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Virginia Tech

·January 8, 2025·6 min read

Dopamine and Serotonin Drive Emotional Word Processing

Researchers have uncovered how neurotransmitters in the brain respond to the emotional content of language, shedding light on the intersection of emotion, cognition, and communication. Using advanced techniques, the team simultaneously measured dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine release in patients during exposure to emotionally charged words.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 19, 2018·3 min read

Drug Discovery Could Halt Brain Cancer Spread

Researchers detail the use of a drug that may help block the way glioblastoma brain cancer cells respond to fluid flow. The finding could lead to stopping glioblastoma from spreading.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 5, 2025·6 min read

Early Trauma Hardwires the Brain for Aggression and Self-Harm

A new study reveals that aggression and self-harm share a biological foundation in the brain’s response to early-life trauma. Researchers discovered that trauma increases activity in calcium channels within a neural circuit connecting the nucleus reuniens and hippocampus, amplifying pain processing and impulsive behavior.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 28, 2023·5 min read

Echo Chambers Amplified: How CNN and Fox News Fuel America’s Polarization

Researchers utilized AI and natural language processing to analyze 10 years of broadcasts and tweets from CNN and Fox News, revealing a surge in partisan and inflammatory language. The study shows that the media language influences public debates on social media, creating divisive echo chambers.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 9, 2021·2 min read

Exploring Differences in Mitochondria of Memory Cells in the Brain

A new NIH grant will allow Virginia Tech researchers to explore the mechanisms of social memory in the hippocampus.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 9, 2025·4 min read

Fear Sync: How Males and Females Respond to Stress Together

When mice face fear, they often freeze—and when paired, they typically freeze together. A new study reveals that male-female pairs maintain synchronized fear responses even under stress, unlike same-sex pairs.

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Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 25, 2020·3 min read

Fonts in campaign communications have liberal or conservative leanings

Individuals perceive certain fonts used on political campaign signs as having partisan leanings. The more people view a font as aligned with their ideology, the more they favor it.

This shows a person drinking and a brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 4, 2025·6 min read

Future Thinking Training Reduces Impulsivity

A new study finds that training people to think about specific future events can reduce impulsivity and improve decision-making. Researchers used fMRI scans to show that practicing episodic future thinking increased connectivity in key brain regions, making participants less likely to choose immediate rewards over long-term benefits.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·October 24, 2025·9 min read

Gene Editing Reverses Age-Related Memory Loss

Researchers have identified molecular mechanisms behind age-related memory decline — and shown they can be reversed. Two studies revealed that correcting specific molecular processes in the hippocampus and amygdala, and reactivating a silenced memory-supporting gene called IGF2, improved memory in older rats.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·May 20, 2024·4 min read

Glioblastoma Drug Resistance Pathway Identified

Researchers identified a key signaling pathway, PI3K-beta, responsible for chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma. Blocking this pathway makes tumor cells more sensitive to temozolomide, a standard chemotherapy drug. This discovery offers a potential new approach to treating glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer, by overcoming drug resistance and improving patient outcomes.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·October 2, 2017·5 min read

Healthy Bacteria in Yogurt May Reduce Lupus Symptoms: Mouse Study

A new study from Virginia Tech reveals a healthy bacteria found in yogurt could reduce some lupus symptoms. The study expands on earlier work from the researchers, noting a lack of Lactobacillus in both mice and humans with lupus.

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Featured Neuroscience

·June 1, 2021·5 min read

How Active Early Learning Shapes the Adult Brain

Vulnerable children who received emotionally supportive and stimulating learning in the first five years of life had significant changes in brain structure during mid-life.