Neuroscience | Penn Today

graphic of person tending to plants growing out of a person's head, suggesting a flourishing mind

Both nature and nurture contribute to signatures of socioeconomic status in the brain

In the first study of its kind, Penn researchers and an international team of collaborators found that genetics and environmental factors contribute to how socioeconomic status shapes the architecture of the brain.

A new approach to nerve healing

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine developed an injectable microtissue that preserved muscle function in rodents with a severed nerve.

The promise of transcranial magnetic stimulation

Research led by Penn Medicine shows that transcranial magnetic stimulation might help stimulate brain repair by helping the brain “reorganize” signals around the damaged area.

Three adults rhesus macaques and two infants macaques sitting on a rock in a forest located on the island of Cayo Santiago.

Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques

Researchers from Penn, Inserm, and elsewhere observed that the number of grooming partners an individual animal had predicted the size of brain areas associated with social decision-making and empathy.

An elderly person, seated, holds hands with a caregiver standing over them.

Questioning what we know about dementia

Penn researchers are looking into moments of sudden, clear communication in someone with progressive neurodegenerative disease for a deeper understanding of both brain science and philosophy.

Scans reveal the brain’s early growth, late decline and surprising variability

Research co-led by Aaron Alexander-Bloch and postdoc Jakob Seidlitz of the Perelman School of Medicine charted the human brain’s development over a lifetime to better understand disorders like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Five Penn students are 2022 Goldwater Scholars

Five juniors have received 2022 Goldwater Scholarships to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. Penn's newest Goldwater Scholars are Joshua Chen, Allison Chou, Shriya Karam, Laila Barakat Norford, and Andrew Sontag.

Side-by-side portraits of two smiling women

35th annual Women of Color at Penn award

The Women of Color at Penn held their 35th annual award ceremony with a virtual celebration hosted by the African American Resource Center. This year’s awards honored six women who have fostered and supported community.

Just one beer or glass of wine a day may cause your brain to shrink, study suggests

Henry Kranzler of the Perelman School of Medicine co-authored research that found daily alcohol consumption, even in moderate quantities, can lead to a loss of brain volume. "For pretty much any level of drinking, a reduction is likely to yield health benefits," he said.

A scale with an alcoholic beverage on one side and a brain on the other

One drink a day linked with reduced brain size

The Penn-led research, using a dataset of more than 36,000 adults, revealed that going from one to two drinks a day was associated with changes in the brain equivalent to aging two years. Heavier drinking was linked with an even greater toll.

Filters