How do we form memories, and why does this process break down in autoimmune encephalitis?
Making Memories
A Shocking Discovery
Some scientific experiments are odd, but without this strange experiment neuroscientists would not be very ‘hoppy’. Learn about what neuroscience’s history owes to frogs and an Italian scientist born in the 18th century.
How “little brains” may help us treat brain cancer
Developing organoids from a patient’s brain tumor may help to understand how to treat them
The Bilingual Brain
Research finds that learning to speak more than one language, especially as a child, leads to long-lasting cognitive benefits.
Brainwashed
Parasites can literally control the minds of other creatures
Stressed Out
Stress early in life can change how the brain reacts to more stress later
How does sleep affect the blood-brain barrier?
The blood-brain barrier plays a critical role in protecting the brain. However, sleep loss can lower its defenses, increasing the vulnerability of the brain.
Every Time We Touch
How the brain senses touch, pain, and temperature
Buying on the Brain
Holiday shopping is here! Some call it greed, but it might be your brain’s fault you buy more than you need.
The “Immune” in Autoimmune Encephalitis: The Role of T and B Cells
How does the immune system work, and what happens when it attacks the brain?
What happens when people are missing important parts of the brain?
Absolutely nothing, some studies suggest
Announcing the PNK and IAES partnership!
We are excited to announce that PennNeuroKnow and the International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society (IAES) are teaming up to help patients with autoimmune encephalitis and their families understand the science behind their disease. IAES is a family- and patient-centered organization that assists patients at all stages, from getting a diagnosis to recovery and the many challenges experienced throughout that journey. ... Continue Reading →
The World in Color
How do our brains perceive color, and why do some people and animals see color differently?
Sleeping with one eye open
Some animals sleep with half their brain at a time. Can humans?
Learning to Read the Mind
Signals in the brain can be decoded to infer visual experiences
Ride the Wave
Brain waves almost sound made up, like something that doesn’t exist. However, brain waves are very real, and scientists are very interested in them.
The link between smoking and diabetes
New study reveals how a certain protein plays a role in both nicotine addiction and type II diabetes
Transforming cells to repair the brain
By introducing a single protein, gene therapy can help repair the brain after injury
Going Under
General anesthetics are used in millions of surgeries each year, yet we still don’t know exactly how they work.
More than a bug bite
Zika and West Nile viruses cause cognitive problems when immune cells team up
Sing me a song
Social interactions shape bird song learning
The Neuroscience of Dyslexia
Research shows less activity in the brain’s “reading network” in people with dyslexia. How can we use this knowledge for early intervention?
The One and Only
So you think you have found your soulmate? Can science explain why someone might feel that way?
The protein that makes you feel pain
Different conditions uncover how one protein is important in controlling pain
The genetics behind short sleepers
A newly discovered genetic mutation might explain why some people need only 4-6 hours of sleep each night.
Defining Glioblastoma
New research points to why this deadly cancer is so hard to treat
That’s Too Real
Why do we find some robots cute and others disturbing? New research points to a representation of the Uncanny Valley effect in the brain.
Parched
The neuroscience of thirst
Dying to Know: how do neurotoxins work?
Did you know neurotoxins are used for research and medical treatments? But how do they work and why are they so deadly?
Why are Alzheimer’s disease drugs failing?
Targeting an important protein in the pathway of Alzheimer’s disease is not proving itself to be the cure-all people hoped for
