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University of Pennsylvania

·October 8, 2025·8 min read

Hunger, Fear, and the Brain’s Hidden Switch to Turn Off Chronic Pain

Chronic pain affects nearly 50 million Americans, yet new research reveals the brain may have an internal switch that can turn it down. Scientists identified a group of neurons in the brainstem that regulate long-term pain by integrating signals related to hunger, fear, and thirst.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Pain Psychology

·October 2, 2025·6 min read

Psilocybin Rewire Brain Circuits Tied to Pain and Mood

New research shows that psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, can reduce both chronic pain and pain-related depression by modulating brain circuits rather than acting at the site of injury. In mouse studies, a single dose provided pain relief and mood benefits lasting nearly two weeks by targeting the anterior cingulate cortex.

This shows a child listening to music, surrounded by emotional emojis.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 8, 2025·5 min read

Music May Help Kids Understand Emotions, Even Without Empathy

Music plays a powerful role in how we perceive and express emotion—and a new study finds that even very young children can match emotions in music to facial expressions. Researchers studied 144 children aged 3 to 5 and found that emotion recognition improves with age.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 6, 2025·5 min read

Brain’s Social Hub Responds to Confusion, Not Just People

New research reveals that the brain region often linked to understanding others, the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), is activated more by uncertainty than by social reasoning alone. Using fMRI, researchers found DMPFC responded to uncertain inferences about people, bodies, and even objects.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 31, 2025·3 min read

Brain ‘Reset Wave’ May Explain How ECT Rapidly Relieves Depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), long misunderstood due to outdated portrayals, remains the most effective treatment for severe, treatment-resistant mental illness. While traditionally thought to work solely through induced seizures, new research reveals that ECT also triggers a second brain event: cortical spreading depolarization (CSD).

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 17, 2024·6 min read

Brain-Targeted mRNA Delivery Breaks the Blood-Brain Barrier

Researchers have developed lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and precisely target brain cells, a major step toward treating neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s. By attaching short peptides to LNPs, scientists achieved targeted mRNA delivery to neurons and endothelial cells, avoiding invasive procedures. Peptides are smaller, more stable, and easier to use than antibodies, making them ideal for LNP-based therapies.

This shows a brain and a person at a bus stop.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 10, 2024·7 min read

Brain’s Quit-or-Wait Dilemma: How We Decide to Persist or Move On

New research sheds light on how the brain's prefrontal cortex evaluates whether to persist or quit in uncertain situations. Using tasks mimicking real-life dilemmas, researchers found that different brain regions influence patience and adaptability.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·December 9, 2024·6 min read

Lab-Grown Tumor Models Mirror Glioblastoma Treatment Response

Glioblastoma organoids, lab-grown replicas of a patient’s tumor, accurately predict how the tumor responds to CAR T cell therapy. This breakthrough allows real-time testing of therapies, showing that responses in the organoid closely mirror those in the patient.

Brain Cancer Featured Neuroscience

·December 7, 2024·5 min read

Ketogenic Diet Enhances CAR-T Cancer Therapy

Researchers have found that a ketogenic diet boosts CAR T cell therapy effectiveness by enhancing tumor control and survival in mice with lymphoma. The key is beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), a metabolite produced during ketosis, which CAR T cells prefer as an energy source over glucose. Laboratory models showed that BHB supplementation led to complete cancer remission in most mice and enhanced CAR T cell expansion.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 9, 2024·4 min read

Disrupted Eating Cycles? Liver-Brain Signals Hold Key to Balance

A new study highlights how signals from the liver to the brain influence eating patterns tied to our circadian rhythms. This liver-brain communication can become disrupted in people working night shifts or irregular hours, leading to weight gain and metabolic issues.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 26, 2024·8 min read

How Curiosity Styles Shape Wikipedia Use and Learning

A study of global Wikipedia browsing patterns reveals three curiosity styles: the focused "hunter," the exploratory "busybody," and the creative "dancer." Data from 482,760 readers in 50 countries shows that cultural factors, such as gender equality and education levels, influence browsing styles, with more egalitarian countries showing greater exploratory browsing.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 7, 2024·8 min read

AI Enhances Early Detection of Health Issues

Penn AInSights, an AI-based imaging system, enhances radiology by creating precise 3D views of internal organs, enabling early detection of health issues like fatty liver disease and diabetes. By analyzing 2,000 scans per month, it helps clinicians screen for conditions beyond their primary focus. The system's seamless integration into existing workflows and its cost-effectiveness make it a game changer in healthcare, potentially extending lives through early intervention.