The Montreal Neurological Hospital Site
The Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and Hospital (MNH) was created in 1934 thanks to several large donations. A major gift of $1,232,652 from the Rockefeller Foundation provided half the amount necessary for construction and established a permanent fund whose income continues to support the study of neurology.
Dr. Wilder Penfield, who founded Canada's only neurological institute and pioneered many new areas of neurological research, was called "the moving spirit of the institute." Dr. Penfield was a pioneer in seeking to understand the brain and nervous system and in helping patients with intractable neurological disorders.
At the Montreal Neurological Institute, Penfield, his colleagues and students investigated such conditions as epilepsy, brain edema and neuromuscular disease. Through the 1930s and 40s, researchers at the institute made a name for themselves and the hospital with groundbreaking research in neurosurgery, electroencephalography, and neurophysiology.
From the start, half of the space in the eight-storey hospital was devoted to patients, and half reserved for scientific purposes. Dr. Penfield intended that researchers would not lose touch with patients in a clinical setting while pursuing laboratory research. Through its affiliation with the McGill University Medical School, the MNI excelled not only in research and treatment, but also in the education of doctors and nurses specializing in neurology.
Though affiliated with the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Montreal Neurological Hospital was incorporated as a separate institution in 1963, and is designated by the Quebec government as an ultra-specialized institution. Some of the most significant accomplishments of the MNH include the first positron images of a brain tumour (1975), Canada's first CT scanner (1973) and North America's first mini cyclotron (1981).
Clinicians and researchers at the MNH site of the MUHC are recognized throughout the world as leaders in the research and treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Other large patient populations include victims of stroke and diseases of the spinal cord. Partnerships with local, national and international scientific communities have been established in the pursuit of scientific understanding within this most challenging field.
