Home of the Stanford Neuroblog. Scientists writing about science, for a general audience.
Have a question about the brain? Ask a neuroscientist a question.
Doing your taxes as a graduate student or a postdoc often feels like wading through a murky pond with a blindfold on. You might make it to the other side, but only after stepping into holes and getting yourself tangled in vines and covered in mud. And then you're left wondering how long it's going to take that tadpole in your boot to grow into a frog.
Read MoreOur guest is Indira Raman, Professor of Neurobiology and Physiology at Northwestern University . We speak with her about AMPAR kinetics in auditory neurons, sodium channels in cerebellar neurons, and how Shakespeare and Science maybe aren’t all that different.
Today, our guest is Professor Ege Kavalali, the Effie Marie Cain Scholar in Medical Research in the Departments of Neuroscience and Physiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. In this episode, we will talk about the complexity of the synapse, how basic science can lead to clinical understanding, and the importance of being intellectually well-rounded.
Today, our guest is Prof. Paola Arlotta, Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, and principal Faculty Member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. In this episode, we will talk about the wonderful diversity of neurons in the cortex, reprogramming neurons to help treat disease, and the joys of living in both Boston and Italy.
Addiction involves changes in the brain that make it extremely difficult to fight the impulse for just one more drink or one more hit. Recent research sheds some more light on just what kinds of changes cocaine can cause in the synapses of brain areas associated with reward.
Read MoreDuring this election season, balance the talking heads with scientific minds. The web is about to get a brand new blog to fill your cortex with enough science to carry you through to the next presidency. The Dish on Science launches today, in fact, and they're having a Reddit AMA starting at 6 p.m. PST.
Read MoreHands. As a species, we humans take pride in our opposable thumbs and our penchant for maneuvering our digits to perform complicated tasks. Coordination of limbs is an evolutionarily ancient skill, shared by both vertebrates and invertebrates alike. What is happening in the brain during complicated bimanual performances such as piano playing? And does practice make "perfect" in the brain?
Read MoreIn this episode, we will talk with Professor Adam Cohen of Harvard University about taking apart electronics from the street, building a scanning tunneling microscope in your bedroom, and exciting projects using proteins to sense membrane voltage and image neural activity.
Last month, we asked you, the reader, which of the five major senses you find most interesting from a neuroscience perspective. We received the following response from guest contributor, Scott Jon Shagin. Here, Shagin describes each of the major senses from his experience living with multiple sclerosis and explains why he feels the one he picks is the most "interesting." His precise and punchy post is sure to delight, educate and enlighten.
(Photo Credit: Scott Shagin)
Read MoreWhat do psychosis, psychedelics and sleep deprivation have in common? They make you really bad at perceiving visual illusions…and really good at hallucinating.
Driven by bewilderment, a hunch, and a sense of purpose, I set out to determine how sleep deprivation causes visual hallucinations. My quest turned up a key paper (written entirely in German), a new hypothesis and a vow to get more sleep. Below is an exposition of my journey, beginning about a decade ago.
Read MoreHome of NeuWrite West and the Stanford Neuroblog.
Do you have burning questions about how the brain works? You’ve come to the right place! Submit all your questions to NeuWrite West and we will have a neuroscientist research and answer your question.
Note: The NeuWrite West team consists of research scientists. Therefore, we can not provide answers to questions of a medical nature; we are not medical doctors.
Questions will have a turn-around time of approximately one month.
Or search for "NeuWriteWest" (without spaces) on your favorite podcast app!
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