Researchers at Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research Institute (RRI) in Toronto have found the strongest evidence yet that speaking a tonal language may improve how the brain hears music. While the findings may boost the egos of tonal language speakers who excel in musicianship, they are exciting neuroscientists for another reason: they represent the first strong evidence that music and language – which share overlapping brain structures – have bi-directional benefits! ...

Posters and stamps representing RRI scientists and post-doctoral fellows' research are now on the Brain Awareness Week website.  Students from graphic design and advertising program at the Ontario College of Arts and Design University (OCADU) created artwork as a visual interpretation of research by Drs. Lynn Hasher, Jennifer Ryan, Regina Jokel, Tiffany Chow, Kelly Shen and Rosana Olsen. ...

In early March, 400 scientists, clinicians and academics from all over the world will meet in Toronto for a three-day conference focused on Brain Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation. The conference, presented by Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research Institute (RRI), will highlight provocative findings in two related fields – brain plasticity and neurorehabilitation – which are yielding new ways to help people affected by stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and depression. ...

Finding could impact how older adults remember appointments and manage busy daily schedules ...

A unique art exhibit about brain science is on display at the Ontario Science Centre’s Idea Gallery. Sixty textile-art banners created by students at OCAD University depict the complex brain science at Baycrest’s world-renowned Rotman Research Institute (RRI). The Brain Lane exhibit features the artwork of second-year students studying fibre arts and textile design, who collaborated with RRI cognitive scientists. The students used a variety of techniques to create their banners, incorporating photography, computer-generated graphics, textiles, block printing, silk screening and watercolour painting to create artistic interpretations of the scientists’ research. ...

Drs. Jean Chen, Morris Moscovitch, Tomas Paus, Bernhard Ross, Jennifer Ryan and Gordon Winocur are principal investigators of five projects awarded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research operating grants 2012-2013. ...

Dr. Tiffany Chow, senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, who diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias has a story to tell about the courageous people she’s met in her clinic and her own evidence-based plan to protect her cognitive health as she ages. She tells this story in her new book The Memory Clinic  published by Penguin Canada. ...

The Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), in conjunction with the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) has awarded Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI), a global leader in innovations in aging and brain health, over $5-million to develop innovative neuroeducation and cognitive assessment / fitness products for the global market. ...

Dr. Marc Berman, post-doctoral fellow at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute, is the lead author of one of the first studies to examine the effect of nature walks on cognition and mood in people with major depression. Researchers in Canada and the U.S. have found promising evidence that a walk in the park may provide some cognitive benefits. ...

Shimon Peres, President of Israel, delivers his vision about the role of science to better humanity at the May 9, 2012 brain research roundtable in Toronto. The event was hosted by Baycrest, in partnership with the Ontario Brain Institute and the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation. ...