Tag: SBU

2024-25, Depression, General Neuroscience, General Psychology, Health, Health and Medicine, Neuroscience

Novel Implications of the Neuroimmune System in Major Depressive Disorder

Sean Krivitsky, Class of 2026 Every year, three million people in the United States alone are diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). MDD is a serious form of mental illness that impacts countless facets of people’s lives, characterized by a persistently low mood and general impairment of daily routines. Interestingly, glial cells, generally known for their roles in regulation and support of neuronal networks in … Continue reading Novel Implications of the Neuroimmune System in Major Depressive Disorder

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2024-25, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology

Cysteine-Rich γ-Crystallins Evolutionary Role in Lens Transparency and Function

Eimaan Bilal, Class of 2028 Cysteine (Cys) is a sulfur-containing amino acid found in crystallin proteins that compose our eye’s lens. When Cys is oxidized, it can lead to crystallin protein misfolding and unwanted disulfide bonding, causing light-scattering aggregation. Light-scattering aggregation in crystallin proteins is one of the main contributors to cataract disease, which clouds the lens and can even develop into blindness. Since Cys … Continue reading Cysteine-Rich γ-Crystallins Evolutionary Role in Lens Transparency and Function

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2024-25, Biology, COVID-19, Health and Medicine, Immunology

Unraveling Long COVID: The Silent Impact of Reinfection

Tiffany Ang, Class of 2026 Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), or “Long COVID,” refers to ongoing or new symptoms that persist at least three months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Common symptoms include chest pain, cognitive dysfunction, shortness of breath, brain fog, headache, and fatigue. A study by Dr. Luft from Stony Brook University investigated the association between SARS-CoV-2 re-infection and the incidence of PASC among … Continue reading Unraveling Long COVID: The Silent Impact of Reinfection

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2024-25, Genetics, Molecular Biology, physiology

Osmotic Stress Alters Circadian Rhythm

Asher Agarwal, Class of 2027 The circadian rhythm regulates many physiological processes via transcriptional feedback loops involving proteins such as Bmal1 and Clock. Circadian rhythm is closely tied to cell-cycle progression, and disruptions in one can affect the other. Hypoosmotic stress causes water to rush into a cell, triggering changes in gene regulation to adapt to the stress. Caveolae, protein invaginations in the cell membrane, … Continue reading Osmotic Stress Alters Circadian Rhythm

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2024-25, Cellular and Molecular Science, Health and Medicine, Medicine and Physiology

Implementation of Nitric Oxide Protein and Signaling Pathways for Prevention of Bacterial Infection in Medical Implants

Eimaan Bilal, Class of 2028 Many individuals rely on medical implants to improve their quality of life, but such internal devices are prone to bacteria attaching to the implant’s surfaces. This can create a biofilm that produces an exopolysaccharide matrix, increasing one’s risk for certain chronic infections and resistance to antibiotics. It has been hypothesized that biofilm regulation could be achieved by targeting how biofilms … Continue reading Implementation of Nitric Oxide Protein and Signaling Pathways for Prevention of Bacterial Infection in Medical Implants

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2024-25, Cognition, General Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience

Amyloid Burden in WTC Responders: Unraveling the Effects of Air Pollution

Tiffany Ang, Class of 2026 Amyloid-B (AB) proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, have been linked to air pollution exposure, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Kritikos and colleagues at Stony Brook University investigated whether exposure to particulate matter (PM), particularly from the World Trade Center (WTC) site following the 9/11 attacks, was associated with increased cerebral amyloidosis, a condition characterized by the accumulation of … Continue reading Amyloid Burden in WTC Responders: Unraveling the Effects of Air Pollution

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2024-25, Biology, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology, Neurology, Psychology

Back Like They Never Left: How the Remnants of Ancient Viruses May Affect the Progression of Neurological Disease

Author: Luis Caseñas, Class of 2026 Figure 1: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurological disease that triggers the degeneration of one’s Central Nervous System. Specifically, ALS targets motor neurons (pictured above) essential to muscle control and coordination. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that targets motor neurons in the Central Nervous System. This degeneration inevitably leads to gradual loss of muscle control … Continue reading Back Like They Never Left: How the Remnants of Ancient Viruses May Affect the Progression of Neurological Disease

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2024-25, Brain, Degenerative Disease, General Neuroscience, Neuroscience

EEG Wave Value Differentiation Explaining Different Stages of Parkinson’s Disease

Author: Ishmam Khan, Class of 2025 Figure: Parkinson’s is a detrimental neurodegenerative disease that affects patients at varying degrees of severity As neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease (PD) progress, insights into brain changes become crucial for early diagnoses and effective interventions. In a recent study, Pappalettera et al. at Stony Brook University utilized Approximate Entropy (ApEn) analysis to compare the complex brain signals that occur … Continue reading EEG Wave Value Differentiation Explaining Different Stages of Parkinson’s Disease

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Biology, Brain, General Neuroscience, Health and Medicine

Neuroprotective Therapies Capable of Ameliorating Ischemic Injury in Post-Thrombectomy Care

Vignesh Subramanian, Class of 2024 Figure 1: A thrombectomy is a surgical procedure aimed at removing blood clots lodged in an artery of the brain. A stroke is a medical emergency in which blood flow to the brain is disrupted. Strokes may be ischemic (lacking blood supply to brain tissue due to a blocked artery) or hemorrhagic (involving bleeding into the brain tissue due to … Continue reading Neuroprotective Therapies Capable of Ameliorating Ischemic Injury in Post-Thrombectomy Care

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2023-24, Depression, General Neuroscience, mental health, Psychology

Orbitofrontal Cortex Studies May Pave the Way to Treating Social Anhedonia

Author: Kimberly Johnston, Class of 2026 Social anhedonia is a psychological condition characterized by a diminished ability to experience pleasure from social interactions and activities. It is associated with greater symptom severity and poorer response to treatment in individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). In individuals with MDD and social anhedonia, abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) may hinder the brain’s ability to properly respond … Continue reading Orbitofrontal Cortex Studies May Pave the Way to Treating Social Anhedonia

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2023-24, Brain, mental health, Psychiatry

Decoding Schizophrenia: Potential Mechanisms of the Schizophrenic Brain Could Lead to Novel Treatments

Author: Kimberly Johnston, Class of 2026 Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a mental disorder characterized by severe impairments in working memory (WM), a type of short-term memory responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information needed to perform tasks, solve problems, and make decisions. A key region of the brain involved in this process is the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which is active during internal thinking and deactivated … Continue reading Decoding Schizophrenia: Potential Mechanisms of the Schizophrenic Brain Could Lead to Novel Treatments

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Cellular and Molecular Science, discovery, General, Natural World

Is Chamomile Actually a Risk for Surgery?

Author: Marie Collison, Class of ‘25 Chamomile is a plant that is widely used in herbal medicine for a wide variety of reasons. It has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antidepressive, and sedative properties. Despite these benefits, current medical recommendations list chamomile as a substance that should not be ingested prior to surgery due to fears that it may increase the risk of … Continue reading Is Chamomile Actually a Risk for Surgery?

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