Two researchers at The Royal are the recipients of Discovery Grants from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Discovery Grants are designed to support research with long-term goals rather than a single short-term research project.
“We are really proud and excited about the research that happens here at The Royal,” says Joanne Bezzubetz, CEO and president. “The Discovery Grant underscores our role as a centre of excellence and innovation.”
Dr. Sara Tremblay: enhancing brain plasticity
Dr. Sara Tremblay is a scientist at The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR), affiliated with the University of Ottawa, and assistant professor with the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at University of Ottawa.
Tremblay’s Discovery Grant will build on her research into brain plasticity, specifically, enhancing neuroplasticity in the prefrontal cortex using non-invasive brain stimulation.
Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change. Historically, it was believed the brain only developed during infancy, but in the mid 20th century researchers discovered the brain isn’t as hard-wired as we thought, and that the brain can adjust, learn, and adapt throughout our lives.
It’s a relatively young field, and more study is needed.
Tremblay’s research will combine two types of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques: transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a very low electrical current that slightly changes the activity of the brain; and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a magnetic field.
“By using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, we’re capable of actually inducing plasticity. We’re trying to increase that normal process that occurs through learning,” says Tremblay.
Both techniques have shown to induce plasticity in the brain but this is the first time they’ll be used to boost plasticity together, in the prefrontal cortex.
“I think a lot about trying to improve treatment for depression. If we’re able to have better and more efficient treatments, that would be amazing. I see the big picture, understanding better the brain – the healthy brain – but also the next step.” - Dr. Sara Tremblay
The prefrontal cortex is an area of the brain that contributes to skill development, memory, emotional processing, and emotional regulation.
“It’s amazing to be able to modulate the brain – to be able to apply something and see change,” says Tremblay who adds that this kind of research has many applications down the road.
“We could potentially enhance learning. Or enhance activity in some brain regions that are key in some mental health disorders.”
With this Discovery Grant, Tremblay will test how these newly-developed tools and techniques can improve cognitive processes, such as working memory. (Working memory refers to our ability to recall information for a short time, such as a phone number and poor memory is a facet of many clinical disorders.)
The other side of Tremblay’s work at The Royal involves treating people who are suffering from depression with TMS. Her research applies here too.
“I think a lot about trying to improve treatment for depression. If we’re able to have better and more efficient treatments, that would be amazing. I see the big picture, understanding better the brain – the healthy brain – but also the next step.”
Dr. Clifford Cassidy: tracking changes in the dopamine system
Dr. Clifford Cassidy is a scientist at The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research (IMHR), affiliated with the University of Ottawa. He is also an assistant professor (Cellular and Molecular Medicine) and the director of Scholarly Activity and Research Stream, Department of Psychiatry, at the University of Ottawa.
Cassidy’s Discovery Grant will build on his research to develop non-invasive tools that will lead to a greater understanding of the human dopamine system – how it develops over time and how changes relate to behaviour, especially during the early and later stages of life.
Dopamine acts as a messenger between brain cells and it plays a critical role in our daily lives. Cassidy explains there are three branches to the dopamine system: reward and emotion, movement, and cognition (learning and memory).
“Understanding normal patterns of change in the dopamine system really opens the door for doing better clinical studies,” he says. “If you make better tools, and understand better how the brain works, you’re in a much better position to help people with mental health problems or other problems of the brain. Neurological problems too.”
Having too much or too little dopamine is problematic. Conditions associated with low dopamine levels, for example, include depression and Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine also plays a role in substance use.
“We don’t really understand much about the development of the human dopamine system,” says Cassidy, who adds that simply learning more about how dopamine production changes over time is “a big victory.”
“Just seeing at what point it starts changing – does it change consistently, are there certain critical windows in development where things go faster or slower, does it start to plateau at some point?”
Cassidy is especially interested in learning more about the dopamine system in children.
His non-invasive techniques are opening new doors, especially as it pertains to studying the brains of healthy young people. This knowledge can shed some light on topics of particular relevance to youth, such as bullying, impacts of screen time, attention-deficit disorders, and learning.