News

Thursday, July 26, 2018
STAT: Drugs aimed at sliver of PD patients may help many more

A study led by Tim Greenamyre, MD, PhD, reported in Science Translational Medicine, suggests that experimental drugs that target the gene LRRK2 may be effective for common forms of Parkinson's.     Learn More

Thursday, July 19, 2018
Pitt bioengineer awarded NIH grant to develop imaging tech that may lead to better neuroprosthetics

TK Kozai, PhD, and neurologist Franca Cambi, MD, PhD, will investigate the role of oligodendrocytes and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in neural tissue response to chronic brain implants. Learn More

Sunday, July 8, 2018
Psychology and bioengineering take longitudinal look at aging brain disparities

Anna Marsland, Peter Gianaros and Tamer Ibrahim will use enhanced MRI to compare current brain health in middle-aged volunteers with old medical records about inflammation and heart health. Learn More

Thursday, June 21, 2018
SCIENCE: New evidence stokes debate over diplomats’ mysterious illness

Carey Balaban, PhD, and his colleagues examined Havana embassy personnel, and find that a directed energy source could have damaged the sensitive utricle and saccule of the ear. Learn More

Friday, June 15, 2018
Pitt Med: On the command role of the posterior parietal cortex

Peter Strick, PhD, says some of his recent work can be described in one sentence: "Mountcastle was right!" Learn More

Friday, June 15, 2018
Pitt Med: Expanding the use of deep brain stimulation

Only 13 percent of eligible patients get DBS surgery for their intractable and debilitating Parkinson's symptoms.  Neurosurgeon Mark Richardson, MD, PhD, would like that to change. Learn More

Saturday, April 21, 2018
Strick to receive Carnegie Science Award for Life Sciences

The Brain Institute's scientific director, Peter L. Strick, PhD, will be honored for his research using transneuronal transport of viruses to investigate brain networks. Learn More

Saturday, April 14, 2018
"Tic tac toe" coil system aims to improve high-resolution brain imaging

Bioengineer Tamer Ibrahim, PhD, and colleagues plan to use the technology developed in his lab to investigate small-vessel disease in older adults with depression. Learn More

Thursday, April 12, 2018
WESA: Teenage brains take longer to heal from concussions than once thought

An age younger than 16, a history of migraines and being female are some of the risk factors that can extend recovery time after a sports-related head injury. Learn More

Thursday, April 12, 2018
Pittwire: The neural processes that allow us to pay attention

Marlene Cohen, PhD, and colleagues study what goes on at the neural level when the brain practices detecting differences in visual stimuli, a process called perceptual learning. Learn More

Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Bioengineer receives $1.5M NIH award to study how the brain perceives moving objects

Neeraj Gandhi, PhD, will examine how the eye and brain compensate for lag times inherent in making sense of images in a world that doesn't stay still.     Learn More

Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Nitin Sharma receives NSF CAREER award to improve robot-assisted walking

The mechanical engineer aims to create a wearable, ultrasound-based exoskeleton for the ankle, which can be used for rehabilitation after injury. Learn More

Monday, April 2, 2018
Remembrance: Neuropsychopharmacology expert Jeffrey Yao

Jeffrey Yao, PhD, was recognized internationally for groundbreaking research on the biochemical aspects of disease processes in mental illness and neurological disorders. Learn More

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
State to use Pitt lab for data-driven approach to opioid crisis

The Aetna Foundation has provided a $1M grant for a two-year project in Pitt's Public Health Dynamics Laboratory. The lab will run computer models to evaluate how to focus resources. Learn More

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Lofexidine wins FDA panel's support for patients quitting opioids

"The data was there," said committee chair Rajesh Narendran, MD. If the FDA follows the panel's recommendation, lofexidine would become the first non-opioid drug approved to treat opioid withdrawal. Learn More

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
FDA staff questions safety, efficacy of opioid-withdrawal drug

An FDA advisory committee headed by psychiatrist Rajesh Narendran, MD, meets today to consider recommending approval of the use of lofexidine, an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist similar to clonidine Learn More

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
PIND receives $2M grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

The two-year project will investigate links between environmental and known genetic triggers of Parkinson's, such as LRRK2. Learn More

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Pittwire: Exercise boosts cognitive recovery even years after stroke

Meta-analysis of available data suggests that type and duration of physical activity doesn't matter much, though best results came from from a combination of cardiovascular and strength training. Learn More

Friday, March 23, 2018
PittMed: What a pH-sensitive fluorescent probe reveals about neuron communication

Studies by Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD, suggest that neurons can multitask and release two neurotransmitters -- such as dopamine and glutamate -- at once. Learn More

Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative solicits research proposals on neurodegeneration

Letters of intent to apply for three-year collaborative awards are due April 3.  The LOI due date for five-year awards for early-career scientists is April 17. Learn More

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