News

Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Philadelphia Inquirer: Warnings from Don Burke and other experts about the opioid crisis

The growing epidemic of addiction appears to be on the same trajectory as the early years of AIDS, says Donald S. Burke, dean of the Graduate School of Public Health. Learn More

Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Defense department awards $2.5M to evaluate mental readiness of soldiers

The Pitt team aims to measure mental preparedness for military service with a variety of cognitive, behavioral and sensorimotor tests.  Learn More

Wednesday, December 27, 2017
$5.3M BRAIN Initiative grant funds sensory feedback study for below-knee prosthetics

Lee Fisher, PhD, and Doug Weber, PhD, aim to use spinal root stimulation to reduce phantom-limb pain and restore function in lower limb amputees. Learn More

Friday, December 15, 2017
NYT: Some toddlers born with Zika virus can't see, walk, or talk

Pitt's infectious disease expert Ernesto Marques, MD, PhD, who also works in Brazil, says the future of these children, born with microcephaly, is complicated by poverty and strained resources. Learn More

Thursday, December 14, 2017
ALS patients sought for new drug study

Researchers seek volunteers for a study to test if the drug Mexiletine II suppresses cortical hyperexcitability and slows disease progression in the sporadic form of ALS. Learn More

Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Neuropsychiatric scientist receives distinguished investigator grant

Robert Sweet, MD, studies the basic mechanisms that lead to psychotic symptoms that develop in schizophrenia and about half of all people with Alzheimer's disease.  Learn More

Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Young vapers are four times likelier than non-users to move on to tobacco

Pitts research contradicts common wisdom that use of electronic cigarettes is a relatively harmless habit. Learn More

Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Strick honored for neuroscience research in psychosomatic medicine

Peter L. Strick, PhD, has been recognized for his use of a unique transneuronal tracing technique to reveal the neural basis of the brain-body connection. Learn More

Monday, December 4, 2017
Autism study suggests motor development and language skills are linked

Children with autism don't show the usual gains in vocabulary that appear as toddlers learn to walk, according to research by Jana Iverson, PhD. Learn More

Thursday, November 30, 2017
NATURE Q&A: Postdoc tackles minority access to health care and academic posts

Kale Edmiston, PhD, uses neuroimaging to study mood and anxiety disorders. He describes how living as an openly transgender researcher has inspired his outreach endeavours.  Learn More

Monday, November 13, 2017
Pitt-led international study shows extended window for thrombectomy after stroke

According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, removing clots from blocked brain vessels may help even those stroke patients who arrive late to the emergency room.   Learn More

Wednesday, November 8, 2017
MIT Tech Report: For BCI to be useful for paralyzed people, it needs to be wireless

“Just imagine someone using telemetry, going into a smart home and being able to operate all these devices merely by thinking about them,” says neurobiologist Andrew Schwartz, PhD. Learn More

Thursday, November 2, 2017
FORBES: Sexual harassment and other emotional trauma may have long-term physical consequences

Rebecca Thurston, PhD, showed how a build-up of emotional stressors appears to affect blood vessels, blood flow, and potentially the heart. Learn More

Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Pitt neuropathlogist warns about limits in studies of mass shooter's brain

Clayton Wiley, MD, PhD, says the tools of a forensic pathologist are relatively crude, and evidence of brain degeneration or trauma can't explain or excuse aberrant behavior. Learn More

Wednesday, November 1, 2017
The Scientist: Presynaptic neurons fine-tune dopamine signaling

The work by Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD, and colleagues, reported in Neuron, suggests an unexpected mechanism by which presynaptic neurons can be regulated. Learn More

Monday, October 30, 2017
Pittwire: Researchers examine the upsides of fear

Margee Kerr, PhD, and Greg Siegle, PhD, consider the extent to which we can use “fun-scary” experiences to treat conditions like social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Learn More

Saturday, October 28, 2017
Alzforum: Are amyloid beta oligomers a no-go for synapses?

Neurobiologist Zachary Wills, PhD, and colleagues describe in Neuron how Aβ binds to the Nogo receptor, a key inhibitor of synapse formation during development. Learn More

Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Chet Mathis receives grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation and Tau Consortium

The PET Facility director will use imaging tracers to detect alpha-synuclein and tau proteins that aggregate in the brains of people with degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and dementia. Learn More

Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Research shows a mindfulness mobile app reduces stress hormone and BP

The key to the smartphone app's success in reducing cortisol levels and systolic blood pressure was an added component, which emphasizes acceptance of emotional discomfort.   Learn More

Friday, October 20, 2017
New Scientist: Disabling the nerves that help cancer spread

Neurobiologists Brian Davis, PhD, and Jami Saloman, PhD, blunt the sensory neurons involved in pancreatic cancer in mice. Chemical injections may slow cancer growth, and stop intense pain. Learn More

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