Smiling makes you look older, according to research by neuroscientists at Western and Ben-Gurion University in Israel. But if you’re already over 60, smiling doesn’t appear to change the way your age is perceived. [caption id=”attachment_23919″ alig …
Brain and Mind Institute
Unique patient offers insights into the brain’s quest to see
When light streams through her window in just the right way, Milena Canning will sometimes stoop to pick up a shiny coin she has noticed on the wooden floor of her Glasgow-area home. But her hand comes up empty – the ‘coin’ is just a dancing sunbeam, a quirk of...
Listening to the brain’s hidden superpowers
Echo, a female superhero in Marvel’s Daredevil and Avengers comic books, is one of the very few deaf characters of the genre. Because she is deaf, Echo pays attention to visual details and movements, allowing her to learn new abilities by watching others. But what...
New facility opens its doors to come together
University officials celebrated the opening of the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) on April 13.
Grant looks to bring brain researchers closer together
Organizers see a first-of-its-kind grant program as more about collaboration, rather than competition, in supporting the efforts of researchers to address challenges in brain health. The McGill-Western Collaboration Grant program supports neuroscience and...
Artist’s work a reminder of work to be done
On June 7, 2006, while on a lunch break as a special education instructor with the Thames Valley District School Board, Vanessa Zita Vanderidder was found dead along the side of her car. Or at least, that is what first responders pronounced her when they arrived on...
Study: Live crowds find their groove together
If you enjoy listening to music, a live performance is where that enjoyment will peak, according to a new study led by Western researchers.
Study: Amputee brain rewires to embrace artificial limb
One-handed people who use a prosthesis regularly are more likely to be brain-wired ‘to visualize’ their artificial limb as a part of their body, a new study shows.
Best books of 2017, according to Western
As 2017 winds down, Western News brings you a list of book recommendations from members of our campus community. Included are the year’s favourite reads from students, staff, faculty and alumni.
Newsmakers: The Face
Melvyn Goodale Melvyn Goodale, Director of the Brain and Mind Institute at Western, and Tzvi Ganel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, co-authored a study in 2017 that indicates smiling can make you appear to be one year older than if you wear a poker face. We...
Signaling awareness in anaesthetized patients
For every 1,000 patients undergoing surgery and receiving general anaesthesia, one or two will wake up during the procedure, unable to move, speak or otherwise indicate to doctors they are conscious and aware of what is happening. Western researchers who have already...
Researcher goes deep into sleep for answers
Researchers have known for some time sleep is important for memory formation. This is especially true for procedural memory, the kind that applies to the brain retaining newly learned, how-to tasks, such as riding a bicycle. The processes that occur during sleep and...
CFI Innovation Funds back five key projects
Nearly $14-million in Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Research Infrastructure Funds for five Western projects was announced today at Robarts Research Institute.
Unique patient offers insights into the brain’s quest to see
When light streams through her window in just the right way, Milena Canning will sometimes stoop to pick up a shiny coin she has noticed on the wooden floor of her Glasgow-area home. But her hand comes up empty – the ‘coin’ is just a dancing sunbeam, a quirk of...
Listening to the brain’s hidden superpowers
Echo, a female superhero in Marvel’s Daredevil and Avengers comic books, is one of the very few deaf characters of the genre. Because she is deaf, Echo pays attention to visual details and movements, allowing her to learn new abilities by watching others. But what...
New facility opens its doors to come together
University officials celebrated the opening of the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) on April 13.
Grant looks to bring brain researchers closer together
Organizers see a first-of-its-kind grant program as more about collaboration, rather than competition, in supporting the efforts of researchers to address challenges in brain health. The McGill-Western Collaboration Grant program supports neuroscience and...
Artist’s work a reminder of work to be done
On June 7, 2006, while on a lunch break as a special education instructor with the Thames Valley District School Board, Vanessa Zita Vanderidder was found dead along the side of her car. Or at least, that is what first responders pronounced her when they arrived on...
Study: Live crowds find their groove together
If you enjoy listening to music, a live performance is where that enjoyment will peak, according to a new study led by Western researchers.
Study: Amputee brain rewires to embrace artificial limb
One-handed people who use a prosthesis regularly are more likely to be brain-wired ‘to visualize’ their artificial limb as a part of their body, a new study shows.
Best books of 2017, according to Western
As 2017 winds down, Western News brings you a list of book recommendations from members of our campus community. Included are the year’s favourite reads from students, staff, faculty and alumni.
Newsmakers: The Face
Melvyn Goodale Melvyn Goodale, Director of the Brain and Mind Institute at Western, and Tzvi Ganel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, co-authored a study in 2017 that indicates smiling can make you appear to be one year older than if you wear a poker face. We...
Signaling awareness in anaesthetized patients
For every 1,000 patients undergoing surgery and receiving general anaesthesia, one or two will wake up during the procedure, unable to move, speak or otherwise indicate to doctors they are conscious and aware of what is happening. Western researchers who have already...
Researcher goes deep into sleep for answers
Researchers have known for some time sleep is important for memory formation. This is especially true for procedural memory, the kind that applies to the brain retaining newly learned, how-to tasks, such as riding a bicycle. The processes that occur during sleep and...
CFI Innovation Funds back five key projects
Nearly $14-million in Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Research Infrastructure Funds for five Western projects was announced today at Robarts Research Institute.