Mind Mapping

Dr. Randy McIntosh is currently leading a multi-million dollar project to construct the world’s first “virtual” brain. The massive 10-year project, which sees the Rotman Research Institute partnering with a team of international neursoscientists, will create a detailed atlas of all the functional networks of the brain.

The project involves uploading vast amounts of data from thousands of human brains, ranging from children to the elderly. Gathered from magnetic resonance images combined with sophisticated mathematical models, the data will map the interplay between different brain areas during mental tasks such as thinking, seeing or feeling. In addition to data from healthy brains, information from individuals with brain damage or disease will be incorporated to show how the brain recovers from cognitive impairment caused by stroke, epilepsy or Alzheimer’s disease – potentially transforming how we assess and treat brain disorders in the future.

A Clearer View

Despite the best research efforts, the causes of aging-related illnesses such as dementia still remain unclear, and to date there is no cure. As lead investigator of the fMRI Lab at Baycrest, Dr. Jean Chen is working on developing improved methodologies for functional magnetic imaging technology (fMRI), and employing this advanced imaging technology to study aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Among her areas of focus, Dr. Chen and her research team are investigating the roles of neurovascular, metabolic and structural health for maintaining brain function, and how these aspects are affected by disease. Dr. Jean’s lab also works closely with other RRI researchers to apply fMRI techniques to the study of various aspects of brain health, with the goal of expanding our understanding of the processes and functions of the brain, and translating that knowledge into new and better therapies.

Understanding Speech

Elderly people often complain that they can hear but can’t understand what is being said, particularly in the presence of noise or other voices. For years, the prevailing thought was that hearing loss was the main cause. However, recent studies have shown that our brain’s ability to interpret sound changes as we age. In their research, Dr. Bernhard Ross and his colleagues have demonstrated that brain functions associated with central hearing can change as early as middle age.

A pioneer in the use of magnetoencephalography (MEG), Dr. Ross has applied and refined MEG imaging techniques to assess brain activity in people as they are listening to sounds. By triggering neurons in the brain to respond to stimulus sounds, he and his colleagues have been able to pinpoint the complex brain processes and networks associated with hearing, and how we interpret sound to understand speech. Recently the researchers discovered that the brain combines individual sound elements much in the same way that we visually “connect the dots” to complete a mental picture. These findings offer potential for developing new training programs to help improve speech understanding for the elderly.