. 26 2013 | Western News
Dr. Tutis Vilis receives Queen's Jubilee Award
Congratulations to Dr. Tutis Vilis, scientist/professor and civic activist. For over two decades,
Blind brain engages "visual" pathways when identifying object shape using echoes
A new study by Jennifer Milne, a PhD student, and colleagues from The Brain and Mind Institute at Western University in London found that the areas of the brain that use the echo-based cues about an object's shape are also located in the same region of the brain activated by visual cues for shape in a sighted person.
Paper in Neuropsychologia Journal - Here Listen to Jennifer Milne - Here
Feb. 14 2013 | Child Encyclopedia
Cognitive Stimulation (Executive Functioning)
J Bruce Morton and graduate student, Katie Knapp, edit the development of Executive Function on the
A significant number of blind humans, not unlike bats and dolphins, can localize silent objects in their environment simply by making clicking sounds with their mouth and listening to the returning echoes.
Read
"Better living through telepathy?"
Will humans someday communicate by thought alone?
Read Article
Feb. 7 2013 | BMI Announcement
Announcing Cattell Fund Fellowship recipient
For the 2013-2014 academic year, one of three Cattell Fund Fellowship recipients is Stephen G. Lomber, a Professor of Physiology and Psychology at the Western University in London, Ontario.
Read More
Feb. 7
BMI Researchers secure CIHR funding for developing a new treatment for dementia
Two researchers at Western's Brain and Mind Institute have just received a 4-year grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research to evaluate the impact of a potential novel treatment for the loss of empathy that occurs in Frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Read
Echolocation in Polish
An article about Mel Goodale's work on the neural basis of echolocation in the blind appears in the Polish science magazineCharaktery.
Read PDF
Program Looks to build a safer implant/strong>
Blaine Chronik and his team are looking to build medical devices, such as pacemakers, that are safe for the public and the magnetic resonance (MR) environment.
Read
Owen documentary now available in Canada
The BBC-TV program Panorama featured Western neuroscientist Adrian Owen last fall detailing his revolutionary efforts to communicate with severely brain-injured patients. The documentary, The Mind Reader; Unlocking My Voice, was only available in the U.K. until now.
Watch Documentary
Jan. 2013 |
Western neuroscience study reveals
New research from Western University provides brain imaging evidence that students well-versed in very basic single digit arithmetic (5+2=7 or 7-3=4) are better equipped to score higher on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), an examination sat by millions of students in the United States each year in preparation for college admission tests.
Watch Video
Jan. 7 2013 | Canadians for Health Research
Researcher of the Month in Visual Neuroscience
Like many young adults, after earning his first university degree, Mel Goodale traveled to Europe to “find himself”. He failed miserably. Instead, he spent a lot of time wandering around the U.K., taking odd jobs and living in damp apartments with dubious roommates.
Read More
2012 News and Announcements
Dec. 17,
A scientific pioneer and a reluctant role model
In the early 1950s, Wilder Penfield, one of the world’s leading neurosurgeons at the time, performed what should have been a straightforward elective surgery.
Read More
Dec. 13, 2012 | Western News
Peterson and Naci: Confronting ethical implications of detecting awareness in the vegetative state
Imagine that a close family member of yours was involved in a terrible car accident.
The accident caused a traumatic brain injury that, despite the best efforts of physicians, has left your family member with a nebulous prognosis and severely diminished levels of consciousness.
Find out
Postdoc explores roots of math in brain
Ian Lyons, a Department of Psychology postdoctoral fellow, is researching the idea of math anxiety, along with the overall neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying mathematical thinking – in
Learn
Neuroscientists to explain how education, poverty, and parents change kids' brains in unique ways at Learning & the Brain Conference
In
Read
Watch the Mind Reader: Unlocking my Voice" on BBC
Quirks & Quarks 35th Anniversary Special
To celebrate this special occasion, we brought together 10 Canadian scientists, representing 10 different fields of science, and asked each of them to tell us about the extraordinary changes that have occurred in each of their fields, since Quirks first went on the air in 1975.
Read
What does a vegetative state mean for the brain?
In a world exclusive, reporter Fergus Walsh followed a group of
Watch Video
Nov. 12, 2012 | BBC News Health
Vegetative patient Scott Routley says 'I'm not in pain'
A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more than a
Read
York CVR Vision Science Summer School
The Centre for Vision Research (CVR) at York University offers a one-week, all-expenses-paid undergraduate summer school on vision science.
Read More
Oct. 23, 2012 | Western News
Culham appointed to
eLife, a new high-profile, open-access biomedical journal, has just been launched with Western professor Jody Culham on its Board of Reviewing Editors.
Find out More
Oct. 13, 2012 | Financial Post
Brains may be
Here’s some consolation for all those brainiacs out there who are financial failures. It just might be that your brain gets in the way of financial success, or so TD Waterhouse suggests in a release today.
Read More
Oct. 11, 2012 | National Geographic
Why the Deaf Have Enhanced Vision
Deaf people with enhanced vision can thank otherwise idle brain cells for their heightened sense, a new study in cats suggests. That's because the brain recruits cells normally devoted to hearing to help them see better, the research revealed.
Read More
Oct. 11,
Research discovers
Deaf or blind people often report enhanced abilities in their remaining senses, but up until now, no one has explained how and why that could be
Neuroscientists unravel vegetative state
By exploring parts of the brain that trigger during periods of daydreaming and mind-wandering, neuroscientists from Western have made a significant breakthrough in understanding what physically happens in the brain to cause vegetative state and other so-called 'disorders of consciousness.'
Find out More
Oct. 2, 2012 | The Gazette
Bill Nye (the Science Guy) is coming to Western
Consider the following—Bill Nye is coming to Western on November 20. Remembered largely for his television program Bill Nye the Science Guy, Nye has been invited to Western by the Science Students’ Council to speak on the importance of science and further foster the pursuit of it by Western students
Homecoming 2012 has brains on the mind
Western is recognized as one of the world's leading academic institutions for the scientific exploration of
Explaining those feelings of déjà vu
Most people have been in a situation that suddenly feels strangely familiar, while also realizing that they have never been in that specific place before.
Read More
June 13, 2012 | Nature Magazine
Neuroscience: The Mind Reader
Adrian Owen still gets animated when he talks about patient 23. The patient was only 24 years old when his life was devastated by a car accident. Alive but unresponsive, he had been languishing in what neurologists refer to as a vegetative state for five years, when Owen, a
Read More
June 2012 | Reader's Digest
Bat Man
Biking along the gravel roads near his family’s farm in southwestern Ontario, Brian Borowski always paid close attention to his surroundings. Constantly turning his head back and forth, he’d note the grassy margins of the trees, the fences
Read More
May 7, 2012 | The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
Discovery Days for high schoolers
On May 4th, The Brain and Mind Institute took part in the "Discovery Days for High Schoolers," which is an opportunity for hands-on learning and to explore careers in medicine and other health sciences
Grant Award: Assessing neonatal brain function with fMRI
The Cusack laboratory has been awarded “Collaborative Research Health Project” funding from NSERC and CIHR
Read More
Apr. 19, 2012 | Western News
Big Blue's gift to bring order to data
Computer Science professor Mark Daley said with terabytes of research information rolling in on a daily basis “everyone is drowning in data nowadays.” But a $65-million donation of analytics software from IBM Canada, announced Wednesday, might just be the life preserver data junkies need.
Find out More
Apr. 13, 2012 | Western News
Neuroscientist Wins Grammy Award
While she didn’t share the stage with Bruce Springsteen or Adele at the 54th annual Grammy Awards, Jessica Grahn is now a Grammy winner.
Learn More
Mar. 2, 2012 | Western News
Jian Ghomeshi Q&A at Western University
London-area fans who were unable to get tickets to Q’s live show at The Grand Theatre on Thursday, March 8 are invited to gather at Western University the following day (Friday, March 9) to listen to the broadcast as it airs from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on CBC Radio One. A special Q&A with host Jian Ghomeshi follows from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Feb. 9, 2012 | Western News
Song remains the same for
Jessica Grahn doesn’t do ‘fluffy.’ Not at all.
The Western University neuroscientist with the Brain and Mind Institute
Read
Finding ties between music, the brain and how we move
A unique laboratory at The University of Western Ontario will help researchers study timing, rhythm
Find out
Grant targets surgical learning
University of Western Ontario researchers Gavin Buckingham and Melvyn A. Goodale, both of the Western’s Brain and Mind Institute, recently received a one-year $48,000 Health Research Grant from the Physicians’ Services Incorporated Foundation.
Read
Mel Goodale speaks about Human echolocation on the Discovery Channel's 'The Daily Planet'
2011 News and Announcements
Dec. 16,
New research identifies changes in spinal cord compression
Research from The University of Western Ontario is now looking beyond spinal cord injuries in patients to better understand what is happening in the brain.
Learn
We changed our name!
As of November 1, 2011, the Centre for Brain and Mind will be known as The Brain and Mind Institute. This change in our designation by the University of Western Ontario reflects the increasing visibility of our research enterprise on the international stage. The Brain and Mind Institute will continue to promote collaborations between Western researchers and other researchers around the
Goodale to address
Melvyn Goodale, director of the Centre for Brain and Mind at The University of Western Ontario, will address the 65th annual meeting of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). One of eight speakers, Goodale will deliver the Mac Keith Press Basic Science Lectureship on Friday, Oct. 14 in Las Vegas
Humour lends insight into
How the human brain processes jokes may help researchers determine if a person in a vegetative state can experience positive emotions – a breakthrough that could help friends, relatives
Read More
June 30, 2011 | Western News
Brain research predicts premeditated actions
Bringing the real world into the brain scanner, researchers at The University of Western Ontario from The Centre for Brain and Mind can now determine the action a person was planning, mere moments before that action is actually executed.
Learn More
June 9, 2011 | Western News
Ken Valyear receives the Governor General’s
Ken Valyear is quick to say he isn’t a scientific whiz kid or boy wonder. But his curiosity, determination and strong work ethic have paid off, earning him the Governor General’s Gold Medal.
Find out More
June 3, 2011| Science News
A year adds up to big changes in brain
“I think this is really fascinating,” says cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Ansari of the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. “Anybody who doesn’t believe that development is important needs to read this
Read More
May 13, 2011 | Western News
Seeing through sound: How a tongue click gave one man independence
Watching Daniel Kish climb aboard a bicycle and pedal along a path may not seem like a spectacular feat. Unless you know he has been fully blind since 13 months of age.
Learn More
May 25, 2011 | The Globe and Mail
Radar-like 'inner vision' helps blind learn to navigate beyond preconceived limits
Daniel Kish has no
Read More
May 25, 2011 | CBC News
Blind people echolocate with
Blind people who navigate using clicks and echoes,
Read More
May 25, 2011 | PLOS ONE
Neural Correlates of Natural Human Echolocation in Early and Late Blind Echolocation Experts
By Mel Goodale, Lore Thaler, and Stephen R. Arnott
Read More
Mar. 8, 2011 | Science Daily
Right-Handers, but Not Left-Handers, Are Biased to Select Their Dominant Hand
The vast majority of humans -- over 90% -- prefer to use their right hand for most skilled tasks. For decades, researchers have been trying to understand why this asymmetry exists. Why, with our two cerebral hemispheres and motor cortices, are we not equally skilled with both hands?
Read
Awarding excellence from our staff: Haitao Yang
Computer system administrator, Department of Psychology Haitao Yang is one person a lot of folks count on. His focus remains on software development, network maintenance
Why things just don't add up for some students
It is not a typical math test. The elementary school students lie as still as they can in a brain scanner while they answer questions for
Read More
2010 News and Announcements
Oct. 10,
Deaf people 'can rewire brains'
People deaf from birth may be able to reassign the area of their brain used for hearing to boost their sight, suggests a study.
Read More
Oct. 10, 2010|
People born deaf can see with parts of their brain that normally process sound, a new University of Western Ontario study says.
Learn More
May 17, 2010 | Western News
Owen joins Centre for Brain and Mind
One of the world's foremost neuroscientists, Adrian Owen, has been recruited to The University of Western Ontario as a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) and will bring his remarkable research program from the University of Cambridge
