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Op-Ed by Elissavet Chartampila Climate change presents a formidable and urgent threat to human health. From the loss of life and illness caused by more frequent and severe extreme weather… Read More

Infographics Mental Health Science Policy

Gil Torten August 28, 2023August 20, 2023 Genetics, GWAS, LGBTQ, mental health, queer

Queer Science

Written and Illustrated by Gil Torten Edited by Lauren Wagner and Justin McMahon… Read More

microglia in purple against a black background, pink microglia pictured around the M, in the O, and as part of the A in the word microglia

Neuro Primer Aging Cognition

Keionna Newton July 18, 2023July 11, 2023 Alzheimer’s disease, Microglia, Neurodegeneration, Neurodevelopment, Parkinson's Disease, synaptic plasticity

Neuro Primer: Microglia

By Keionna Newton Microglia structure and function As you go about each and every day, there are billions – yes, billions – of tiny little cells in your brain moving… Read More

Brain Books Culture

Paige Nicklas July 4, 2023June 28, 2023 Book Review, entertainment, media

Book Review: Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?

By Paige Nicklas As I sit watching a medical TV show with my sister, an imaging technologist, she critiques the accuracy of the procedures the characters are claiming to perform.… Read More

Infographics Cognition

Sneha Chaturvedi June 12, 2023June 12, 2023 Aphasia, Brain Injury, Broca's area, Communication, Conduction aphasia, language, stroke, Temporal Lobe, Wernicke's area

June is Aphasia Awareness Month! For this infographic, Sneha Chaturvedi explains the basics of aphasia, which is a neurological condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate or understand… Read More

Mental Health Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Elissavet Chartampila June 6, 2023June 5, 2023 Climate, Climate Change, mental health, Public Health, Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia and the Unseen Toll of Climate Change

By Elissavet Chartampila June 29th, 2021, was the hottest day in history for British Columbia, Canada. As a heat wave swept across western Canada, temperatures soared to unprecedented heights, with… Read More

Brain Basics Sensation and Perception

Ayushe Sharma May 30, 2023May 20, 2023 Anosmia, AON, Glomerulus, Hippocampus, Olfactory Bulb, Olfactory Cortex, Olfactory Neurons, olfactory nucleus, Olfactory system, piriform cortex, Smell, Thalamus

How the Olfactory System Makes You Run Toward Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and Away From Rotting Flesh

By Ayushe Sharma and Brandon Mitchell As you walk down the street towards your favorite coffee shop, you experience countless odors. Trash. Stale fries. Wet dogs. Floral perfumes. Overbearing colognes.… Read More

Mental Health

Johanna Popp May 16, 2023May 14, 2023 Anxiety, BDNF, cortisol, depression, distraction hypothesis, Dopamine, Exercise, Hippocampus, Limbic system, mental health, neurochemicals, Norepinephrine, serotonin, Treatment

Workout your worries – how exercise can protect your mental health

by Johanna Popp Stressed lately? Low in energy? Too exhausted to meet up with friends after a long workday? These feelings could indicate early signs of declining mental health. According… Read More

Brain Development Cognition Did You Know?Psychedelics

knowingneurons May 11, 2023May 11, 2023 Cigarettes, Drugs, Nicotine, Nicotine Replacement Therapy, NRT, Smoking, Tobacco

What Nicotine Does to the Brain, and the Science of Smoking Cessation

By William Pollard According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, success rates for cessation remain low, with only 7.5% of smokers managing to quit smoking entirely. The need… Read More

Illustration showing food entering a intestine/brain hybrid

Mental Health

Courtney Kremler May 2, 2023May 11, 2023 Anxiety, Bacteria, Diet, gut bacteria, Gut microbiota, Health, mental health, microbiome, mood, probiotics

Gut Microbiota & Mental Health

By Courtney Kremler It’s a classic cycle that we have all been through before: craving pizza, sugar, or junk food of any kind, feeding that craving, promptly feeling worse, and… Read More

Psychedelics Did You Know?Neuro News

Andrew Bontemps April 25, 2023May 11, 2023 Antidepressant, Drugs, Plasticity, Psychedelics, Research

Taking a “trip” inside the cell: New research shows how psychedelics promote neuroplasticity

By Andrew Bontemps Original article: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf0435 “Perspectives” article: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg2989 Maxemiliano Vargas and colleagues from UC Davis and Medical College of Wisconsin recently released a paper describing some of the interesting… Read More

Science Policy Aging Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Sarah Wade April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 aducanumab, Alzeihmer's disease, amyloid-β plaques, clinical trials, CMS, Cognitive Decline, donanemab, FDA, lecanemab, Science Policy, Tau

FDA Under Scrutiny: A Tale of Two Drugs

By Sarah Wade Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating illness that gradually destroys the brain. This disease affects over 30 million people worldwide (Haque & Levey, 2019) and is the… Read More

Career Exploration

Amy Than March 28, 2023 Careers, Graduate School, jobs, letters of recommendation

How to Strategize Your Requests for Letters of Recommendation

By Amy Than One of the critical stages of applying to graduate programs, research positions, fellowships, and beyond is asking for letters of recommendation (LORs). LORs are used by hiring… Read More

Learning and Memory Cognition

Honoreé Brewton March 8, 2023March 8, 2023 deja vu, Epilepsy, Experience, Memory, Psychology

Have I Read this Before? The Brain Regions Involved in Déjà Vu

By Honoreé Brewton There are conflicting sources regarding the first usage of the term déjà vu, a French term meaning “already seen” (Merriam-Webster), but it can be traced back to… Read More

Events

SciComm Workshops at University High School (2023) This fall, Knowing Neurons took science communication into the community! In collaboration with CELL Scholars at UCLA and with generous support from the… Read More

Neuro SciFi Neuroscience Technologies

Lauren Wagner February 7, 2023February 8, 2023 brainwave entrainment, Consciousness, electroencephalography, fNRIS, FUS, Genetics, hybrid, mind-body dualism, Motor cortex, neural transceivers, noninvasive imaging, sensory input, spatial resolution, TMS

The Neuroscience of Avatar – could we really download our brains into a new body?

By Lauren Wagner Thirteen years after the first Avatar movie came out in 2009, director James Cameron invites viewers to journey back to the faraway, lush exo-moon of Pandora with… Read More

Big Ideas Neuro SciFi Neuroscience Technologies Philosophy Sensation and Perception

John Zhou January 10, 2023January 10, 2023 Brain-computer interface, decoder, Technology, virtual reality

A Full Dive

An essay by John Zhou On an overcast afternoon in November, 2022, a teenage boy pages through a glossy video game manual in his bedroom in the Saitama prefecture of… Read More

Brain Development Did You Know?

Mary Cooper January 6, 2023January 5, 2023 Adult neurogenesis, cell division, Hippocampus, Neural Stem Cells, Neurogenesis, Stem Cells

New Year, New Neurons: The History of Neurogenesis

By Mary Cooper “New year, new me,” is a thought we may have had around the start of a new year. Maybe we want to be stronger, healthier, or smarter… Read More

Big Ideas Brain Books

Martina Nonni December 20, 2022December 20, 2022 animal models, Behavior, Book Review, brain states, Emotions, fMRI, Psychology

Book Review: The Neuroscience of Emotion: A New Synthesis

By Martina Nonni Emotions are important aspects of our lives and everyday experiences. While scientists agree that they do exist, they don’t seem to agree on much else. Researchers are… Read More

Events

Lauren Wagner December 15, 2022November 11, 2023

Knowing Neurons Celebrates 10 Years

This fall, Knowing Neurons celebrates our ten-year anniversary! We’ve come a long way since our organization was first founded in 2012 by a group of five neuroscience PhD students from… Read More

Learning and Memory Neuroscience Technologies Sensation and Perception

Jasreen Singh December 6, 2022December 15, 2022 Alpha waves, Binaural beats, brain waves, EEG rhythms, entrainment, Gamma waves, Perception, phase synchronization

Binaural Beats for Behavior Modulation and Brainwave Entrainment

By Jasreen Singh What are binaural beats? Have you ever heard something that wasn’t actually there? Perhaps you were listening to an auditory illusion known as binaural beats. A binaural… Read More

Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Chris Gabriel November 22, 2022November 20, 2022 covid-19, hazard rates, Infection, influenza, Nervous System, neurological disease, peripheral neurons, respiratory infection, SARS-CoV-2

This is Your Brain on COVID

By Chris Gabriel The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way we live our lives and has been a driving force behind global policy since its emergence in late 2019. Some… Read More

Cognition Consciousness Learning and Memory

Idha Sood November 15, 2022November 12, 2022 Cognition, Consciousness, Creativity, Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex, Idea, Thought, Working memory

Have You Ever Thought: “How Did I Think That Thought?”

By Idha Sood “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.” -Albert Einstein Has an idea popped into your head while having your afternoon… Read More

Career Exploration Big Ideas

Amy Than November 3, 2022November 3, 2022 Careers, intersectionality, neuroscience application

Oh! The Places You’ll Go in the World of Neuroscience

By Amy Than Neuroscience is very interdisciplinary! Here is an incomplete list of careers that folks who are passionate about the study of the nervous system tend to excel in.… Read More

Sleep

Javeria Shahid October 19, 2022October 26, 2022 Awareness, Data analysis, External stimuli, Gray matter, Habituation, High cognitive function, Hippocampus, Lucid dreaming, Metacognition, Motor area, REM sleep, Right anterior cingulate cortex

Everything You Need To Know About Lucid Dreaming In 6 Minutes Or Less

By Javeria Shahid What is lucid dreaming? Have you ever found yourself in control of a dream? Lucid dreaming is a state in which a person is aware that they… Read More

Neuroscience Technologies Cognition

Mariella Careaga September 28, 2022December 30, 2022 Alzheimers disease, Amyloid beta, Biomarker, Cognitive Decline, cognitive impariment, CSF, CT scan, dementia, diagnosis, Drugs, invasive testing, Metabolism, misdiagnosis, MRI, PET, Tau, tracer, Treatment

Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease

By Mariella Careaga Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that progressively impacts a person’s cognitive functioning and behavioral capacities, leading, ultimately, to the disruption of that person’s daily life.… Read More

Evolution of Cognition

Caitlin Goodpaster September 20, 2022October 27, 2022 Book Review, Communication, computational neuroscience, Consciousness, development of language, Evolution, individual, Knowledge, microorganisms, module minds, warning

Book Review: Journey of the Mind: How Thinking Emerged from Chaos

By Caitlin Goodpaster For the past two hundred thousand years, humans have dominated planet Earth. From the time we were roaming the African savanna, members of Homo sapiens have mastered… Read More

Brain Development Mental Health Science Policy

Vincent A Medina September 13, 2022June 5, 2023 Emotions, gun reform, Limbic system, maturation, policy regulation, Prefrontal Cortex, school shooting, worldwide policy

The Fatal Relationship Between Firearm Policy and Brain Development

By Vincent A Medina Gun deaths in the United States far exceed those of every other developed country in the world (Sam & Rupp, 2022). This has prompted frequent discussions… Read More

Aging Brain Development

Lauren Granata September 12, 2022September 10, 2022 Anxiety, biological pathway, Childhood, Development, environmental influence, gonadotropins, Hormones, Hypothalamus, KNDy neurons, pituitary gland, puberty, stress

Neuro Primer: Pubertal Timing

By: Lauren Granata The transition from childhood to adulthood is notoriously turbulent. Teens fumble through these years as they try to finesse a balance between school, extracurriculars, and their ever-shifting… Read More

Neuro News Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Diana Ortega Cruz September 2, 2022September 9, 2022 Alzheimer’s disease, Amyloid beta, brain tissue, FDA, fraudulent research, neuropathological diagnosis, opensource research, PET, Protein, research community, rodent model, Tau, western blot

Recently reported fraudulent research in Alzheimer’s: does this actually risk a key theory of the disease?

By Diana Ortega Cruz In previous articles at Knowing Neurons, we have discussed the neurobiology of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. This neurodegenerative disease has long… Read More

Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception

Lauren Wagner August 18, 2022December 30, 2022 Asperger, Autism, Intelligence, Kanner, neurodivergent, overstimulation, Psychiatry, scientific discovery, Sensory, symptoms

A Tale of Two Autisms

By Lauren Wagner The Neuroscience of Autism, edited by Rajesh Kana, is the most recently published textbook on the history, characterization, and neuroscience of autism spectrum disorder. Lauren Wagner walks… Read More

Aging Cognition

Arielle Hogan August 9, 2022February 9, 2023 Aging, Animal research, anti-aging, cell environment, Cells, Central nervous system, cerebral spinal fluid, circulatory system, Cognitive Decline, CSF transfusion, Disease, DNA, gene expression, Longevity, Methylation, parabiosis, Progenitor Cell, White matter

Is Aging a Curable Disease?

By Arielle Hogan As you sit here reading this article, your cells are working away in your body performing all the diverse biochemical reactions necessary to keep you going. As… Read More

Artificial Intelligence Consciousness

Caitlin Goodpaster August 2, 2022August 1, 2022 algorithm, Artificial Intelligence, brain imaging, Computer Science, Dreaming, EEG, fMRI, language, Machine Learning, study of consciousness, Technology, verbal speech

Problems with Assessing Consciousness in the 21st Century

by Caitlin Goodpaster Early this June, a viral story hit the internet—an engineer at Google had claimed an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot named LaMDA was conscious (Tiku, 2022). LaMDA, which… Read More

Sensation and Perception Big Ideas

Vincent A Medina July 28, 2022October 17, 2022 Animal model, association, Classical Conditioning, multisensory integration, Physchology, Sensation

Evolution and Multisensory Integration

By Vincent A Medina Vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. When combined, these form a single coherent perception of the world around us. The combination of senses for this purpose… Read More

Neuro News Learning and Memory Mental Health

Talia Oughourlian July 19, 2022July 22, 2022 Amygdala, Basal ganglia, birth control, brain structure, contraceptives, fMRI, Gray matter, Hippocampus, Insula, Learning and Memory, MRI, Plasticity, putamen

The Female Brain on Hormonal Birth Control

By: Talia Oughourlian Hormonal contraceptives were introduced more than 60 years ago (OBOS Contributors, 2021) with some commending the contraceptive pill as one of the greatest scientific inventions of the… Read More

Neuroscience Art Big Ideas Brain Basics Sensation and Perception

James Cole June 21, 2022June 21, 2022 aesthetic, audience, Awareness, Emotion, literary, neuroaesthetics, Perception, poetry, Sound

Innate Interpretations: Poetry and the Brain

Written by James Cole “It is a test [that] genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” T.S. Eliot A couple years ago I found myself in perhaps one of… Read More

Bias Big Ideas Brain Basics

Carolyn Amir June 15, 2022June 15, 2022 algorithm, belief, Bias, ESMU, Internet, Punishment, Reward, Social Bond, Social media, Technology

This Is Your Brain on Twitter: The Neuroscience of Social Media

Written by Carolyn Amir How has the internet changed your life? How has social media? For many, social media represents a way to stay in touch with old friends, organize… Read More

Learning and Memory Neuro Primer

Anne-Laure Le Cunff June 8, 2022March 23, 2023 Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive performance, Education, Learning, Memory, Working memory

Neuro Primer: Working Memory Capacity

The brain has three broad types of memory: sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory briefly holds unprocessed information retained in the sensory system; working memory temporarily stores… Read More

Science Policy

Bineh Ndefru May 17, 2022October 21, 2022 Air pollution, Cognitive Impairment, environment, Neurodegenerative disease, Policy, Technology

Protecting our Communities with Technology Standards for Future Hydrogen Fuel Combustion Facilities

Written by Bineh Ndefru Natural gas-fired plants meet much of the electric power generation need in California. In 2020, natural gas plants generated over 48% of the state’s electricity and… Read More

Aging Cognition Learning and Memory

Diana Ortega Cruz May 10, 2022June 15, 2022 Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Drugs, Memory decline, Treatment

Will this new drug change the way we manage and understand Alzheimer’s?

Written by Diana Ortega Cruz In June of 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aducanumab, the first drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) that targets… Read More

Big Ideas Cognition Psychedelics

Sean Noah March 17, 2022July 14, 2022 flashbacks, hallucinations, LSD, neuroscience myths, Psychedelics

Psychedelic Journal Club: The Risk of Flashbacks

A commentary on the article “Flashback phenomena after administration of LSD and psilocybin in controlled studies with healthy participants,” by Felix Müller et al., published in Psychopharmacology. Following psychedelics’ explosive… Read More

Cognition Learning and Memory Movement

Carolyn Amir March 1, 2022May 18, 2022 Cognition, Cognitive Decline, Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive Improvements, Cognitive performance, Memory, Neurodegeneration, neuroprotective, Weight Training

How Weight Lifting Gets the Brain in Shape

Weight trainers often espouse the “mind-muscle connection”. But what actually happens to the brain during strength training? Surprisingly, even a few weeks of weight training alter the nervous system, and… Read More

Science Policy

Yuki Hebner May 10, 2021February 3, 2023 Chemical Substances, FDA, Government, Legislation, Policymaking, Regulation, Science Communication, Science Policy, Tear Gas

The Wild Wild West of Tear Gas Regulation

Last summer, images of tear gas-laden protestors engulfed the news cycle amidst clashes with local police. When Paula Rogish attended a protest in May of 2020 in front of Austin… Read More

Guest Contributors

Aside from the core team, Knowing Neurons also posts articles from guest contributors, many of whom are pursuing higher education in neuroscience. If you would like to contribute to Knowing Neurons, please… Read More

The Team

The core team of Knowing Neurons comprises a group of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, who specialize in different areas of neuroscience. We discuss and edit all content on the site, write… Read More

Big Ideas Did You Know?Science Policy

Zoe Guttman October 31, 2020February 18, 2021 Behavioral Neuroscience, Decision, Decision-making, Science Policy

Evidence-Based Solutions to the Mass Incarceration Crisis: Neuroscience and Cash Bail

Mass incarceration is a public health crisis with particular relevance to the neuroscience community. Much of our work as neuroscientists revolves around the criminal justice system, including mental illness, adolescent… Read More