Content Warning: Mention of death and loss of a family member July 21, 2021, was the only day I ever wore my Nani’s (maternal grandmother’s) saree. After years of putting off the theme, my family finally committed to wearing sarees on Eid Al-Fitr. While one of my cousins bought hers[Read More…]
Tag: memory
Honey, I shrunk the brains!
Aging is one of the few truly universal experiences, yet it is one of those things that no one really looks forward to. Along with visible signs like wrinkles and grey hair, however, comes a more insidious and harder-to-combat symptom: The decline of brain function. But according to a new[Read More…]
‘Where We Were’: From reality to memory
This summer, McGill’s Tuesday Night Cafe Theatre, a student-run, anglophone theatre company affiliated with McGill’s English department, screened the short film Where We Were. The film feels reminiscent of the COVID-19 outbreak as the story makes connections between how people process memories of large-scale catastrophes and our current reality. This[Read More…]
Trained Immunity: The immunologic memory that humans have always had
Memory is invaluable when it comes to the immune system. The immune system is the body’s natural defence mechanism against infection or foreign pathogens and is made up of two key systems. The innate immunity is a rapid, non-specific first response to pathogens or tissue injury. In contrast, adaptive immunity[Read More…]
Reflecting on my “Mamma Mia” Years
I grew up hearing that university would be the best years of my life, where I would figure everything out. I would come out the other end with a better understanding of myself and the world, and after graduating, my friends and I would look back on these years fondly.[Read More…]
Hippocampus research introduces a new understanding of stress
In Aug. 2019, a team led by McGill professor and researcher Tak Pan Wong published a new study about the hippocampus and its ability to retain memories of stressful experiences. Published in the Journal for Neuroscience, the study detailed new connections to mental disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress[Read More…]
Males more sensitive to painful memories than females
Stereotypes may lead many to assume that women are more sensitive than men. However, recent findings on pain challenge conventional assumptions regarding the way men and women experience pain. A recent study conducted by researchers from McGill and the University of Toronto exploring the role of memory in the transition[Read More…]
Uncovering the molecule behind synaptic plasticity
Our brains function according to the “use it or lose it” phenomenon: If a skill or piece of information is underused, it becomes harder, if not impossible, to recall it. Conversely, reviewing new knowledge or practicing an action is one of the best ways to strengthen the memory and prevent[Read More…]
Remembering Izy
My beloved friend Isabella Guerrico, U3 Arts, passed away in a sudden accident on Thursday, Nov. 15. We will remember Izy, who was beloved by many in the McGill community, for her fiery and generous spirit. When I moved into Gardner three years ago, I had no idea what was[Read More…]
Predicting Alzheimer’s with artificial intelligence
Researchers in the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory at McGill have created an artificial intelligence-based algorithm to recognize dementia before its onset—an elusive task, even for neurologists. The algorithm uses statistics to learn what the determining markers of the disease are—a process called machine learning, a branch[Read More…]
