Research profiles

Researchers at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute have improved our understanding of how the human brain is mapped. Experiments by this team over the last several decades have demonstrated that individuals can learn new skills without keeping any memory of having done so, and also that people have multiple memory systems which govern our activities. These findings have guided the creation of various pre-surgical evaluation procedures and the manner in which neurosurgeons fix problems without causing patients to lose function in other areas.

Researchers at McGill, Concordia, the Wilfrid Laurier and the University of Lethbridge have designed an interactive web-based program, Abracadabra, which is improving literacy across Canada. This free tool offers resources for teachers, is fun and engaging for children struggling to learn to read, and is now in use around the world.