By Mark Shainblum
Join us as we unearth the hidden gems and secret places on the websites of McGill University and its affiliated institutions.
The Douglas Blogosphere
The McGill-affiliated Douglas Mental Health Institute has jumped into the blogging pool with a big splash, publishing no fewer than four regular blogs about mental health and wellbeing:
Les Arts Santé, by art therapist Francine Levesque. She uses her blog to increase public awareness of this relatively new mental health discipline, and also to discuss the importance of art and creativity in everyday life. (Bilingual)
Psychospeak with Dr. Z, by Dr. Camillo Zacchia, Professional Chief of Psychology at the Douglas. He uses his blog to comment on mental health issues that make the headlines, sometimes drawing and expanding upon the columns he writes for the Metro newspaper. (English)
Regards sur l’efficience des services de santé mentale by health economist Dr. Eric Latimer. As the title suggests, his blog is about the efficiency of mental health services. (French)
The Rochford Files, by Dr. John Rochford, Director of Academic Affairs at the Douglas Research Centre. Dr. Rochford uses his blog to discuss the relationship between the brain, mind and behaviour. (English)
All of these blogs can be accessed through the single URL at the top of the column, as can the Experience podcast, which offers audio and video recordings of lectures, public presentations and other educational materials.
The Brain from Top to Bottom
We covered this award-winning website last year, but it’s so great, and ties in so well with the theme of column that we decided to go back for seconds. The Brain from Top to Bottom takes you on a slick, multimedia tour of the human brain. Originally developed by neuroscientist Bruno Dubuc and a team at the Douglas, the site lets you tiptoe through your neurons in multiple ways: By topic, by level of explanation, by level of organization, by module and by guided tour. It’s really fun and painlessly educational, in the best sense of the word.
Do you know of any great McGill web gems we haven’t covered yet? Send them to mark.shainblum@mcgill.ca