The Effect of Elementary Schools on Language

  Over about a year and a half, Dr. Neelima Wagley and James R. Booth tested young children during two different time periods to get a better understanding of how our behaviours related to understanding and communicating through spoken language and certain regions of our brain influence one another. Before building a house on a…

Disconnection between Rat’s Left and Right Hemisphere Impairs Short-Term Memory but Not Long-Term Memory

The brain is a remarkably complex organ comprised of billions of interconnected neurons and glia cells. It controls all functions of the body and interprets information from the outside world. Intelligence, emotion, memory, creativity, and movement are a few of the many things governed by the brain. Some researchers believe that the function of the…

The Link Between Brain Volume and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Does SES Play a Role?

It has been known that the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can negatively alter the developing brain in a variety of ways. Any amount of alcohol consumed while pregnant could potentially lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a disorder that is greatly associated with behavioral and memory problems. Some potential causes of these factors…

The Role of Vitamin C in Spatial Memory Development: A Study on Guinea Pigs

In the Western world, taking a daily vitamin is common, accessible, and socially accepted as being part of a ‘healthy’ regimen. Many individuals don’t think twice about taking a vitamin to supplement the nutrients they might not be getting enough of from their food. However, many of those individuals who take vitamin supplements don’t really…

Structural neuroplasticity in expert pianists depends on the age of musical training onset

Professional musicians make excellent subjects for neuropsychology research. Music performance requires a complex interaction of auditory and touch sensory perception, bimanual coordination, muscle memory and fine motor control, all directed to shape the artistic interpretation of the music. Expert musicians often begin their study at a young age, during the ‘critical period’ of neural development…

The Effect of Breastfeeding on Brain Development in Premature Infants

It has well been accepted that breastfeeding is the best method for feeding healthy, full term infants and is beneficial to neurodevelopment, either because of specific nutrients found in breast milk that are not found in formula, or because of increased maternal sensitivity shown by mothers who breastfeed. However, these effects may be quite different…