A “Little Bit” of OCD: When Words Trivialize a Disorder
Sheldon Cooper, a beloved character in a television series, knocks on a door exactly three times before his roommate opens it — and if the door is opened earlier, he…
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Author: Anita
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Science Careers: An Interview with Dr. Rachel Bernstein
The pursuit of science is challenging. It is where new knowledge is born. In their path towards the unknown, scientists, too, face their fair share of insecurity. When experiments fail,…
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How to Give Thanks Like a Neuroscientist
You’re on your way to the traditional Thanksgiving family get-together. You drive down a familiar street, locate your familiar house, and park in a familiar spot.…
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Mental Health is a Part of Health: A Conversation with Shekhar Saxena
In a recent presidential town hall, President Obama looked directly into the camera and made a powerful statement about mental health. “If something inside you feels like it’s wounded, it’s…
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What Loneliness Looks Like in the Brain
Consider three scenarios. A kid joins a new high school and eats lunch by herself. A recently separated man is alone for the New Year’s Eve countdown. A prisoner becomes…
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With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Neural Stem Cells
Stem cells have two characteristic and essential properties:
Self-renewal. They can divide to give rise to another stem cell.
Potency. They are capable of differentiating into specialized cells.…
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Science Fiction, Serendipity and Interneuron Specification: A Conversation with Dr. Gordon J. Fishell
It is easy to assume that if a car has a gas pedal, it needs to have brakes, and similarly, if our brain has excitatory neurons, it needs inhibition too.…
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Getting Technical: Methods in Neuroscience
It is an exciting time for neuroscience. The BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) is in the spotlight as a part of the new Presidential focus and recently…
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Oh, Rats! They’ll Regret This.
We often find ourselves in decision-making dilemmas along the day. For instance, to reach work on time, would you rather take the shorter, faster route or the longer, scenic route?…
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Decoding the Brain’s “Low Fuel” Signal
The human body is an efficient model to explore the popular theory of supply and demand. When you physically exert yourself, your bioenergetic “supply” is down, so you feel hungrier…
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Fatal Attraction: The Cat-and-Mouse Story with a Twist
The beloved classic cartoon “Tom and Jerry” brings amusement and laughter to the young and old alike. As the house cat Tom attempts to capture the mouse Jerry, we also…
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The Newest Cupid on the Block: Epigenetics
Genes are no different from individuals. Sometimes they behave in a simple, logical way. Other times, they are unpredictable and influenced by their surroundings. The central dogma (DNA to RNA…
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Claustrophobia Can Be Genetic
As a little girl, my favorite part of an overnight train journey in India was the tunnel. My restless, anxious eyes would await the moment when the train made its…
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Of Grandfathers, Fathers, and Children: The Coming-of-Age of Autism
Genetics, although ostensibly complicated, is all around us. In our immediate social circle, we often come across genetics at display. Some examples are obvious: The kids wear glasses because both…
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From Neurons to Astrocytes: The Shift of Focus in Stroke
If you think about it, blood vessels are the freeways of the body. The vast array of vasculature enables molecules to reach important destinations (organs) quickly. But, if a small…
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The Hunger Games of The Second Brain
If you’ve sensed “butterflies” in your stomach before a stage performance, felt your “stomach churn” upon hearing a horrifying story, or simply made a decision based on your “gut feeling,”…
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Not just skin deep: Neurons detect pleasurable touch
What separates us from our physical environment is our skin. From the minute we wake up, we use our somatosensation to start our tangible interaction with the world. Is the…
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Treating the diseased brain with artificial stimulation
We often fail to appreciate the small and precise functions of our motor system. How effortless and smooth our movements are when getting up from a chair! How quick and…
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A New Year. A New You.
Yesterday, millions of people across the world made New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, or follow their dreams. Chances are that this isn’t the first time they made…
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"Feeling" music
The chorus of “Gangnam Style” makes us promptly break into a dance! Adele’s “Someone Like You” brings tears to our eyes. An electrifying rock concert brings shivers down our spines!…
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Quick buzz. Slow learning.
Beer and wine are quite possibly the oldest known man-made beverages. Anthropologists have discovered beer jugs that date back to the Neolithic period (10,000 B.C.), and Egyptian pictographs clearly show…
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Leisure for the Body. Labor for the Brain.
What do you do when you take a break from work? In your leisure time, what is something that you routinely find yourself doing? What is your default solution to…
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Solving the Alzheimer’s Puzzle: One Piece at a Time
Based on the recent statistics, one in eight individuals over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s disease, and for every 68 seconds that pass, yet another individual in the United…
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