By: Lina Jamis, 2nd year student in the Anatomy Graduate Program As much as we may enjoy denying it, our hearing is slowly, but surely, leaving us. In fact, considering how we often may follow the adage “louder is better,” we’re probably headed for hearing aids sooner than we think. (That goes doubly for you, Skillrex fans). … Continue reading Why You Should Care about Auditory Myosin
Neuroscience
Smells Ring Bells: How Smells Can Trigger Emotions and Memories
By: Amanda White, Research Technologist in the Department of Psychiatry Autumn has arrived, bringing with it some of my favorite scents: bonfire smoke, pumpkin spice (DON’T JUDGE!), and, most of all, crisp autumn air. Stepping outside on an October morning and breathing instantly transports me back in time. I’m at Penn State. It’s a cool, … Continue reading Smells Ring Bells: How Smells Can Trigger Emotions and Memories
Why Graduate Students Should Meditate
By: Caitlin Millett, 3rd year PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ― Aristotle Meditation is an ancient practice dating back at least three millennia. It’s a fundamental component of many Eastern religious traditions and belief systems including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism, to name just a … Continue reading Why Graduate Students Should Meditate
NFL Players Sue over Painkillers—Because They’re Addicted
By: Andrew Huhn, 4th year PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program America loves football. Brutal, high-flying, smash-mouth football. The players seem like gladiators from another era. Chiseled out of stone, they feel no pain as they run, jump, and catch with a grace that appears super-human. The reality is, however, that they do feel pain—and often … Continue reading NFL Players Sue over Painkillers—Because They’re Addicted
A Prosthesis to Fix Broken Memories
By: Daniel Hass, 2nd year PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been a major funding source for the development of unique and innovative technologies under its motto of “driving technological surprise.” Some of DARPA’s current projects include designing bullets that can adjust their course in-flight, novel techniques to … Continue reading A Prosthesis to Fix Broken Memories
Did Harry Potter Have Psychosocial Short Stature?
By: Jordan Gaines Lewis, 4th year PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program “Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age…[he] had a thin face, knobbly knees…and wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the … Continue reading Did Harry Potter Have Psychosocial Short Stature?
What’s it like to get an MRI?
By: Jordan Gaines Lewis, 3rd year PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Program During my first year at Penn State College of Medicine, I participated in an MRI research study. I laid in an MRI machine for 45 minutes and looked at pictures of chocolate while smelling chocolate odors. Tough life, right? (Hershey really is the sweetest place … Continue reading What’s it like to get an MRI?
Brain Attacks: What Happens When the Immune System Targets the Brain
By: Lina Jamis, 1st year student in the Anatomy Graduate Program Anybody who knows me knows that I love a good read. So when I picked up a bright yellow book entitled Brain on Fire, in late 2012, it wasn’t a surprise that I devoured it in the course of a single afternoon. Brain on Fire … Continue reading Brain Attacks: What Happens When the Immune System Targets the Brain
Your Brain on Fiction
By: Lina Jamis, 1st year student in the Anatomy Graduate Program People love stories—we build social networks around them, we recount them to our friends and families at the end of our day, we whisper them in the dark to our children before they sleep. Stories are all around us, even in the most unlikely of … Continue reading Your Brain on Fiction
“Clarifying” Neural Circuitry: A New Technique to Image the Brain
By: Daniel Hass, 1st year PhD student in the Neuroscience Program The brain is complicated. There are hundreds of structures, layers, and cell types interacting with each other in complex ways in order for us to perform simple tasks, such as maintaining heart beat or moving a finger. Much of this complexity comes from the … Continue reading “Clarifying” Neural Circuitry: A New Technique to Image the Brain
Lions Talk Science 