Neuroscience | Penn Today

A microscopic rendering of a neuromuscular junction.

Gene therapy may slow loss of motor function in ALS

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia used RNA interference to silence a key protein that causes ALS, showing promise for treating the devastating neurodegenerative disease.

Tackling brain conditions, says psychology professor Nicole Rust, requires thinking about the brain not as a domino chain but as a complex dynamical system with feedback loops.

nocred

Q&A

‘Elusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn’t Solved Brain Disorders—and How We Can Change That’

The first book from psychology professor Nicole Rust of the School of Arts & Sciences dives into why research on conditions like Alzheimer’s and depression hasn’t translated more effectively into better treatments.

5 min. read

Does the color purple really exist?

Elizabeth (Zab) Johnson of the Wharton School says that color is entirely the process of human neural machinery.

The human brain as though it is being scanned.

Dual-target CAR T-cell therapy slows growth of aggressive brain cancer

Researchers from Penn Medicine have demonstrated encouraging tumor reductions rarely seen in recurrent glioblastoma following phase I clinical trials.

3 min. read

Neurobowl reimagines how the next generation of neurologists is trained

Sashank Prasad and Raymond Price have collaborated for years on an online quiz-show to teach uncommon neurological conditions for Penn Medicine students, and have introduced the program to other institutions as well.

2 min. read

What behavioral strategies motivate environmental action?

A collaborative study from researchers affiliated with the Annenberg School for Communication, Annenberg Public Policy Center, and School of Arts & Sciences tested 17 strategies in an “intervention tournament.”

4 min. read

Four headshots of Penn Faculty. Top left tile clockwise: Mark Devlin, Katalin Karikó, E. John Wherry III, and Virginia M.Y. Lee

National Academy of Sciences elects four from Penn

The newly elected members, recognized for their innovative contributions to original research, are Mark Devlin of the School of Arts & Sciences and Katalin Karikó, Virginia Lee, and E. John Wherry III of the Perelman School of Medicine.

3 min. read

nocred

‘What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice & Change’

The first book from Emily Falk of the Annenberg School for Communication provides a window into the impacts of the brain’s value, self-relevance, and social relevance systems.

6 min. read

A laughing gas mask hovering over a patient’s perspective.

Laughing gas: An old drug’s new trick to fight depression

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine have uncovered how nitrous oxide, an anesthetic used worldwide since the 19th century, could help lift mood fast in people with depression that resists other treatments.

1 min. read

Oblong-shaped terminals and wall art portraying the workings of the brain.

Brain power on display at the Franklin Institute

Several researchers from Penn Medicine’s Department of Neurology are featured throughout the Franklin Institute’s Body Odyssey exhibit.