When most people think complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), they often think of Traditional Chinese Medicine, like acupuncture and herbal remedies. While these treatments are viewed by some as Hocus Pocus (#halloween classics), that may be not because they aren’t grounded in science, but because the science hasn’t caught up with these age-old therapeutic approaches. If I could pick one word to summarize my limited understanding of Chinese medicine, it would be Complex.

In 2019, we're looking to fund the BEST NeuroCAM research projects across Western Canada and NOW the University of Toronto!  If you are an Undergraduate, Masters, or Ph.D. student (or know one) exploring alternative and tech solutions to neurological disorders, YOU could qualify for a Branch Out grant.  Check out the latest grant opportunities.

The Branch Out Neurological Foundation is excited to invite you to another mind-bending event called 'Neuron Night'. This is an exclusive event for our top supporters... that's you!

On Sept 27, 2018, I read a headline: “Indelible in the Hippocampus, is the laughter.” The Hippocampus is the brain structure responsible for encoding and retrieving memories, so to me, this seemed like a punny joke. I followed the link and found an elegant description of how memory works in the brain (and remember, I used to work in a Hippocampus lab!). To my surprise, the clip didn’t come from a nerdy comedy, but from the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford¹.

Cannabis is going to be recreationally legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018. This means that a lot of Canadians may, for the first time, be asking, "should I try cannabis"?  I’m going to give you the answer to that question (sort of). But before I do that I want to mention my personal favourite part of NeuroCAM: personalized medicine.

Olympic gold medallist Duff Gibson explains why he's headed upstream this Labour Day weekend to support the Branch Out Neurological Foundation.

Did you know that you have two brains? If you didn’t, don’t worry, scientists have only really cared about the brain with a capital 'B' up until a few years ago, so you’re not far out of the loop. Your second brain is the Enteric Nervous System (ENS). AKA: Your Gut. While your brain may have  85 billion neurons, your gut has 500 million neurons and uses 50% of your body’s dopamine and 95% of your body’s serotonin1.

Tu-tu-tutu-tutu-tutu-tutu-tu-tu! – OK, we’re ridiculous, but we didn’t get hit by a car riding for brains this weekend in Panorama BC!

Let’s switch gears for a minute. For this Ty the Neuro Guy article, let’s just nerd out about some cool neuroscience research.  Since Branch Out’s Bike Tour is just around the bend, this research has to do with cycling.

Your Brain on Bikes

Round up your crew for this year's Branch Out Bike Tour! 

If you're unfamiliar, FOMO stands for "Fear of Missing Out."  What's so great about the Bike Tour?  We have heaps of reasons for you to help turn those 'on-the-fence' friends into 'heck YAS' friends.  Doing good has never been more fun.  There’s one thing you can’t deny - Branchies sure know how to have a good time!