(December 5, 2015) Researchers
at The Neuro compile new tool designed to be shared with experts world-wide to
accelerate research.
A new detailed map of the hippocampal region of the brain,
compiled by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital-The
Neuro at McGill University, is helping the scientific community accelerate
research and develop better treatments for patients suffering from epilepsy and
other neurological and psychiatric disorders.
The team of researchers, led by Dr. Neda Bernasconi,
aneuroscientist specializing in the neuroimaging of epilepsy and co-founder of
the Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory (NOEL) at The Neuro, set out to build
and share a detailed model of the substructures making up one of the key
centres of the brain involved in epilepsy: the hippocampus. The goal of their project,
published on November 10 inScientific Data, is to improve the tools available
to researchers and clinicians working in the field around the globe.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by a
sudden, brief change in the brain, expressed as a seizure. According to
Epilepsy Canada, approximately one percent of Canadians suffer from the
condition and more than 30% of patients with epilepsy do not respond to
anti-epileptic drugs. For these individuals, the surgical removal of the brain
tissue causing seizures is the only known effective treatment for controlling
the condition and improving quality of life.