Neuroscience | Penn Today

Flavia Vitale, assistant professor of neurology, bioengineering, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, and founder of the multidisciplinary Vitale Lab. (Image: Penn Medicine News)

Developing new technologies to solve the mysteries of the brain

The Perelman School of Medicine’s Flavia Vitale is using her background in biomedical and chemical engineering to develop cutting edge materials and devices that will help clinicians diagnose and treat brain disorders.

The coming crisis in dementia care and why PA is woefully unprepared

Joel Streim and Alison Lynn of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on how and why Pennsylvania is in a perilous position with dementia care.

Restoring ‘chaperone’ protein may prevent plaque buildup in Alzheimer’s

Penn Medicine researchers show how restoring levels of the protein DAXX and a large group of similar proteins prevents the misfolding of the rogue proteins known to drive Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

drawing of two silhouettes with brain matter highlighted and a thought bubble joining the two.

Brain powered: Neuroscience research at Penn Medicine’s Pavilion

Penn Medicine’s newest inpatient facility will help to foster fundamental neuroscience discoveries and new neurotechnologies by bringing clinical care and neuroscience research closer together.

What increases dementia risk?

Andrea Schneider of the Perelman School of Medicine said research shows that head injuries and genetics can increase a person’s risk of dementia. “One common misconception is that dementia is inevitable with aging. This is not true,” she said. “Dementia is not a normal part of aging; however, the risk of dementia does increase with age.”

Damian Pang standing, smiling, in a suit.

Damian Pang may have discovered a new type of memory

The Penn LPS Online Certificate in Neuroscience let Pang gain additional knowledge and skills while still working full time as an airline pilot out of Hong Kong.

Decoding how the brain accurately depicts ever-changing visual landscapes

A collaborative study finds that deeper regions of the brain encode visual information more slowly, enabling the brain to identify fast-moving objects and images more accurately and persistently.

Why storytelling is an important tool for social change

Emily Falk of the Annenberg School for Communication explained the neuroscience behind how the brain processes and learns from stories. “Storytelling alone, of course, can’t produce structural changes in the justice system or create better policies aimed at health, the environment and other issues that affect our well-being,” she wrote. “But that said, changing systems large or small has to start with effective communication.”

A person standing on a stairwell, being photographed from above.

A link between childhood stress and early molars

Penn researchers discovered that children from lower-income backgrounds and those who go through greater adverse childhood experiences get their first permanent molars sooner.

Gloved hand holding a scan of four brains

Researchers study thought process behind revealing Alzheimer’s test results

Two qualitative studies try to understand individuals’ decision-making process as they choose whom, why and how to share information regarding their Alzheimer’s disease biomarker and genetic testing results.

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