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No evidence that testosterone reduces cognitive empathy
Two people face each other, smiling widely and looking into each other's eyes.

No evidence that testosterone reduces cognitive empathy

In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that testosterone administration did not affect cognitive empathy, a measure of the ability to recognize another’s feelings and motivations. The finding calls into question the theory that the symptoms of autism are caused by a hyper-masculinized brain.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Mental health is for rich people

Mental health is for rich people

Maria Oquendo of the Perelman School of Medicine was cited in an excerpt from “Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me,” a new book about mental health care access. The fact that just 43% of American psychiatrists accept Medicaid is “a really huge problem,” said Oquendo.

Penn parents equipped with new book on resilience
A staff member helps a Penn parent pick up a copy of a book

A Penn parent picks up a copy of "The Stressed Years of Their Lives" at a New Student and Family Orientation event held Aug. 21 at Irvine Auditorium. (Photo by: Steve McCann)

Penn parents equipped with new book on resilience

‘The Stressed Years of Their Lives,’ co-authored by Professor of Psychiatry Anthony Rostain, was handed out to hundreds of parents as part of New Student Orientation.
Using a matching game to study the language of conversations
Four people in brightly colored clothing standing in a white hallway.

In the lab of Delphine Dahan (second from right), Penn junior Kassidy Houston, Penn sophomore Lilian Zhang, and University of Chicago student Benjamin Stallworth recruited participants, ran experiments, and coded video and audio to look for patterns in language use. 

Using a matching game to study the language of conversations

Penn undergrads Lilian Zhang and Kassidy Houston, and University of Chicago student Benjamin Stallworth, interned in the lab of cognitive psychologist Delphine Dahan doing work to better understand what subconsciously happens when people converse.

Michele W. Berger

A wearable new technology moves brain monitoring from the lab to the real world
Two people standing in a lab space, holding headbands.

Postdoc Arjun Ramakrishnan (left) and Penn Integrates Knowledge professor Michael Platt created a wearable EEG akin to a Fitbit for the brain, with a set of silicon and silver nanowire sensors embedded into a head covering like the headband seen here. The new technology led to the formation of a company called Cogwear, LLC.

A wearable new technology moves brain monitoring from the lab to the real world

The portable EEG created by PIK Professor Michael Platt and postdoc Arjun Ramakrishnan has potential applications from health care to sports performance.

Michele W. Berger

Five insights into how the brain works
Person sitting at a table with blurry people in front and a screen hanging on the wall behind, which reads, "Experiential effects on brain development."

Martha J. Farah, the Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences, is director of the Center for Neuroscience & Society at Penn. (Pre-pandemic image: Courtesy Martha Farah) 

Five insights into how the brain works

As the Center for Neuroscience & Society celebrates 10 years, founding director Martha Farah reflects on the array of research from its faculty, on subjects from brain games to aggression.

Michele W. Berger

When a fix for one vision problem causes another
A person sitting in front of a computer and a machine that tests vision.

The lab of neuroscientist Johannes Burge (above) focuses on how the human visual system processes the images that fall on the back of the eye. This line of work, closely related to a 100-year-old illusion called the Pulfrich effect, could have serious public safety and public health implications.

When a fix for one vision problem causes another

Aging diminishes the ability of the eyes to focus up close. New Penn research reports that monovision, a common prescription lens correction to mitigate this issue, can cause dramatic misperceptions of depth and 3D direction for objects in motion.

Michele W. Berger

How to help your anxious partner—And yourself

How to help your anxious partner—And yourself

Sandy Capaldi and Cory Newman of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the challenges of supporting a partner with anxiety. “A lot of people with anxiety disorders understandably view anxiety as the enemy,” Newman said. “Actually, it’s not. The real enemy is avoidance. Anxiety causes [people] to avoid things—like applying to schools, flying to a cousin’s wedding—[that can lead to] an enriched life. And that causes depression.”