Announcement | 3. 12. 2009

Project H.M.

On December 2nd 2008, patient H.M. passed away at a nursing home in Windsor Locks in Connecticutt. H.M. was suffering of an intractable epilepsy for which he underwent surgical resection of medial temporal lobe (MTL) at age 27 (in 1953). During surgery parts of MTL including 2/3 of hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala were removed. While the surgery treated his epilepsy, it left H.M. with severe anterograde amnesia - unability to form new long-term memories, but intact working memory and procedural memory. A detailed study of H.M. by Brenda Milner had led to major insights into long-term memory formation.

After his death, H.M.'s identity was revealed as well as the fact that Henry G. Molaison donated his brain to science. Funded by the Dana Foundation and the National Science Fundation, H.M.'s brain has been transported to University of California San Diego, where it has been chilled to -40 degrees and is at the moment being cut into 70 micron slices from a single block. Slices will be stored cryogenically in serial order and are being photographed before each section is collected. Along with detailed MRI and DTI images, the dataset being collected will provide an impressive source of information and detailed anatomical study of a lesioned brain.

To witness the procedure in action, visit Project HM web page.

Announcement | 28. 4. 2009

Training for young investigators

The Organizing Committee of the 8th IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience, which will be held in Florence, Italy, July 14-19, 2011, is launching a Training Program for selected young investigators from countries with limited resources.

The Program will arrange, on the occasion of the 8th IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience, one-month stays in European laboratories, which will allow guest young investigators to meet senior and junior scientists and get familiar with the laboratory’s environment, facilities and techniques in different fields of brain research, to favour future exchanges and networking.

You can follow the call on the conference web pages.