7.14
Neuroscience
Rooting out systemic bias in neuroscience publishing
Rooting out systemic bias in neuroscience publishing
An interdisciplinary research team has found statistical evidence of women being undercited in academic literature. They are now studying similar effects along racial lines.
Sensory neurons outside the brain drive autistic social behaviors
Sensory neurons outside the brain drive autistic social behaviors
A new study from Penn Medicine lends further evidence that the social behaviors tied to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) emerge from abnormal function of sensory neurons outside the brain.
New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier
New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier
A five-minute online session will allow neural health to be tracked across time, so that doctors can make an earlier diagnosis and researchers can evaluate medications and other treatments.
What do ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Macbeth,’ and a list of Facebook friends all have in common?
To an English scholar or avid reader, the Shakespeare Canon represents some of the greatest literary works of the English language. To a network scientist, Shakespeare’s 37 plays and the 884,421 words they contain also represent a massively complex communication network.
To err is human, to learn, divine
To err is human, to learn, divine
Researchers develop a new model for how the brain processes complex information: by striking a balance between accuracy and simplicity while making mistakes along the way.
Gaze and pupil dilation can reveal a decision before it’s made
Gaze and pupil dilation can reveal a decision before it’s made
These two biomarkers may offer clues into the underlying biological processes at play in decision making, according to research from neuroscientist Michael Platt.
Continued CO2 emissions will impair cognition
Continued CO2 emissions will impair cognition
Rising CO2 causes more than a climate crisis, according to a study from Penn and CU Boulder. It may directly harm our ability to think.
A link between obesity and sleep loss may lie in studying worm metabolism
A link between obesity and sleep loss may lie in studying worm metabolism
Penn researchers find microscopic worms offer a surprisingly good model for studying how metabolism regulates sleep in humans and other mammals.
Ramon Diaz-Arrastia is ‘at the uncharted frontier of brain science and traumatic injury’
Ramon Diaz-Arrastia is ‘at the uncharted frontier of brain science and traumatic injury’
The Presidential Professor of neurology in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, who began his post in 2016, is an innovative traumatic brain injury researcher.
Drug found to trigger the ‘energy balance’ system for appetite suppression
Drug found to trigger the ‘energy balance’ system for appetite suppression
Penn researchers show how the FDA-approved drug liraglutide interacts with a distinct set of neurons in the brain’s “energy balance” system to suppress appetite.
In the News
Forbes
Your eyes may betray what decision you are about to make
Michael Louis Platt and Feng Sheng of the Wharton School comment on their research on the sight-brain connection when making decisions.
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U.S. News & World Report
Antarctic study shows isolation, monotony may change the human brain
Alexander Stahn of the Perelman School of Medicine led a study that found a volume decrease in the hippocampi of explorers who spent 14 months at a research station in Antarctica. “It was an average of about 7%, which is really big in terms of brain changes,” he said.
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The Washington Post
Women are more than twice as likely as men to suffer from PTSD. Studies are underway to find out why
Edna Foa of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about her research on the effects of estrogen on fear extinction, a process of “unlearning” fear related to recovery from PTSD.
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Time
How neuroscience could explain the rise of addictions, heart disease, and diabetes in 21st century America
Peter Sterling of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote about the neuroscience behind modern maladies like addiction: “Lacking small pulses of dopamine, we grow uncomfortable and seek relief with substances that act powerfully on the reward circuit to release dopamine in great surges.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn, Drexel get $22 million to study Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, other dementias
Penn’s Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research has been awarded funding to explore a variety of dementias. The center is led by Virginia Man-Yee Lee and John Q. Trojanowski and the research will be conducted by Alice Chen-Plotkin and Murray Grossman, all of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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Scientific American
Is ‘neurolaw’ coming soon to a courtroom near you?
Stephen Morse of the Law School weighed in on the use of neuroscience in courtrooms. He believes that in a legal setting, neuroscience cannot adequately explain criminal activity: “if there is a disjunct between what the neuroscience shows and what the behavior shows, you’ve got to believe the behavior.”
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