Category: General Neuroscience

2016-17, Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology

The Role of Social Stress in Cocaine Addiction

by Aaron Gochman (’18) This week, scientists from the University of Texas at Austin contributed a novel idea to addiction research. Focusing on glutamatergic synaptic transmission, the primary mode of excitatory signaling in the central nervous system, the group hypothesized that social stress would lead to increased vulnerability to cocaine addiction. Specifically, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain, a prime location for dopamine … Continue reading The Role of Social Stress in Cocaine Addiction

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2016-17, Biology, Health, Neuroscience

Restoring Function after Traumatic Brain Injuries

by Julia Newman (’19) Although there is currently no successful treatment for traumatic brain injuries, researchers at the University of California recently tested a new and promising method using human neural stem cells (hNSC), which have been found to be multipotent. Experiments in the past were performed solely on rats using immunosuppressant drugs in order to prevent transplant rejection, but this study found it more … Continue reading Restoring Function after Traumatic Brain Injuries

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2016-17, Biology, Neuroscience

Complexin induces a conformational change of the SNARE complex

by Aaron Gochman (’18) Intercellular communication in the central nervous system occurs at a synapse, the gap between two neurons. The presynaptic neuron releases a chemical messenger known as a neurotransmitter, which diffuses across the synapse and relays the signal to the postsynaptic cell. The process of releasing the neurotransmitter from the presynaptic cell is quite complicated. The mechanism includes packing the neurotransmitter inside a … Continue reading Complexin induces a conformational change of the SNARE complex

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2016-17, Biology, Neuroscience

Dual Threat: DLK as a Novel Role Player in Axonal Regeneration

by Aaron Gochman (’18) Axonal regeneration is a branch of neuroscience on the cutting edge; re-growing injured neurons is a technique that, once refined, will fundamentally change the landscape of nervous system therapies. A team of researchers from University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Pennsylvania have discovered a key intracellular pathway in axonal regeneration that is conserved in both Drosophila, … Continue reading Dual Threat: DLK as a Novel Role Player in Axonal Regeneration

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Interview, Neuroscience

Mind Power: A Potent Medicine

By Raazia Syedda “The more you explore an area, the more questions you can see,” says Dr. Anne Moyer of Stony Brook’s Department of Psychology and Faculty Director of the Undergraduate College of Science and Society [1]. Dr. Moyer has had a long-held interest in cancer and studies the psychosocial issues that surround cancer and cancer risk, medical decision-making, gender and health, research methodology and … Continue reading Mind Power: A Potent Medicine

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Cognition

Can Music be the Secret to Making Our Future Physicians Even Better?

      By David John Davani   Introduction   It is no secret that a large population of Stony Brook’s student body is on the track to enter a career in medicine. Not surprisingly, most of those students major in one form or another of the sciences. However, medical school admissions are becoming increasingly selective each year, seeking out well-rounded students with humanistic qualities. … Continue reading Can Music be the Secret to Making Our Future Physicians Even Better?

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Brain, Degenerative Disease, Neuroscience

Brain-wide pathway for waste clearance captured by contrast-enhanced MRI

By Nujbat Meraji In the past year, it was estimated that 5.2 million Americans were suffering from the Alzheimer’s disease, a disease that causes memory, thinking and behavioral issues and currently has no cure. A research team at Stony Brook University, led by Helene Benveniste, M.D., Ph.D., Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Radiology, are using imaging technique to study how brain waste can … Continue reading Brain-wide pathway for waste clearance captured by contrast-enhanced MRI

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Neuroscience, Psychiatry

Scientists Pinpointed the Part of the Brain that Generates the “Ghostly Presence”

By Marianna Catege Even as the world becomes more and more science-based, ghost stories are still told and believed by some. Today, researchers are finally using science to tackle the unexplained phenomenon of the feeling of a ghostly presence. Dr. Giulio Rognini, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), explains that this vivid sensation is common in people who experience extreme weather conditions, such … Continue reading Scientists Pinpointed the Part of the Brain that Generates the “Ghostly Presence”

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Brain, Molecular Biology

Understanding the Fear Circuits in The Brain

By: Ashwin Kelkar Fear and fear memory have long been a subject of study by both scientists and philosophers. Our understanding of fear and how it may exert control to the point of phobia is imperative to eventually finding the underlying cause of fear itself. Researchers around the world have tapped into the brain to try to elucidate this enigma. In a groundbreaking study conducted … Continue reading Understanding the Fear Circuits in The Brain

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