This October marks the publication of my first lead author scientific article, the culmination of my thesis work thus far. Simply put, I found a previously unknown brain signal in the ventral pallidum that reports how good a food outcome was relative to the other available options. What does this signal mean, and why might(...)
Neuroscience
A New Animal Model for Bad Decisions
Posted by | Recently PublishedHumans are constantly making decisions about how to spend time, yet we are pretty terrible at doing so effectively. We sit through boring movies, stay in line at a crowded restaurant and continue to pursue low-return projects, because we simply cannot bear to see the time we have already invested in these activities go to(...)
Recent Study Reveals How the Brain Learns from Others’ Mistakes
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchLast month, my friend came back from Mount Kosciuszko with stunning photos and a seriously painful-looking sunburn. As I prepared to undertake the same hike based upon his enthusiastic recommendation, I decided to pack some SPF 50 and planned to reapply every 30 minutes. Without experiencing a sunburn firsthand, I knew to stay sun-safe, thanks(...)
That’s Not Fair! — The Neuroscience of Injustice
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchAs a kid you probably found some decisions by your parents utterly unjust. Perhaps you proclaimed, “That’s not fair!” when you were forced to eat spinach, or if your sibling got something you didn’t. As adults, we still experience intense sensations of injustice, sometimes in response to more serious issues such as human rights, health(...)
Choosing to Be Irrational: How Neuroscience Incorporated Economics, and Vice Versa
Posted by | Did You See This?The Department of Neuroeconomics and Neuromarketing sounds like a title chiseled on the wall of a corporate division in a dystopian future; the highlight of a consumerism episode of Black Mirror. But Dino Levy, a researcher in this seemingly dystopian department at Tel Aviv University, was quick to readjust our preconceived notions of what his lab studies(...)
Why Winners Keep Winning
Posted by | Perspectives in ResearchYou are on a roll. In the morning, you delivered a compelling business proposal. You were the center of attention at lunch and your colleagues loved your witty remarks. In the afternoon meeting, you stood your ground and brilliantly defended your case with irrefutable arguments. When it’s your day, you feel invincible. What gives you(...)
Human Cord Blood Improves Memory in Old Mice – Surge of Interest in the “Fountain of Youth”
Posted by | Recently PublishedIs parabiosis the new fountain of youth? Parabiosis, meaning “living beside,” is a 150-year-old surgical technique that unites the blood vessels of two living animals. One of the earliest accounts of parabiosis comes from the mid-1800s when a French zoologist, Paul Bert, attached the circulatory systems of two animals and demonstrated that fluid injected into(...)
Who Has Time to Sleep?
Posted by | A Day in the Life, Perspectives in ResearchAt the proverbial watercooler in teaching hospitals across the world, one hears remarkably similar refrains: “This patient is back again,” “I have no idea why my experiment failed this time” and, most universally, “I’ve only slept three hours in the past two days!” Medical trainees often view sleep deprivation as a badge of honor, one(...)
How the Brain Makes Sense with Mental Maps
Posted by | Perspectives in Research, Recently PublishedThe Johns Hopkins Hospital can be a labyrinth to anyone unaccustomed to its many hallways, towers and tunnels. To navigate through such a complex space, special neural networks are activated to help us find our way. Specifically, a cortical map of neurons, made up of so-called grid cells, fire in specific regions of the brain(...)
Modern Neuroscience has the tools to treat psychiatric illness
Posted by | Honor Roll, Perspectives in Research, Recently PublishedThe following submission is the first place winner of The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation 2016 essay contest. You can read the original posting here. Modern medicine has worked miracles: we have cured infectious diseases with vaccines, replaced failing organs with transplants, converted many cancers from death sentences into treatable conditions. But one area has(...)
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