Neuroscience

Being hungry shuts off perception of chronic pain

Finding food is a necessary survival skill, but so is avoiding pain. Research led by J. Nicholas Betley and postdoctoral researcher Amber Alhadeff showed that being hungry activates a neural pathway that inhibits the sensing and responding to chronic pain. The findings offer up new targets for treating pain.

Katherine Unger Baillie



In the News


ARS Technica

When does your brain think something is worth the wait?

Research by Joe Kable of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues finds that subjects with damage to certain regions of the prefrontal cortex are less likely to wait things out.

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PBS NewsHour

‘Brains and Beauty’ exhibit explores how the mind processes art and aesthetic experiences

Anjan Chatterjee of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the aesthetic triad is a mental system for engaging with an artwork.

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SciTechDaily

Scientists unveil 16+ distinct nerve cell types behind human touch

A study by Wenqin Lo of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues used detailed analyses of the genes used by individual nerve cells to identify 16 distinct types of nerve cells in humans.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Free West Philly community clinic, which provided care to hundreds, is closed

Penn Medicine resident Noor Shaik and Michael Rubenstein of the Perelman School of Medicine discuss a West Philadelphia clinic that became a model for collaborations between academic health systems and community organizations.

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The Washington Post

Alzheimer’s patients and their families hear a new word: Progress

Jeffrey Maneval of the Perelman School of Medicine classifies two new drug treatments for Alzheimer’s as “a double, not a home run.”

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Medscape

The next frontier of antibiotic discovery: Inside your gut

César de la Fuente of the Perelman School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science says the main pillars that have enabled us to almost double our lifespan in the last 100 years have been antibiotics, vaccines, and clean water.

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