Author: Katerina Gang

A researcher is using propranolol as a treatment for romantic trauma

A researcher at the Douglas Research Centre is investigating propranolol, a medication commonly used to treat migraines, as a potential psychotherapeutic treatment for romantic trauma.

Michelle Lonergan, a PhD student in Psychiatry from McGill, is studying “attachment injury” in romantic relationships. Attachment injury occurs when a romantic partner is betrayed or abandoned through infidelity or physical or emotional abandonment during times of need. An attachment injury destroys one’s sense of security in a partner. Lonergan came across this concept through an article by psychologist Sue Johnson.

“The loss of love can have devastating psychological and physical effects,” said Lonergan. “People may fall into a depression and substance abuse, or in extreme circumstances, harm themselves or others, all in the name of love.”

The idea to use propranolol as a treatment for symptoms of romantic trauma came from Lonergan’s supervisor, Dr. Alain Brunet. Propranolol is used to treat high blood pressure, migraines, and certain anxiety disorders. At a low dose, it has few side effects besides fatigue. Brunet has used propranolol to reduce symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“Given that our lab investigates a treatment designed to reduce psychological distress and symptoms of traumatic stress associated with a traumatic event, and that experiencing a betrayal can be traumatizing, I began to see where our treatment can bridge the gap and potentially help a lot of people,” said Lonergan.

Her goal is to use propranolol to reduce emotional trauma by disrupting memory reconsolidation. At the turn of the century, it was discovered that the nature of emotional memories change as they are remembered—a process known as reconsolidation. Reconsolidation enables old memories to be updated with new information, which helps us learn. Norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter, is used in this process.

Propranolol being a beta-blocker is what makes it ideal for this study, as beta-blockers are norepinephrine inhibitors. If propranolol is administered during the “reconsolidation window,” where the memory is destabilized during the process of remembering, the reconsolidation process is disrupted and the memory becomes less distressing.

The study researchers are looking for adults who have experienced romantic trauma and experience distress as a result. They hope to provide an alternative treatment to traditional psychotherapy.

The clinical trial involves six sessions and two follow-ups. Each session involves thinking about the betrayal an hour after having taken propranolol. During the first session, subjects write about the trauma in detail. During the remaining five, they read about it. Follow-ups will be done one week and three months after the clinical trial, to assess long-term effectiveness.

The trial poses little risk to subjects, Lonergan said. The process does not alter actual memories, just how the memory makes an individual feel, she said. “People still remember what happened to them, and how they felt when it happened,” said Lonergan. “The difference is that they do not have the same debilitating emotional response to the reminders that they once did.”

Mental health professionals would be able to learn of this treatment easily, and it’s also cheap. Lonergan said long-lasting benefits have already been observed in as few as six sessions, half the number of sessions typical for cognitive-behavioural therapy.

“This intervention has the potential to revolutionize the way we treat psychiatric disorders that are linked to powerful emotional memories,” said Lonergan.

Lonergan began recruiting individuals for her study in November 2015. The trial is ongoing, and she will continue to recruit subjects until October 2017.

The Hydro-Québec Montreal Regional Science and Technology Fair makes a stop at Concordia

The 34th Hydro-Québec Montreal Regional Science and Technology Fair (MRSTF) came to Concordia last week.

Montreal high school and CEGEP students under 20 showcased their work in the EV building. Nearly 200 students participated, displaying 128 projects to professionals and the general public.

“This is about engaging in science outside the classroom,” said Loredana Carbone, the event’s organizer. The MRSTF gives students and scientists an opportunity to forge links with experienced professionals, incredible young minds and the public.

“What is impressive about most projects is that they build on existing science and technologies to try to dig deeper and solve real life issues,” said Carbone. From indoor GPSs to treating canker sores, projects were innovative.

One such project was Jason Papagiannis’ “Flashlight for the Blind.” The 10th grader from Kells Academy created a device that uses software and ultrasonic waves to calculate the distance between the user and incoming objects, vibrating when the user gets within a specified range.

“If a blind person were to go out in the street, they’d be able to point it and build an area around them,” said Papagiannis. “They won’t have to use the walking stick to hit everything around them.”

Though Papagiannis’ device builds upon existing technologies, his device is highly customizable, smaller than most on the market and inexpensive. The 16-year-old is working on further downsizing his project, so it resemble a flashlight. His project was given Great Distinction and won McGill University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Award.

Zoe Wong, a 10th-grader from The Study, a private school in Westmount, built upon existing medical research in her project “Biomarkers for Crohn’s Disease.” Her project investigated safer ways to diagnose Crohn’s disease in children.

“The usual diagnostic tool for this disease is an endoscopy,” said Wong. The nonsurgical procedure is used to examine a person’s digestive tract. With children, there are often difficulties carrying out this procedure due to their narrow canals, lack of compliance, and need for full-body sedation, she said. Wong’s project explores the potential of DNA methylation, a mechanism used to control gene expression. This diagnostic tool was proposed in 2011.

“My hypothesis was that the methylation in their intestines would differ from those who don’t have Crohn’s,” said Wong. She also hypothesized if the DNA methylation found in the intestines of Crohn’s patients matched the DNA methylation found in their stools, doctors could potentially use stool samples alone to diagnose the disease. This would be less-invasive than an endoscopy.

Wong’s project was given Highest Distinction, winning Concordia University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Award and the Super expo-sciences Hydro Québec (SESHQ) Experimentation and Design Award.

This was Concordia’s fourth time hosting the MRSTF. The university plans to host again in 2017.

“We are deeply tied to our community and committed to scientific discovery and curiosity. We see these students as our future leaders and as those who will shape technology in the future,” said Carbone. “We also hope that by bringing them to Concordia they can see what we have to offer as a potential post-secondary institution.”

Fifteen projects will proceed to the Quebec final. The provincial fair will take place April 22 to 24 at Aurèle-Racine Curling Club in Sorel-Tracy. From there, 40 students will go to the Canadian final happening May 15 to 20 at McGill University.

Concordia panelists discuss the ethics of gene editing via CRISPR technology

Experts in the social and natural sciences gathered at Loyola campus last Wednesday to kick off Concordia’s Beyond Disciplines discussion series with a talk on the ethics of editing genes with Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology.

The talk featured five Concordia professors and one undergraduate from the departments of biology, philosophy and political science. Panelists discussed CRISPR technology, which now allows scientists to edit embryonic and stem cell genes cheaply and with specificity. Journalism professor David Secko hosted the talk.

CRISPR technology functions via natural bacterial immune system reactions. Some bacteria fight infections by releasing enzymes that cut DNA from infectious phage and incorporate it into its own genome to fight future infections.

With CRISPR technology, scientists can clone the cutting enzymes and incorporate them with designed matching sequences, giving the module instructions to go and cut DNA at a specific site. Donor DNA can be added, with overlapping sequences at the target site, to introduce mutations during DNA reparation.

CRISPR’s potential uses are diverse. “My field uses the power of this technique to edit model organisms to help us understand how specific genes contribute to crucial cell physiological mechanisms,” said Alisa Piekny, associate professor of biology at Concordia.

Professor of biology Vincent Martin spoke about CRISPR’s potential as a tool for uncovering genetic causes of diseases, rather than curing them. At this point, he said, “the solution doesn’t have to be CRISPR.”

But some speakers explained ethical dilemmas would arise with CRISPR’s eventual use on humans. What started as a scientific tool could lead down a slippery slope to “designer babies” and organisms that lack agency with regard to genetic development.

Associate professor of philosophy, Matthew Barker, explained all genes exist somewhere between “harmfulness” and “harmlessness.” But there is little consensus on where most genes fall and which can be edited.

While most agree fatal illnesses should be cured, many disagree on whether disabilities like low intelligence or deafness affect wellbeing enough to warrant edits, said Barker. Some deaf parents opposing CRISPR argue removing deafness from kids may negatively affect their wellbeing by impairing their ability to connect with their parents.

David Morris, Concordia’s philosophy chair, said CRISPR’s specificity may help end dissent, but issues of organisms’ genetic agency remain. By editing an organism’s genes, you change it’s future in a definite way. Doing so solidifies its future, which removes what Morris called “genetic agency” in an individual and on an evolutionary scale, reducing the ways in which the organism can naturally develop.

“We are living beings woven into complex relationships with other living beings around us,” said Morris. “CRISPR presents a sudden jump in our ability to modify living beings and these relationships. Our track record of interventions in our biosphere is not good.”

With China and Britain green-lighting human embryo modifications with CRISPR, Piekny warned Canadian policy has to keep up. “[People] should realize the importance of keeping our policy up-to-date, so that the ethics and science are considered together,” she said.

“How does the government and society reconcile that need for scientific progress and for reaping the economic benefits, with claims being made by civil society that these technologies are potentially detrimental to their communities?” asked associate professor of political science, Francesca Scala.

According to Scala, discussions are “a way of bringing in citizens and empowering them to exercise their own scientific citizenship.”

A second Beyond Disciplines event is scheduled for March at Concordia. This talk will focus on the role storytelling and narratives play in research. The exact date is to be confirmed.

Haunted Montreal’s theatrical tour will give you all kinds of creeps

Griffintown’s most historic and haunted sites come alive during Haunted Montreal’s frightful new ghost walk, “Haunted Griffintown” this Halloween season.

Haunted Griffintown might best be described as a walking theatrical performance. The tour is led by trained actors and historians Donovan King and Tim Hardman, each of whom plays a character throughout the walk.

While the tour delves deep into Griffintown’s folklore, it is deeply rooted in historical events. Every story told has been researched by historians and “contextualized within Montreal’s culture,” said King. Haunted Griffintown tours depart from Griffintown Café on Notre Dame Street Ouest at 8 p.m. when the cold darkness helps set the mood.

The tour follows Professor Beeblebock (King) and his graduate student, Jacob Bayou (Hardman), as they take you through “Canada’s most notorious shantytown.” The tour’s first stop is a park at the former site of St. Ann’s Church. The park is home to many ghost sightings, including one tale of a vanishing funeral procession. It is hard not to feel a little spooked as you walk under the looming trees, past benches arranged like pews, in total darkness.

As the tour winds along the Lachine Canal, King and Hardman treat listeners to stories that masterfully blend history and folklore. The canal has witnessed many disturbing deaths. From typhus-stricken Irish immigrants dying in fever sheds in 1847, to a young boy crushed by a swing bridge in 1908, to a mysterious drowning in the Peel Basin in 2010, the stories told are delightfully horrific.

The stories give rise to some captivating paranormal sightings. As King and Hardman share stories of orbs hovering over sites of fever sheds, and of a vanishing young boy walking along the abandoned Wellington tunnel, it is hard not to feel as if someone is watching you.

The tour continues around buildings that seem to have lost their history. Condominiums disguise the forgotten site of the RAF Liberator bomber crash of 1944. King and Hardman, however, breathe life back into the story, for the forgotten stories are a disrespect to the dead, notes Beeblebock, and “the dead do not like to be disrespected.”

Indeed, King felt it was important to host a tour of Griffintown before it was too late. “The Griff is at risk of losing a lot of its historic areas due to gentrification and condo-building,” said King. “I wanted to do a ghost walk in the area before the history is erased.”

The tour ends with Montreal’s most famous ghost story: the murder of prostitute Mary Gallagher. King’s description of her gruesome decapitation and mutilation are enough to keep you up at night. His description of her reappearance on her street corner, however, really makes you lose your head.

King has been giving ghost tours since 2006. “I think people are fascinated by the paranormal because most people experience things in their lives that are uncanny and sometimes unexplainable,” said King. “The paranormal offers possible explanations for impossible situations.”

Haunted Griffintown tours are being offered Oct. 29, 30 and 31. Visit http://www.hauntedmontreal.com for tickets.