News

Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Runyan lab receives NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Caroline A. Runyan, PhD, heads the project, "Communication Between Networks: Context, Inhibition, and Neuromodulation." Learn More

Friday, September 27, 2019
Pitt scientists receive $32M to study opioid addiction, chronic pain

The nine grants to Pitt and UPMC were awarded as part of NIH's Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative. Learn More

Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Bioengineer aims to help stroke survivors fix their gait

Gelsy Torres-Oviedo, PhD uses mathematical tools and perception experiments to overcome unawareness of asymmetric movement. Learn More

Friday, July 26, 2019
In CELL: 'Anticipatory immunity' derives from nerves in skin

Daniel Kaplan, MD, PhD, says his team's findings show pain-sensing nerves activate immune responses and signal protective immunity in sites next to an infection. Learn More

Friday, July 19, 2019
What Nathan Copeland (who has a brain implant) thinks about Neuralink

The pioneer BCI subject tells MIT Tech Review: "Maybe it will work the way they want, down the road." Learn More

Friday, July 19, 2019
Why do people with well-controlled HIV still have cognitive problems?

An analysis in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, by senior author John Mellors, MD, highlights the persistence of infected cells in cerebrospinal fluid. Learn More

Friday, July 19, 2019
RK Mellon grants $6K for vision restoration research

The cortical vision research program, led by Jose-Alain Sahel, MD, aims to develop new ways to restore vision using technology, including brain computer interfaces and novel genetic applications.  Learn More

Thursday, July 18, 2019
In PNAS: Molecule may halt neuronal death after stroke

Elias Aizenman, PhD, and colleagues are now examining the molecule - cpd5  - in animal models to gauge its potential as a drug therapy.  Learn More

Friday, June 28, 2019
NSF awards $500K for research to create neuromorphic vision system

Ryad Benosman, PhD, and Feng Xiong, PhD, head the project, which has potential applications for neuroprosthetics and self-driving cars. Learn More

Monday, June 17, 2019
How chronic abdominal pain affects your brain -- and what to do about it

Eva Szigethy, MD, PhD, describes how chronic pain can actually rewire your brain so you experience even more suffering and distress, and offers techniques to help reverse these effects. Learn More

Monday, May 20, 2019
Three Pitt neuroinvestigators funded by $20M DARPA program

The Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology program aims to develop a high-resolution, portable neural interface system to allow able-bodied people to connect their minds with machines. Learn More

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Anti-stress brain chemical is related to PTSD resilience after trauma

A study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that nociceptin-receptor density may become a biomarker of resilience in the evaluation of PTSD, says  lead author Rajesh Narendran, MD. Learn More

Monday, April 15, 2019
Brain Modulation Lab study: Stimulation remodels the epileptic brain

As reported in JAMA Neurology, treatment with responsive neurostimulation progressively disrupts hyper-synchronous brain activity, to make patients less susceptible to seizures. Learn More

Thursday, April 11, 2019
Ganguli receives Distinguished Scientist award

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry has honored Mary Ganguli, MD, for her research on the epidemiology of the aging brain and late-life mental disorders. Learn More

Thursday, April 11, 2019
Sweet awarded for research in geriatric psychiatry

The American College of Psychiatrists has honored Robert Sweet, MD, for his investigation of common genetic risk factors and brain circuits across schizophrenia and Alzheimer's. Learn More

Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Vision recruit focuses on the fovea

Susana da Silva, PhD, explores the role of retinoic acid in embryonic development of the pit at the back of the eye that is crucial for visual acuity. Learn More

Tuesday, April 2, 2019
PittMed feature: Creating marmoset models of neurodegeneration

Afonso Silva, PhD, brings his former NIH team to Pitt to perform 3D imaging and genetic engineering in the tiny monkey. Learn More

Monday, April 1, 2019
Gene editing may one day cut away pain

In Wired magazine, microbiologist Joseph Glorioso III, PhD, talks about using gene therapy and viruses to deliver a drug that can shut down hyperexcitable nerves. Learn More

Tuesday, March 26, 2019
How the brain 'listens' for distinct features in sound

In Nature Communications, neurobiologist Vatsun Sadagopan, PhD, and team describe their work with marmosets to explore how the auditory system achieves accurate speech recognition. Learn More

Friday, March 22, 2019
How virtual reality may provide a new EEG-based therapy for autism

Murat Akcakaya, PhD, and Carla A. Mazefsky, PhD, receive $550K NSF award to provide patients with neural feedback so they can learn to regulate their emotions in simulated situations. Learn More

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