UNews - Majid Mohajerani

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers awarded more than $2.3 million in NSERC, CFI funding support

trevor.kenney — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 22:07:42 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers across a breadth of disciplines have earned more than $2.3 million in funding support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), as announced by the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health in Edmonton today.

The funding support is part of a $960-million investment by the federal government in research activities across the country.

“This funding is an integral part of the research process and supports our faculty members and their teams in multiple ways, from hiring essential personnel to training graduate and undergraduate students, to acquiring essential equipment and more,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge vice-president (research). “This support allows our researchers to continue to pursue the solutions to a host of issues facing society today and in the future.”

“My best wishes to all the recipients of these grants, awards and scholarships,” adds Minister Holland. “The government is pleased to invest in your diverse array of health, natural sciences and engineering research projects because we know that your ideas, passion and hard work, as well as the evidence you uncover, are instrumental in improving the health and quality of life of people in Canada, and your findings contribute to the international research effort around the world.”

In all, nine ULethbridge researchers were successful in their NSERC grant applications, which included funding for projects in neuroscience, biological sciences, chemistry & biochemistry and mathematics & computer science. As well, Drs. Majid Mohajerani and Stacey Wetmore earned CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) awards.

Among the projects are Dr. Roy Golsteyn’s (biological sciences) work investigating human cell division and utilizing beneficial chemicals in Canadian prairie plants, which was funded at $300,000 ($60,000 per year over five years). As well, Dr. Bruce McNaughton (neuroscience) receives $420,000 over five years for his study to understand the neural basis of long-term, episodic memory, and Dr. Robert Benkoczi (mathematics & computer science) is receiving a Discovery Development Grant valued at $40,000 over two years as he conducts fundamental research into finding new and more efficient algorithms for planning large scale evacuations.

“The projects our researchers are involved in cover a wide range of topics, all of which are focused on bettering society while providing excellent mentoring and training to undergraduate and graduate students,” adds McMartin. “These funding awards give just a glimpse of the breadth of research activity taking place daily across our campuses.”

Following are details on today’s grant announcements.

NSERC

Discovery Grant (5 years)

Dr. Roy Golsteyn (biological sciences) — Natural products as novel tools to investigate human cell division ($300,000) — Our research uncovers how human cells divide and seeks beneficial chemicals in Canadian prairie plants. From potential cancer treatments to sustainable practices, we are supporting scientific and economic innovation, while fostering cultural exchange with southern Alberta Indigenous communities.

Dr. Igor Kovalchuk (biological sciences) — Transgenerational response to stress in Arabidopsis ($255,000).

Dr. Marc Roussel (chemistry and biochemistry) — Delays in gene expression models: methodological developments ($225,000) — Development of methods for building and analyzing mathematical models of gene expression systems, where transcription, translation and splicing may play a significant role in the timing of events.

Dr. Bruce McNaughton (neuroscience) — Consolidation of cortical memory representations into hippocampus-independent form: neural ensemble dynamics and mechanisms ($420,000) — We are attempting to understand the neural basis of long-term, episodic memory, and its integration into generalized knowledge encoded by brain cells in the cerebral cortex.

Discovery Development Grant (2 years)

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk (biological sciences) — Exosomes - important mediators of direct and bystander radiation effects on the brain ($40,000).

Dr. Robert Benkoczi (mathematics & computer science) — Models and algorithms for facility location ($40,000) — This award supports fundamental research into finding new and more efficient algorithms for planning large scale evacuations.

Dr. Shahadat Hossain (mathematics & computer science) — Efficient computation with sparse and structured matrices – mathematical derivatives and beyond ($40,000).

Research Tools and Instruments (1 year)

Dr. Trushar Patel (chemistry & biochemistry) — Isothermal Titration Calorimetry for Studying Macromolecular Interactions ($150,000) — The installation of ITC (Isothermal Titration Calorimetry) at ULethbridge strengthens the biochemical and biophysical infrastructure as well as the research programs aimed at examining communication events that are at the heart of viral infections and cancer.

Dr. Matthew Tata (neuroscience) — Critical Refit and Upgrade to Electroencephalography Lab at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge ($149,140) — This upgrade includes state-of-the-art electroencephalography systems to study how brain regions communicate with each other while solving the computational problems of perception and cognition.

CFI

John R. Evans Leaders Fund

Dr. Majid Mohajerani (neuroscience) — Innovative brain imaging techniques for aging-associated diseases ($563,466).

Dr. Stacey Wetmore (chemistry & biochemistry) — Tools for modeling the chemistry of modified nucleic acids ($139,702).

The latest weapon against Alzheimer’s disease could be as simple as touch

caroline.zentner — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 22:40:07 +0000

A study by a team of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge neuroscientists has shown that tactile stimulation shows much promise as a non-invasive method of slowing the onset of dementia in aging mice and could be an additional therapeutic intervention for people with Alzheimer’s disease.

January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and the Alzheimer Society encourages everyone to learn more about dementia and its impact on Canadians. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and represents a global health crisis.

Current treatment options only serve to slow the progression of the disease, not to cure or prevent it. That’s why researchers at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience are working hard to increase knowledge about what happens in the brain with AD and find more therapeutic treatments. A recent study by Drs. Bryan Kolb, Majid Mohajerani and their team points the way to a possible easily accessible treatment for AD in humans. Working with a mouse model of AD, the researchers found that tactile stimulation (TS) in the form of light massaging slowed the onset of AD.

“These results suggest that tactile stimulation, which is a non-invasive and cost-effective intervention, could be applied to human AD patients, even after symptoms are obvious,” says Kolb. “Tactile stimulation, such as skin-to-skin contact for newborns or massage for adults, has been shown to benefit brain development and aid recovery from an injury. In this study, we assessed cognitive, motor and anxiety-like behaviours, as well as the presence of plaques in the brain and the volume of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that plays a crucial role in memory.”

The study involved mice specifically bred to develop AD. The mice either received TS daily from birth until weaning (21 days) or, in a separate study, they received TS for 15 days beginning at four months of age. Control mice received no TS. In both cases, the TS groups received light massaging with an experimenter’s fingers for 15 minutes three times a day.

At five-and-a-half months of age, the experimenters used a series of tests to assess whether TS had led to improvements in cognition, motor skills and anxiety behaviours and, at six months of age, the degree of plaque formation and hippocampal volume. Plaque formation in these mice normally begins at about three months of age and by six months, the plaque formation in the brain is saturated and is associated with large deficits in cognition, anxiety and motor skills.

“We found that tactile stimulation significantly improved cognitive and motor dysfunctions and reduced anxiety-like behaviours, regardless of whether the TS was administered in infancy or adulthood,” says Kolb. “On top of that, mice that received TS showed reduced numbers and sizes of plaques in the brain and greater hippocampal volume than mice that didn’t receive TS.”

The authors hypothesize that the TS stimulates the activity of the vagus nerve, which produces a variety of changes in the brain, including reduced inflammation and increased immune function, as well as increasing the production of neurotrophic factors, which are a family of molecules that support the growth, survival and development of neurons.

Along with being non-invasive, TS costs less than drugs, has few, if any, side effects and is easy to administer.

“These findings point to an easily adoptable form of treatment for AD and the more therapeutic interventions we can apply to this disease, the better,” says Kolb.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to launch two new programs with PrairiesCan investment

caroline.zentner — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 22:32:10 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will receive nearly $1.5 million to create the Centre for Neuroengineering Solutions and nearly $870,000 to establish a work-integrated learning centre for Indigenous youth after the Government of Canada announced $11.2 million in funding for 18 projects in the Lethbridge region.

The Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister for PrairiesCan, announced the federal funding, including support for opening a new regional office in Lethbridge.

“The funding the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is receiving from PrairiesCan allows us to become even more connected to our community,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, ULethbridge president and vice-chancellor. “We are excited to increase the opportunities for Indigenous youth to engage in work-integrated learning. On top of that, the neuroengineering centre of excellence will further cement our partnerships and collaborations with local producers and industries.”

The Centre for Neuroengineering Solutions (CNS) is designed to facilitate turning inventions into innovations that solve real-world problems. Neuroengineering is a biomedical field that uses engineering techniques to create solutions to real-world problems.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani

“We plan to develop innovative technology solutions in animal research, animal health and the beef feedlot industry,” says Dr. Majid Mohajerani, a neuroscience professor at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. “This hub will facilitate changing inventions into innovations that solve real-world problems and be a gateway for companies, engineers, scientists and trainees to collaborate at ULethbridge.”

The centre will create new positions and expertise in artificial intelligence, telecommunication, instrumentation and augmented reality. In addition, it will provide training for highly qualified personnel (HQP) and investment and manufacturing opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The overarching goal is to bring new technologies to solve existing problems and provide HQPs with experience in artificial intelligence, sensors and instrumentation and the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT refers to the network of physical devices that have sensors and are connected to the internet, such as home security systems or autonomous farming equipment.

“We are developing new approaches for individual animal identification, tracking and monitoring health information at distances that are orders of magnitude farther than commercially available systems,” says Dr. Rob Sutherland, director of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience.

To create more work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for Indigenous youth, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Career Bridge Centre for Work-Integrated Learning and Career Development will be enhanced through the addition of three positions to focus specifically on creating new learning opportunities for Indigenous students through the Niitsitapi program in WIL excellence. In addition, the funding will also be used to establish a program advisory committee to guide the development of these work-integrated learning opportunities.

“The focus of the Niitsitapi program within the Career Bridge Centre is to create a community of practice in WIL for Indigenous students, Indigenous industry and community partners and community organizations, and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge,” says Stacey Gaudette-Sharp, academic director of Career Bridge. “The Niitsitapi program seeks to enhance educational and employment outcomes for students and strengthen relationships and recruitment opportunities with industry partners.”

Alzheimer’s research at U of L gets significant funding boost

caroline.zentner — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:55:29 +0000

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will continue his groundbreaking research into the molecular mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s disease thanks to a grant of $918,000 over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Zovoilis, director of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC), and Dr. Majid Mohajerani, co-investigator who holds the Dr. Bryan Kolb Professorship/Chair in Neuroscience, are both members of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). They will combine their expertise in genome sciences and neurodegeneration to help solve the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Dr. Athan Zovoilis

“The funding landscape is quite competitive and this support from CIHR is a great success for CCBN and SAGSC,” says Zovoilis. “With no reliable cure for AD and an aging population, Canada is in great need of interdisciplinary, cutting-edge research on the disease and this funding could help us contribute to the development of new treatments.”

“This award demonstrates the exceptional research being done at the U of L,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, U of L vice-president (research). “With more than 747,000 Canadians suffering from dementia, research like this is both important and urgent as we work toward medical breakthroughs to slow or cure the disease.”

“This grant reflects the quality of the research and synergistic environment at CCBN and its ability through SAGSC to fuse behavioural neuroscience and genome sciences,” says Dr. Rob Sutherland, director of CCBN.

In earlier work, Zovoilis and his team found a new molecular mechanism involved in Alzheimer’s disease in mice and confirmed the same mechanism is at work in people with the disease. They used high throughput sequencing techniques that study the DNA readout of brain cells to identify a class of biomolecules, called SINE RNAs, that are produced in different patterns in AD patients versus healthy individuals.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani

Despite having made tremendous strides in understanding AD, many of the underlying molecular processes in the development of AD are still unknown. Mohajerani, an expert in neural dynamics and memory systems, uses cutting-edge optical imaging devices, biosensors and advanced behavioural methods to get a better understanding of how memory becomes impaired in AD. Combined with Zovoilis’ expertise in bioinformatics and genome sciences, the team hopes to determine how the increased processing of SINE RNAs is connected to AD by studying the relationship in real time using a mouse model.

“It makes sense to join forces because of our interconnected research and complementary scientific and technical expertise,” says Mohajerani.

“It is fundamentally important to understand these early molecular changes in the brain as they may provide a target for therapeutic interventions early in the progression of the disease before significant and irreversible brain damage occurs,” says Zovoilis.

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

U of L scientists unveil a novel molecular mechanism underlying Alzheimer’s disease

caroline.zentner — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 16:44:06 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge genome scientists examining molecular changes in the brain of mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease have shed light on the mechanisms involved in this complex process — one of the first stages in understanding better the molecular basis of this debilitating disease. These preliminary findings can guide the way for future studies to look for new therapeutic targets.

This significant study, led by Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, was recently published in eLife, a prestigious biomedical and life sciences journal. The study is the result of work within the recently established Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Center (SAGSC) at the U of L, as well as part of the continuing contributions of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) to the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of intellectual decline in the elderly population. More than 44 million people worldwide currently suffer from AD or related dementia and costs related to AD exceed $12 billion in Canada alone. Although some drugs may improve AD symptoms temporarily, no cure or reliable early indicator of increased risk currently exists. This is largely due to the fact that the molecular process underlying the excessive death of brain cells of AD patients is unclear and this is reflected by the current lack of comprehensive molecular diagnostic biomarkers and treatments for AD. Zovoilis and his team, funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, has approached these unresolved questions from a new perspective looking at a set of biomolecules called SINE non-coding RNAs.

Graduate students play an important role in Zovoilis's research into Alzheimer's disease. Bottom row, left to right, are Luke Saville, Chris Isaac and Yubo Cheng. Top row, left to right, are Travis Haight, Cody Turner and Liam Mitchell.

Often referred as the “dark matter” of our genome and DNA, SINE non-coding RNAs have recently been discovered to be important players in physiological functions of cells and, thus, critical components of disease mechanisms. Now, Zovoilis’ team, in collaboration with Dr. Majid Mohajerani and his team, shows these biomolecules are connected with a neurodegenerative disease such Alzheimer’s disease.

“These RNA biomolecules are integral parts of the function of healthy brain cells and are modified as a response to adverse conditions to help our cells survive,” says Zovoilis. “However, in AD, SINE non-coding RNAs become over-responsive, creating a vicious circle that, instead of protecting the human brain, finally leads to death of brain cells. Finding a way to bypass this vicious circle is vital for finding ways to delay or even prevent the development of the disease. These findings constitute one more step in this direction”.

The success of this study is based on the application of novel genomics technologies, funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the province of Alberta, that can read all the pages of the DNA “book” in a matter of hours. Sophisticated computational bioinformatics were used to take a closer look at the complex architecture of the information stored in DNA and its SINE non-coding parts.

The study involved collaborations with other SAGSC members, such as Dr. Nehal Thakor, members of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute and support from the Alberta Bioinformatics Network (BioNet Alberta), a new Genome Alberta and Genome Canada network established by the U of L, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

“Our results have revealed the broad role of SINE RNAs in molecular pathology in the brain and this has significant implications for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,” says Zovoilis.

Zovoilis and his team are now investigating the impact of their finding in patients with Alzheimer’s disease in a study also funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani named first recipient of Dr. Bryan Kolb Professorship/Chair in Neuroscience

trevor.kenney — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:17:03 +0000

A new professorship created at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge honours the legacy of one of the most influential figures in establishing the study of neuroscience and neuropsychology. It’s first appointee is a rising star who continues to push the boundaries of the field.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani studies the neural basis of memory and its disorders.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani has been named the first recipient of the Dr. Bryan Kolb Professorship/Chair in Neuroscience, which carries a five-year term that may be renewed once for a second five-year term.

The award is an endorsement of the outstanding research Mohajerani has conducted since joining the U of L as part of the Government of Alberta’s Campus Alberta Innovation Program (CAIP) Chairs plan in 2014. At the time, Mohajerani had been serving as a research associate at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy and at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia, and selected the U of L above a number of suitors.

“This is a very important appointment for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the Department of Neuroscience,” says the U of L’s Dr. Erasmus Okine, provost and vice-president (academic). “Majid’s advanced work, primarily associated with the study of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, has led to a better understanding of how the brain ages and the underlying biological processes associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease. He continues to attract significant research funding support and push the boundaries of his field as well as the reputation of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN).”

Mohajerani studies the neural basis of memory and its disorders. His research group concentrates on neural dynamics, with particular emphasis on sensorimotor integration and memory systems. The group combines optical imaging, electrophysiology and behavioural methods and computational tools to understand how different brain areas communicate with one another and how memory is encoded and consolidated, or motor movements are generated based on sensory inputs.

“It is a tremendous honour to be selected as the inaugural holder of a professorship named after my brilliant mentor and colleague Bryan Kolb. Bryan is truly a legend in his field. His research has revolutionized the way we think about neuroplasticity, among many other subjects. Having had the opportunity to work with Bryan over the last six years, I can also say he’s as kind and generous a colleague and mentor as one could hope for,” says Mohajerani. “He has been instrumental, together with Drs. Ian Whishaw and Robert Sutherland, in building the CCBN into what it is today. By allowing me to focus on my research programs, this professorship will greatly help me to do my own part in advancing our understanding of the cerebral cortex, and in maintaining the profile of the CCBN as a leading institute for brain research in Canada.”

Kolb, after whom the professorship is named, is a legendary figure in the study of neuroscience. He was the first to demonstrate how the regrowth of brain cells accompanies restoration of brain function and also the first to show, with Dr. Terry Robinson, that psychoactive drugs change neuronal structures and networks permanently and in a manner such that later neuroplasticity is altered.

In 1980, he co-authored with colleague Dr. Ian Whishaw, the textbook that helped define the field of neuropsychology. Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology is now in its seventh edition and is regarded a seminal work in the field. He was key in establishing the CCBN and remains a primary investigator. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 2016, Kolb was inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Grant to aid in developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

caroline.zentner — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:38:35 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Dr. Majid Mohajerani and two partners from Laval ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ are creating new tools for neuroscience research that they’ll use to test out a promising drug target for Alzheimer’s disease. If successful, their research could lead to new treatments to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, delay progression of the disease or even restore normal function after symptoms have appeared.

The research is made possible thanks to a grant of nearly $1 million over three years from the Weston Brain Institute, a non-profit institute of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation that supports world-class neuroscience research to accelerate discovery of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“New treatments for these diseases are critically needed,” says Mohajerani, a professor of neuroscience at the U of L’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). “Alzheimer’s disease has an enormous impact on patients, the health-care system and society. This is only anticipated to get worse as the population ages. Current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease only address some of the symptoms. They do not prevent or alter the course of the disease.”

In the project, Mohajerani, along with Laval ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Drs. Benoit Gosselin and Yves De Koninck, will develop a device that allows for minimally invasive stimulation and recording of brain activity in mice in their home cages. The device includes a wireless transmitter, thus removing the need for the animal to be taken from its home cage and hooked up to wires in the lab. This implant will be combined with an automated monitoring system, currently under development at the CCBN, that records the animals’ natural behaviour. Together, these devices will allow scientists to measure both the brain activity and behaviour of an animal in its home environment over days, weeks or even months.

The technology will enable them to address the idea that abnormal brain activity, characterized by an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory connections in the brain, underlies the early progression of Alzheimer’s disease. De Koninck is a world expert on a certain protein, found on the outer membranes of cells within the nervous system, called potassium chloride co-transporter 2 (KCC2). An increase or decrease in the production of KCC2 affects the balance of inhibitory and excitatory activity in the brain. Pharmaceutical tools that target KCC2 might thus be able to correct the imbalance observed in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other nervous system disorders such as chronic pain.

“We are using drugs that modulate the expression of KCC2,” says Mohajerani. “We will increase and also decrease the production of KCC2 to study both effects. We will explore if activation of KCC2, by boosting neuronal inhibition, can reduce the progression of the disease and if inhibition of KCC2 will increase the progression of the disease.”

Using genetically modified mice that model Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms, the project aims to accelerate the development of therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease by testing how altering KCC2 function affects brain activity and behaviour during disease progression in living animals. If successful, this research would implicate KCC2 as an entirely new drug target for mitigating Alzheimer’s disease.

This grant is the first for the U of L from the Weston Brain Institute.

Neuroscientists create novel assessment toolbox

trevor.kenney — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 20:25:13 +0000

Images of a mouse performing the string pulling task.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge neuroscientists from the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Drs. Majid Mohajerani, Ian Whishaw and Samsoon Inayat, together with current (Surjeet Singh) and past (Qandeel) graduate students and two undergraduate students (Arashk Ghasroddashti & Pramuka Egodage) created a new methodology for analyzing one of the most widely used and fundamental tasks in assessing cognitive and movement function, among other markers, in both animals and humans.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani

Their work was recently published in eLife, an online, open-source platform that publishes work of the highest standards and importance in all areas of biology and medicine.

The paper, A Matlab-based toolbox for characterizing behavior of rodents engaged in string-pulling, describes a state-of-the-art method for analyzing mouse string-pulling. In neuroscience, a toolbox is a computerized method that presents a student with a simple set of standard procedures for performing an analysis — in other words an app. Here, the researchers used advanced machine vision methods to automatically extract movement kinematics and whole-body movement.

The string-pulling task requires a subject to reel in a string using hand-over-hand movements in order to obtain a reward at the end of the string. The task has been given to dozens of different species of animals, including bumble bees, adult humans (who pull a rope), and in this case mice. The task simultaneously assesses body posture, skilled hand use by both hands, as well as inter-hand coordination. String pulling is used for purposes from physical exercise to the assessment of cognitive and motor function in neurological disease.

Dr. Ian Whishaw

The main drawback of the string-pulling task is in scoring the many concurrent movements that occur and, deriving a score for that movement and determining whether the behaviour is normal.

“Currently, most of the analysis is carried out with manual scoring of each frame of a video recording and is very tedious,” says Whishaw. “Automated analysis of string-pulling is a useful way for obtaining an objective assessment of movements, for identifying the contributions of different body parts to string advancement and is rapid.”

“The toolbox features a graphical user interface for video data analysis and follows the analysis framework with two major components, a global assessment of whole-body position and speed and fine kinematic assessment of movements of body, ears, nose and hands,” says Inayat.

Dr. Samsoon Inayat

“We demonstrate that with whole-body measures, we can detect overall differences in position and motion patterns of two different strains of mice,” adds Mohajerani. “In the future we will be able use the toolbox to assess humans who have neurological disorder that affects movement (e.g., Multiple sclerosis, Huntington disease, Parkinson's disease) or those recovering from nervous system injury (e.g., spinal cord injury, stroke, concussion), as well as to quickly assess whether a treatment is effective. In principle, the toolbox can be modified as an app for a smart phone, so that a test and its analysis can be done by individuals at home with minimum hardware and software setting.”

“We are overwhelmed with the request of pioneers in the field around the globe in using this tool in their labs. Now, we are looking for funding to add artificial intelligence tools to the current version of the toolbox to be used for different species (e.g., primates, humans) and establish this platform for use in a clinical setting,” says Mohajerani.

For more on the new toolbox, visit eLife to read the full paper.

U of L neuroscientists examine memory making in brain network

caroline.zentner — Wed, 06 May 2020 15:36:25 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers examining memory processing in the brain have shed light on the mechanisms involved in this complex process — one of the first stages in understanding the basis of memory disorders. This significant work was recently published in the journal eLife and is part of the continuing contributions of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) in the field of learning and memory.

Memories are formed through interactions between different areas of the brain, with the hippocampus and the neocortex among the most important structures for memory processing. After a memory is formed, the interactions between these two structures during sleep influence how that memory will be incorporated into the bulk of previously stored memories without interfering with them. During this incorporation process, called memory consolidation, some memories lose their details, some become persistent and some are forgotten.

“Understanding such mechanisms are among the initial steps we need to take to unravel the roots of memory disorders like dementia,” says Javad Karimi Abadchi, a doctoral student in Dr. Majid Mohajerani’s lab. “Moreover, our findings could help devise diagnostic tools for screening potential candidates for developing memory disorders.”

Javad Karimi is focusing his doctoral work on untangling the mechanisms involved in memory processing.

The hippocampus and the neocortex form a network of interconnected units that process memories. Karimi and Mohajerani examined communications inside this network during sleep, focusing on events called sharp-wave ripples, which are quick bursts of activity in neurons. They wanted to look at the communications over a large part of the hippocampal-neocortical network to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the potential mechanisms involved in memory consolidation.

“Our results reveal a neocortical hotspot — the retrosplenial cortex. This neocortical area potentially mediates memory consolidation by bridging the information flow between the hippocampus and the rest of the neocortex,” says Karimi. “We also found that sometimes the neocortex was activated before the hippocampus and sometimes after the hippocampus.”

This finding is contrary to a prevalent model of memory consolidation in which the neocortex always follows the hippocampus.

“We speculate that this variability in the timing of activation between the two structures could be a reflection of processing old versus new memories. For old memories, the neocortex leads, and for new memories, the hippocampus leads,” says Karimi.

Using a mouse model, the researchers recorded activity in the hippocampus and several regions of the neocortex when mice were asleep. They then studied the relationship between all the recorded signals and the sharp-wave ripples.

By shedding light on the dynamics of hippocampal-neocortical interactions around sharp-wave ripples, these findings provide a more complete picture of what may happen inside the brain when memories are being consolidated during sleep.

World renowned expert on sleep and consciousness presenting free public talk in BMO Auditorium

trevor.kenney — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 21:16:48 +0000

Have you ever wondered why consciousness fades with dreamless sleep, even though your brain remains active? Or, does consciousness always fade when patients become unresponsive after brain injury, during generalized seizures or under general anesthesia?

Dr. Giulio Tononi

One of the world’s foremost experts in sleep and consciousness, Dr. Giulio Tononi, is coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to present a public talk and an academic lecture on these topics and more.

“Dr. Tononi is a world leader in the field of consciousness studies, and his mathematical theory of consciousness is currently accepted as one of the most compelling explanations about consciousness,” says Dr. Majid Mohajerani, neuroscience professor and CAIP Chair in Brain Health and Dementia at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. “His work on understanding how information propagates through the brain, and the role of sleep in synaptic remodelling and plasticity, is of great interest to many neuroscientists. These processes, which have been studied in humans, rodents and even fruit flies, have direct relevance to the work we do here at the U of L in understanding the function of sleep and its role in learning and memory formations. We’re thrilled he’s also able to offer a public talk and I urge everyone to take advantage of this opportunity. Having Dr. Tononi here is a rich opportunity to receive and share insights on using different scientific approaches and tools to learn more about the brain.”

Tononi received his medical degree from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Pisa, Italy, where he specialized in psychiatry. After serving as a medical officer in the army, he obtained a PhD in neuroscience as a fellow of the Scuola Superiore for his work on sleep regulation. From 1990 to 2000, he was a member of The Neurosciences Institute, first in New York and then in San Diego. He is currently Professor of Psychiatry, Distinguished Professor in Consciousness Science, the David P. White Chair in Sleep Medicine at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness.

His free public talk, Consciousness & Its Place in Nature, takes place Monday, Mar. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the U of L’s BMO Auditorium, Science Commons Level 7.

Tononi will talk about his model of consciousness called Integrated Information Theory (IIT). IIT is a comprehensive theory of what consciousness is, what determines its quantity and quality, and how it emerges from causal structures such as neural networks. It examines why certain parts of the brain give rise to experience and others do not, why consciousness vanishes during slow wave sleep and seizures despite continuing neural activity, and how unconscious processes interact with conscious ones.

Tononi will then present the Harley Hotchkiss Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, Mar. 3 at 12:15 p.m. in SA8002. This academic lecture is titled Consciousness: From Theory to Practice.

Tononi’s visit is in advance of Brain Awareness Week, Mar. 16-21, an annual opportunity for the community to come together and see what work is being done on some of today’s biggest health-care challenges and how support of ongoing brain research activities can have a positive effect on the future health of our society.

UNews - Majid Mohajerani

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers awarded more than $2.3 million in NSERC, CFI funding support

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