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Neuroscience
Study reveals new insights on brain development sequence through adolescence
A new study by Penn Medicine finds the brain maturation sequence renders youth sensitive to environmental impacts through adolescence.
Casey Halpern uses science and surgery to address mental health—starting with cravings
The associate professor of neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine has found that deep brain stimulation senses craving and upcoming loss of control in brain cells and delivers stimulation to restore the stop signal that patients need.
To protect children online, researchers call for cross-disciplinary collaboration
A team of neuroscientists and legal experts, including Gideon Nave of the Wharton School, published a perspective in Science drawing attention to the need to develop science-backed policies that take into account children’s vulnerabilities in the digital world.
Novel tools for the treatment and diagnosis of epilepsy
Penn neurologist Brian Litt’s work on implantable devices for recording and altering brain activity has led to new ways to treat and diagnose epilepsy.
Gift to Penn Medicine and CHOP establishes Center for Epilepsy and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
This $25M gift will bolster the efforts of an interdisciplinary group of clinicians and scientists at Penn and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, led by director Benjamin Prosser, to accelerate research in genetic therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Black older Americans age faster than white counterparts
According to a new Penn study, inequities in socioeconomic resources is the main cause of biological aging as measured by DNA methylation.
New approach for brain cell immunotherapy
Penn Medicine researchers have developed a selective medicine to get rid of old microglia, while also replenishing them with transplanted surrogate cells in their place, suggesting future potential for treating and even preventing neurodegenerative disorders.
Eight Penn professors elected 2022 AAAS Fellows
Researchers from the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Perelman School of Medicine, and School of Veterinary Medicine join a class of scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines.
Through the lens: A digital depiction of dyslexia
Artist-in-residence and visiting scholar Rebecca Kamen has blended AI and art to produce animated illustrations representing how a dyslexic brain interprets information.
How ketamine acts as ‘switch’ in the brain
Penn researchers find that the anesthetic and fast-acting antidepressant switches natural patterns of neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex.
In the News
A new strategy to attack aggressive brain cancer shrank tumors in two early tests
A clinical trial led by Stephen Bagley of the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that targeting two associated proteins with CAR T cell therapy could be a viable strategy for shrinking brain tumors.
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ADHD may have evolved more than 12,000 years ago as an advantage for foragers, study claims
A study led by David Barack of the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that ADHD may have played a major role in foraging and survival for ancient hunter-gatherers.
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How to stay mentally sharp into your 80s and beyond
According to David Wolk of the Perelman School of Medicine, a healthier body can help the brain respond better to the aging process.
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Blood tests can help diagnose Alzheimer’s—if they’re accurate enough. Not all are
Virginia Man-Yee Lee of the Perelman School of Medicine says it’s likely in the future that anyone older than 60 will get an Alzheimer’s test.
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Some scientists think newborn neurons could reverse Alzheimer’s
Research co-authored by Hongjun Song of the Perelman School of Medicine strengthens the case for human neurogenesis, the development of new neurons from neural progenitor cells.
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The brain may interpret smells from each nostril differently
A study by postdoc Gulce Nazli Dikecligil in the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that the smells flowing through each nostril are processed as two separate signals in the part of the brain that receives smell inputs.
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