News & Media
Neuro News - March 2005
Director's Corner - Strangers on a plane
As scientists, the way we approach the study of Nature is based on the fundamental principle of evolution - a principle for which there is overwhelmingly convincing evidence gathered over the past 150 years. Evolution is a scientific fact, like air, water and light....not a theory, a fact. Scientists do not merely believe in evolution, rather, we accept the fact that it is the process by which life on earth has achieved diversity and complexity. A staggering number of scientists accept this principle (more information).
On a recent flight to Washington, D.C., I found myself sitting next to a cheerful young Marylander (never did get her name, but let's call her Mary) who, seeing that I was knee-deep in arcane paperwork, asked what I was doing. I told her that I was reviewing grants for the National Institutes of Health, and then she inquired if any of the applications dealt with creation science. I was taken aback for a moment, and then replied that "creation science" was not within the mission of the NIH, and was furthermore an oxymoron, like military intelligence or non-dairy creamer. I laughed, she didn't.
For the rest of the flight, we argued, politely. I presented to her the major facts of evolution, all of which she had heard before, that was clear. She responded with her faith in creation science. What about the fossil record, I asked.... What about the gaps in the fossil record, she shot back, smiling, God is cleverer than you are, she added, and He need not explain His actions to us.
Maybe the problem was that Mary and I had not found a common contemporary reference point. So as we were landing, I asked what she thought about antibiotic resistance, a fact of evolution if there ever was one, and one that has been readily observable over the past 25 years, and what about the HIV and SARS viruses that through mutation - evolution - were able to jump across species to the human population? She was ready for me, though - those are examples of microevolution she said, OK for bacteria and viruses, but human beings were designed and created just like it is written in Genesis. As we were getting off the plane, she asked me where I thought human beings came from. I couldn't resist throwing one more fact at an adamantine wall of faith - ancestral flagellates, I said, single-celled organisms with tiny tails that move like microscopic whips. She laughed, and, well, I did, too. We parted company, poles apart.
Why do a stunning number of Americans - 55% of all Americans and a whopping 67% of Bush voters - believe that humans did not evolve, but instead, God created us in our present form? (more information).
I think that in the simplest analysis, where the facts come up against faith, it is often the case that faith wins. It is not a logical contest, and great men and women - even Dr. Penfield - have wrestled with reconciling facts with faith (more on that another time).
Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman
Recent News
The Neuro “Retreat”
The Neuro’s third annual Frontiers of Neuroscience meeting was held at Club
Tremblant in early February. Blessed with great science and amazing
weather, more than 80 physicians and research scientists discussed the
newest findings on Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy
with a dozen international experts. This meeting was made possible by the
continued support of corporate friends and sponsors: Astra-Zeneca Canada,
Biogen Idec, Boerhinger Ingelheim, Carsen Group, Charles River Canada,
GlaxoWelcome, Medtronic, Neurochem, Novartis, Pfizer, Serono Canada and
Siemens Canada. Partnership with the MUHC Research Institute was also
important for the success of this scientific retreat.
The Gift of a Lifetime
The MNI recently received a generous bequest from the estate of Mr. John
Gordon. Mr. Gordon met his wife, Nan Maling, a nurse and McGill student, at
the MNI while he was a patient under the care of Dr. Penfield. Their
relationship bloomed (under the watchful eye of Dr. Penfield who escorted
the bride at her wedding), as did a life long commitment to the MNI. More
on this wonderful story is found in the winter issue of the McGill News.
We are pleased to announce a gift from the Fondation André Delambre to support a Clinical Fellowship in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at the MNI. This fellowship creates an opportunity for a young physician to receive advanced training in the care of patients with ALS and to participate in important clinical research on this disease. Through this investment, the Fondation helps the MNI attract a highly trained and talented person to make a career long commitment to patients with ALS, and so to build our knowledge and understanding of the disease. The ALS Clinic at the Neuro, headed by Dr. Genge, is the largest in Eastern Canada.
Upcoming Lectures
Brain Awareness Week March 14 -18
Brain Awareness Week will be celebrated across Montreal when neuroscience
graduate students present programs at local schools and offer a series of
public lectures by prominent neuroscientists. Over 100 elementary school
students will visit labs at the MNI to see how science works.
Nobel Laureate and McGill alumnus, David Hubel will deliver the keynote lecture on March 17. Dr. Hubel and Torsten Weisel (MNI Advisory Board member) were awarded the Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1981 (along with Dr. Roger Sperry for his work on the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres) for discovering how messages from the retina are processed by cells in the visual cortex. Their studies showed that each cortical cell is responsible for certain details in the image pattern, such as movement, length or contrast, and that the cortical cells with the same interpretive function are organized into cortical columns. These scientists also demonstrated the importance of exposure to complex visual stimulation soon after birth for this functional organization to develop. Training each summer at the MNI, Hubel credits Herbert Jasper with introducing him to clinical neurophysiology. He carried this training onto Johns Hopkins University and to Harvard where he has spent his illustrious career. Dr. Hubel’s lecture is free, open to the public and not to be missed. (See below for location.)
Brain Awareness Week Public Lectures all at 7:30 pm)March 14 "When forgetting becomes a problem" Dr. Howard Chertkow & Dr. Gabriel Leonard (MNI) at MNI, Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre, 3801 University Street >
March 15 "Daily rhythms: How is your biological clock ticking?" Dr. Shimon Amir & Dr. Diane Boivin at CHUM, Hôtel Dieu de Montréal, Amphithéatre Jeanne-Mance, 201 ave des Pins Ouest
March 16 "La douleur: Plus j'y pense plus ca fait mal" Dr. Pierre Rainville & Dr. Serge Marchand at Concordia University, Hall Building, 1455 Blvd de Maisonneuve Ouest
March 17 “Visual perception and the brain, and the explanation of a few illusions” Dr. David Hubel, Nobel Laureate, Harvard University at U de Montréal, Pavillion Roger-Gaudry, Hall d'honneur, salle K-500.
Feed your brain
MNI scientists David Colman, Alain Dagher, Marilyn Jones-Gotman and Robert
Zatorre will join an international group of experts addressing the problem
of obesity. On April 6-8, the McGill Faculties of Management and Medicine
will host a think tank on changing practices in food, health and business
to help prevent obesity. Invited participants will discuss the health
challenges in contemporary societies characterized by abundance and
indulgence. Reaching out across campus, these neuroscientists will discuss
recent findings on pleasure responses in the brain associated with
‘rewards’ like high caloric foods and addictive substances. Opening
with Neural Substrates of Food Temptation, the symposium will suggest that
new health and business strategies are needed to help reduce the modern
obesity epidemic.
The Challenges of Movement Disorders
The Second International Neuroacanthocytosis Symposium, organized by Dr Eva
Andermann, will be at the MNI from April 17 to 21. Neuroacanthocytosis is a
rare, genetically linked movement disorder that occurs in children and
adults. It is characterized by degeneration in the basal ganglion and loss
of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Recent work has identified
molecular changes associated with the disease and researchers aim to
correlate specific genetic abnormalities with the clinical features to
better understand this often fatal disease. For more information, contact
Dr. Eva Andermann (514-398-8529) or view the Preliminary program.
Brain Tumour Awareness First Annual Social Night
Fundraiser
The Franco Di Giovanni Foundation will host a social evening on March 12,
2005 at the Buffet Villa Italia (8600 Maurice Duplessis, R.D.P., Montreal)
to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research at the MNI. The program will
include a full course meal, open bar and a silent auction of hockey
memorabilia and more! For more information, please contact Mrs. Lina Di
Giovanni at (514) 494-6831.
Congratulations to…
Neurosurgical residents who have been recognized for their
excellent work include:
Dr. Dennis Klironomos, who was awarded the "Hellenic Scholarships
Foundation" award for 2005.
Dr. Kevin Petrecca, who will receive the 2005 K.G. McKenzie Prize for
Clinical Neurosciences Research from the Canadian Neurosurgical Society and
the Canadian Congress of Neurological Sciences; and
Dr. Abdulrahman Sabbagh, who was awarded First Prize for his presentation
at the Tenth Annual H. Rocke Robertson Visiting Professor Day for
Trauma.
Condolences to …
Friends and family of Dr. Luis-Felipé Quesney, who mourn his death in a car accident in Spain on February 3, 2005. Dr. Quesney came to the MNI in 1972 for a year of residency in Clinical Neurophysiology and stayed on to obtain his Ph.D. in 1977 under the supervision of Dr. Pierre Gloor. He went on to head the EEG and Clinical Neurophysiology group at the Neuro until 2001 when he moved to Europe to develop magneto-encephalography (MEG) as a clinical and research tool. A memorial service was held March 3rd at the McGill University Chapel.
Pam and Rolando Del Maestro and their children who mourn the death of Pam’s father, Dr. Ernest Stafford, deceased at age 84. A graduate of McGill, Dr. Stafford was a respected family physician in Elmira, Ontario for 36 years. The family requests that any donations in his memory be directed to the Parkinson Foundation or to the Montreal Neurological Institute.
Director - David R. Colman, PhD
Senior Management - Mark Angle, MD; Tom Gevas; Marilyn Kaplow; Elizabeth
Kofron, PhD; Patricia O'Connor; Catherine Rowe
MNI Bulletin Editors: Elizabeth Kofron, PhD & Sandra McPherson,
PhD
Please send any items for the MNI Bulletin to Sandra McPherson or Beth Kofron.
