Neuroscience | Penn Today

The world’s oldest nightmare: Understanding sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis has been linked to the supernatural for centuries. Neuroscientists work to uncover the science of REM disorders.

The next frontier of precision medicine: Parkinson’s disease

The Molecular Integration in Neurological Diagnosis (MIND) Initiative is working to understand the nature of Parkinson's disease with molecular-level accuracy, so doctors can treat the root cause.

The psychology of binge-watching

Though binge-watching—and even the way we crave television at all—is a relatively recent phenomenon, the psychology behind why we become consumed in stories is actually a tale as old as time.

To reduce concussions in football, change kickoffs

Research findings support an experimental rule in football that reduced concussions by moving the kickoff line from the 35- to 40-yard line and the touchback line from the 25- to 20-yard line.

Ivy League football saw large reduction in concussions after new kickoff rules

The Perelman School of Medicine’s Douglas Wiebe authored a study that found a reduction in concussion rates in football players after a change to kickoff rules. “It’s great to see a success story here,” said Wiebe. However, he added, “we do need to step back and think about the rest of the game.”

What happens to the brain after a traumatic injury?

Two undergrads interning with Penn Medicine’s Ramon Diaz-Arrastia spent the summer looking for biomarkers in the blood of TBI patients, and studying whether the generic form of Viagra might help promote recovery after such an injury.

You’re probably not being microwaved right now

The School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Kenneth Foster described claims that a classified microwave weapon was used to injure diplomats as unlikely, due to the impossibility of producing radiation powerful enough to cause neurological damage.

New center will study the complex genomics within individual cells

Junhyong Kim and James Eberwine are leading a multi-disciplinary team in developing cutting-edge technologies that can assess the genetic material inside individual compartments of single cells. The new Center for Sub-Cellular Genomics aims to revolutionize therapies for diseases such as bipolar disorder, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Finding patterns in a class of neurological disorders

Research from Penn Engineering and the Perelman School of Medicine has found that the shared pattern is misfolded in Fragile X Syndrome, a member of the class of disorders that also includes ALS and Huntington’s disease

Lab-grown brain bits open windows to the mind—and a maze of ethical dilemmas

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine discussed the development of “minibrains” made from stem cells. The cerebral organoids cannot think or feel but are powerful tools for studying the human brain.

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