News & Media

September 5, 2008
Director's Corner - Parallel Universes

At our farmhouse in Maine, I like to sit at dusk on the porch, and watch the stars come out. Now, this summer was a bust as far as stars are concerned, since we were socked in with fog and mist most of the time, but something else happened at dusk each evening that I had not observed before this year. As night fell, dark shapes - 50 or so silent wraiths - would exit a single crevice under the roof over an upstairs bedroom, and fly out over the field towards the woods. And so I discovered that our farmhouse was also home to a colony of little brown bats. At dawn they would return to a crawlspace over the bedroom, where, if you looked through a small gap in the plaster, you could see them huddled together, blinking at the flashlight, hanging upside-down until dusk. While in the house they were absolutely, perfectly silent; you would not know they lived with us unless you witnessed their nightly exit to feed.

Bats are fantastically interesting creatures, but of course they inspire fear. After all, they are odd. Some species seek blood as food, and many species have a ferocious-looking facial structure. They can drag themselves around in that characteristic crawl (see Louis Jordan's movie interpretation of Dracula), using limbs modified by evolution for flight. And as for that, they fly erratically, very un-birdlike, and can apparently "see" in the dark. Finally, they rest in that crazy upside down position.

But ignorance is the enemy here. Bats are attentive mothers. Although the face may appear ferocious, bats are gentle and non-aggressive. They are the only true flying mammals on this planet, and as far as the little brown bat is concerned, on the wing each night, they decimate the local mosquito population, each bat consuming thousands of the pests, and so bats are protected under Maine's environmental laws.

Bats will never become tangled in your hair. They possess a "sixth sense" - echolocation ("sonar") - an exquisitely sensitive and complex hunting system that can detect single human hairs suspended in air. As they seek insects in the dark, they emit ultrasound chirps and lock onto the reflections. Check out this link.

When echolocation was first described in the late 1930's (by Griffin and Galambos), the British and American Navies took the findings very seriously, and the military scientists working on top-secret radar and artificial sonar development during World War II were in equal measure astonished and upset that bats had devised the system first … about 50 million years ago. For a time in fact, experts in bat sonar were viewed as semi-subversives by the military.

There are several companies in Maine that can install one-way exit screens which prevent the bats from returning home after a nocturnal bug hunt, so that they have to re-locate. But I think we'll let our tenants stay, as long as the colony doesn't expand too much. Our lives should never intersect. Like the inhabitants of so many complex ecosystems on Earth, we co-exist in our parallel Universes. Four humans, 50 bats, occupying mutually exclusive living quarters within the same 19th century farmhouse.

Please send any comments about the Director's Corner to David Colman

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Recent News & Events

Welcome, Andrew Reader
Andrew Reader has joined the MNI’s brain imaging group as a new Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery. A native of the UK, Andrew was Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Manchester where he had worked since 1999. He earned a BSc in Physics and Computational Physics at the University of Kent in Canterbury, and a PhD in Medical Physics at the University of London. Andrew will pursue his research on image reconstruction, data correction, system and kinetic modeling with high resolution 4D Positron Emission Tomography (PET), which is a powerful imaging technique used in oncology, neurology and cardiology with emerging applications in molecular imaging.

Brain Imaging Network
Alan Evans and colleagues in the McConnell Brain Imaging Centre received funding for the Canadian Brain Imagining Research Network from CANARIE, an Ottawa based organization that supports Canada’s advanced network. This new Brain Imaging Network involves scientists from the MNI, McGill University, Rotman Research Institute, University of British Columbia, University of Montreal and University of Western Ontario who will develop a platform for processing and exchanging 3D/4D brain imaging data. This platform will lead to increased productivity of collaborations among Canadian brain imaging researchers, and expanded use of these tools in radiology and pre-surgical planning for studies of the brain, heart and other organs.

MNI Fellowships
The Fellowship information page provides descriptions of all the MNI fellowships and has a link to the on-line application form. This year, the normal application deadline has been extended to October 31, 2008. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

National public awareness campaign
The MNI’s national public awareness campaign is moving into high gear. More than 800 of our posters, “The latest in wireless technology is all in your head” will be seen across the country and in bus shelters around Montreal. This free ad space was organized for the MNI by CG COM, our Montreal communications agency.

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Upcoming events

Brenda Milner Symposium, September 22, 2008
Brenda Milner’s career accomplishments will be recognized at a symposium in her honour. Drs. Mortimer Mishkin (National Institutes of Mental Health, US), Marcus Raichle (Washington University), Mriganka Sur (MIT), Eleanor Maguire (University College London) are among the speakers at this symposium, organized by Michael Petrides and colleagues from the MNI's Cognitive Neuroscience Unit. This event marks Dr. Milner’s 90th birthday, celebrated on July 15, 2008, and highlights her important role in establishing the field of cognitive neuroscience. For details, see the program.

Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis Symposium, September 25-26, 2008
The 4th annual ALS symposium, sponsored by the Andre Delambre Foundation, will feature talks by more than 20 international experts in the field, including MNI Advisory Board member, Dr. Viji Ravindranath, Director of India’s National Brain Research Centre. Researchers, clinicians and students are asked to register in advance at no charge. For more details, see the program.

MNI Cornerstone Commemoration, October 6, 2008
We will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the laying of the MNI cornerstone October 6 from 5-6:30 pm in the Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre. Please come to hear reflections by William Feindel and others as we partner with the James McGill Society for this event.

Denis Melançon Neuroradiology Lecture, October 16, 2008
The inaugural Denis Melançon Neuroradiology Lecture, established by Donatella Tampieri, Head of Neuroradiology, will honour Dr. Melançon’s dedication to patient care and commitment to training young neuroradiologists. The afternoon event will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors with presentations by MNI neurosurgeons André Olivier and Richard LeBlanc and neuropathologist Marie Christine Guiot, and by McGill physicians David Roberge and Petr Kavan.

Professor Giuseppe Scotti, Chairman of Neuroradiology and former Dean of Medicine at the University Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Italy, will deliver the keynote lecture, “Imaging of Brain Tumors: past, present and future”. For details, see the program.

Epilepsy at the Cutting Edge: A symposium to honour Fred and Eva Andermann, October 23-25, 2008
MNI colleagues Jean Gotman and François Dubeau have invited more than 40 international experts to present their scientific and clinical work. Dr. Sam Berkovic, Scientific Director of the Brain Research Institute and Director of the Epilepsy Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, will deliver the keynote lecture, “Borderland of epilepsy: A clinical and molecular view 100 years on”. Registration is required but there is no charge for participants affiliated with the Neuro or McGill. Friends and colleagues may purchase tickets to the symposium banquet on Friday, October 24 at the Mount Stephen Club. For details and to register, please see meeting website or contact Debbie Rashcovsky by email or telephone (514-398-6047).

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Congratulations to…..

Edward Fon, Director of the McGill Parkinson’s Program, and his colleagues who led the program to its designation as a Centre of Excellence by the United States’ National Parkinson’s Foundation, thus opening new opportunities for research and clinical funding.

Alyson Fournier, whose award as Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Regenerative Neuroscience was renewed.

Marie-Noëlle Hébert-Blouin, Neurosurgical Fellow, who received the MNI’s 2008 Penfield McNaughton Award in Neurosurgery.

Patricia O’Connor, Associate Director of Nursing for Neurosciences, who was selected as a Harkness Associate in Health Care Policy and Research by the Commonwealth Fund.

Christopher Pack, who received a prestigious Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the world's leading charity dedicated to mental health research (www.narsad.org).

David Ragsdale, who was named to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine Honor List for Educational Excellence in recognition for his outstanding teaching.

Thomas Stroh, who received salary support from the John and Clara Fraser Memorial Award at the McGill University Faculty of Medicine for his project, “Targeting and Cell Surface Regulation of G Protein-Coupled Receptors in Neuroendocrine Systems”.

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Director - David R. Colman, PhD
Senior Management - Mark Angle, MD; Phil Barker, PhD; Rob Dunn, PhD; Tom Gevas; Marilyn Kaplow; Elizabeth Kofron, PhD; Patricia O'Connor; Catherine Rowe
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Please send any items for the Neuro News to Sandra McPherson or Beth Kofron.

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