News

Monday, February 5, 2018
NBC News: 5 good reasons to go outside, even when it's freezing

Reason No. 1:  It'll lift your mood because natural light raises serotonin levels, which are lowest in winter, says Kathryn A. Roecklein, PhD.   Learn More

Thursday, February 1, 2018
The science behind why we cry

Lauren M. Bylsma, PhD, says tears may have grown from the alarm calls of infants into something more complex. Learn More

Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Study aims to use BCI to help subjects control their internal states

Matt Smith, PhD, studies how the brain reacts to visual stimuli. One goal is to help people with attention deficit disorder use feedback with a brain-computer interface to improve their focus. Learn More

Thursday, January 25, 2018
Wall Street Journal: New stroke guidelines urge broader use of clot removal

The move is based on a Pitt-Emory University study showing that thrombectomy within 24 hours after a stroke reduces disability. Learn More

Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Kids with ADHD more likely to have first alcoholic drink by age 15

A Pitt-led study found that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder engaged in substance use at younger ages and were more likely to smoke marijuana and cigarettes as adults.   Learn More

Wednesday, January 24, 2018
WESA: Microsensor may help reveal how cocaine affects teen brains

Bioengineer Tracy Cui, PhD, is focusing on the ventral tegmental area, which produces large amounts of dopamine and is part of the brain's reward center. Learn More

Friday, January 19, 2018
Schizophrenia study identifies shifts in patterns of neurotransmitters in working memory network

A study in Biological Psychiatry, led by David Lewis, MD, suggests that multiple disruptions across brain regions give rise to schizophrenia symptoms. Learn More

Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Telegraph: Can you really be successful on four-hours-a-night sleep?

Daniel Buysse, MD, says some most people who think they can get by on several hours are fooling themselves. Learn More

Wednesday, January 17, 2018
National Academy of Sciences recognizes Marlene Cohen

Marlene R. Cohen, PhD, will receive a Troland Research Award for her pioneering studies of how neurons process visual information. Learn More

Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Consumer Reports: How to ease seasonal affective disorder

Kathryn Roecklein, PhD, says cognitive behavior therapy not only also eases SAD, but might even prevent symptoms from recurring the following year. Learn More

Saturday, January 13, 2018
New brain sensor opens window on mechanisms of addiction

Bioengineer Xinyan 'Tracy' Cui, PhD, uses aptamers in the living brain to examine neuron sensitivity by age, and to see how drugs like cocaine concentrate in different areas of the brain.   Learn More

Friday, January 12, 2018
BBC: Primack says stay off social media in the half hour before bed

A tech-free 30 minutes is crucial to a good night's sleep, no matter how much time you spend on-line the rest of the day, according to studies by social media expert Brian Primack, MD, PhD. Learn More

Tuesday, January 9, 2018
The Economist: The hunt for smaller, safer, smarter brain implants

More precision is needed to generate fine-grained control signals to allow brain-computer interfaces to move individual fingers, says Andrew Schwartz, PhD. Learn More

Tuesday, January 9, 2018
WESA: The biological case for delaying school start times

Sleep researcher Peter Franzen, PhD, says forcing teens to follow adult sleep schedules results in reduced school performance, more car accidents and depression.  Learn More

Tuesday, January 9, 2018
CNBC: Is Apple to blame for teen tech addiction?

Brian Primack, MD, PhD, pushes back on the concept that parents can protect their kids from the ill effects of social media, which include depression, anxiety and feeling isolated. Learn More

Monday, January 8, 2018
Math postdoc awarded selective Swartz Foundation fellowship

Chengcheng Huang, PhD, is a computational neuroscientist who uses neuronal networks to model how the auditory part of the brain perceives pitch.  Learn More

Monday, January 8, 2018
TK Kozai reports on importance of glial cells for implanted brain electrodes

Takashi Kozai, PhD, is also working with Franca Cambi, MD, PhD, to study the role of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in relation to brain-computer interface technology. Learn More

Thursday, January 4, 2018
Clinical trials set for 'bionic vision' implants in patients with macular degeneration

Up to five older patients with vision loss from atrophic dry macular degeneration will be surgically treated with a miniaturized wireless photovoltaic sub-retinal implant, developed in Paris.     Learn More

Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Byrne sets sights on improving vision through gene editing

Leah Byrne, PhD, leads a team that is using CRISPR/Cas9 tools to replace malfunctioning genes in inherited retinal degeneration.  Learn More

Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Tribune-Review: What to keep in mind about New Year's resolutions

New Year's resolutions set our brain to trigger us into action when we are not acting on the goal, says Greg Siegle, PhD. Learn More

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