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❓ Have you ever wondered what makes you you? This is a complicated question to answer in humans where we can’t control every single thing that a human experiences for their whole life.

🐟 This week, writer Kara McGaughey talks about how a group of neuroscientists used a genetically identical group of fish to answer this question.

Read her post to find out whether the fish were born with their individuality or if they developed their individuality over time.

pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/24/w

👋 Meet Lindsay Ejoh, author of this week’s article “Sex Differences in Pain” which explores differences between males and females during the experience of physical pain. She is a co-editor of the blog and a 3rd year PhD student in the University of Pennsylvania's Neuroscience Graduate Group.

🧠 Lindsay researches the neurobiology of pain and pain relief. She also loves to make educational TikToks breaking down neuroscience research or sharing her experience as a PhD student. You can find her on TikTok @neuro_melody.

🎶 Outside the lab, Lindsay is very passionate about music. She sings and plays guitar and piano in her free time. She is also dedicated to increasing minority representation in STEM.

You can read her most recent article here: pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/17/s

👋 Meet Lindsay Ejoh, author of this week’s article “Sex Differences in Pain” which explores differences between males and females during the experience of physical pain. She is a co-editor of the blog and a 3rd year PhD student in the University of Pennsylvania's Neuroscience Graduate Group.

🧠 Lindsay researches the neurobiology of pain and pain relief. She also loves to make educational TikToks breaking down neuroscience research or sharing her experience as a PhD student. You can find her on TikTok @neuro_melody.

🎶 Outside the lab, Lindsay is very passionate about music. She sings and plays guitar and piano in her free time. She is also dedicated to increasing minority representation in STEM.

You can read her most recent article here: pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/17/s

Why do some people experience more pain than others? Part of the answer might be a person's sex. This week co-editor Lindsay Ejoh writes about the research on sex differences in pain, with a discussion of the differences between sex and gender and how most studies have treated this. She then dives into the biological and psychosocial factors that could explain these differences with a look toward the future of what other research should be done.

pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/17/s

Why do some people experience more pain than others? Part of the answer might be a person's sex. This week co-editor Lindsay Ejoh writes about the research on sex differences in pain, with a discussion of the differences between sex and gender and how most studies have treated this. She then dives into the biological and psychosocial factors that could explain these differences with a look toward the future of what other research should be done.

pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/17/s

Meet our writers!

For the next few months we'll be sharing a new writer profile each Friday giving you an inside look at the writer behind each week's article.

✍️ This week meet Joe Stucynski, the writer of this week’s article about the exciting development of a neural recording technology called Neuropixels.

😴🧠 Joe is a second year PhD student in the University of Pennsylvania's Neuroscience Graduate Group and his research interests revolve around how and why the brain falls asleep. Ever had trouble falling asleep or falling into a deep sleep? Joe studies brain activity during these transitions between wakefulness, sleep, and REM sleep.

🤔 Joe has always been fascinated with psychology and behavior, and loves studying sleep because he thinks there are still so many things left to learn about it.

🤸‍♂️ 🧗‍♂️ 📚 Before starting his PhD Joe competed in gymnastics for 18 years. He now channels his athletic energy into rock climbing, and also enjoys reading vintage sci-fi novels and short stories.

You can read his most recent article, "We have the technology!" here: pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/10/w

Meet our writers!

For the next few months we'll be sharing a new writer profile each Friday giving you an inside look at the writer behind each week's article.

✍️ This week meet Joe Stucynski, the writer of this week’s article about the exciting development of a neural recording technology called Neuropixels.

😴🧠 Joe is a second year PhD student in the University of Pennsylvania's Neuroscience Graduate Group and his research interests revolve around how and why the brain falls asleep. Ever had trouble falling asleep or falling into a deep sleep? Joe studies brain activity during these transitions between wakefulness, sleep, and REM sleep.

🤔 Joe has always been fascinated with psychology and behavior, and loves studying sleep because he thinks there are still so many things left to learn about it.

🤸‍♂️ 🧗‍♂️ 📚 Before starting his PhD Joe competed in gymnastics for 18 years. He now channels his athletic energy into rock climbing, and also enjoys reading vintage sci-fi novels and short stories.

You can read his most recent article, "We have the technology!" here: pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/10/w

🎆 Happy new year everyone! We’re back with a post by writer Joe Stucynski who writes about a new piece of technology, called Neuropixels, that is shaping what kinds of experiments neuroscientists can do.

💧 Joe talks about why neuroscientists need to engineer new tools if they want to understand the brain, why Neuropixels are so exciting, and gives one example of how Neuropixels have already taught us more about how the brain coordinates the response to thirst.

❓ What other things might you want to learn from experiments with Neuropixels?

pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/10/w

🎆 Happy new year everyone! We’re back with a post by writer Joe Stucynski who writes about a new piece of technology, called Neuropixels, that is shaping what kinds of experiments neuroscientists can do.

💧 Joe talks about why neuroscientists need to engineer new tools if they want to understand the brain, why Neuropixels are so exciting, and gives one example of how Neuropixels have already taught us more about how the brain coordinates the response to thirst.

❓ What other things might you want to learn from experiments with Neuropixels?

pennneuroknow.com/2023/01/10/w

🧠 To end 2022 we asked our writers what got them excited about neuroscience this year. Their answers ranged from new discoveries that are changing how we think about the brain and curing brain diseases to the papers that inspired their own thesis work.

❓ Now we want to hear from you! What got you excited about neuroscience this year?

pennneuroknow.com/2022/12/22/2

#2022

We all know we’re supposed to brush our teeth, but why is it so important? Among other things, brushing your teeth protects your brain! Read this week’s article written by Vanessa Sanchez to learn more about our emerging understanding of the link between your oral hygiene and brain health. :gmodmouth: 🧠

pennneuroknow.com/2022/12/20/b

We all know we’re supposed to brush our teeth, but why is it so important? Among other things, brushing your teeth protects your brain! Read this week’s article written by Vanessa Sanchez to learn more about our emerging understanding of the link between your oral hygiene and brain health. :gmodmouth: 🧠

pennneuroknow.com/2022/12/20/b

I am especially excited about this piece I wrote for @pennNeuroKnow in collaboration with the International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society (IAES).

In response to patient and family questions, I attempted to synthesize how the brain heals from AE and why there's so much variability in the healing process.

autoimmune-encephalitis.org/ho

@dickretired No treatment is ever going to be effective for all patients/conditions, and more stringent research is definitely needed. Our intention in making this is to help demystify something that people see as an evil and torturous, and show that it is a nuanced, FDA-regulated medical treatment
- Margaret Gardner and Lindsay Ejoh, PNK writers

Let's celebrate the season with a bit of science! Starting a daily countdown of 10 modern and fascinating ideas about the brain for us all to discuss. How likely is this to be true? And if true, what are the implications?

Brain idea 10: Our moods may depend not just on what's happening in our brain, but also our gut. The gist of the idea is that the gut can send distress signals to the brain that can trigger fear and anxiety.

The friendly summary:
health.harvard.edu/diseases-an

The deeper dive:
frontiersin.org/articles/10.33

#neuroscience
(And despite my reluctance; because I'm trying to work out the hashtag habit here ...)
#BrainIdeasCountdown

🧠 There’s a lot of stigma associated with electroconvulsive therapy due to its questionable past, but modern FDA-approved protocols can be an effective treatment for several psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder.

⚡ Learn more about how electroconvulsive therapy works in this week's special video supplement from co-editor Lindsay Ejoh.

tinyurl.com/pnk-121322

tinyurl.com/lindsay-tiktok

🚨 The Penn Neuroscience Public Lecture, Neuro SciFi, is happening this Thursday, December 8th 6-8p! We have three exciting TED-style talks by Philadelphia-based neuroscience professors lined up.

👽🧠 Join us for a journey through neuroscience that's so amazing you might think it's science fiction.

🔗 Whether you choose to join in-person (highly recommended so you can join us for a reception) or online, please register at this link: tinyurl.com/PLS-NeuroSciFi

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Who are you when you're split in two? When it comes to your brain, two halves do not make a whole. Learn about how the two halves of your brain communicate and what happens when you cut your brain in half in this week’s article by Barnes Jannuzi.

pennneuroknow.com/2022/12/06/w

Although there are no pain sensors on the brain, we’ve all experienced a headache. So what exactly is a headache and where is that pain coming from? Writer Marissa Maroni answers these questions and more in this week’s post: “What is a headache?”

pennneuroknow.com/2022/11/29/w

Although there are no pain sensors on the brain, we’ve all experienced a headache. So what exactly is a headache and where is that pain coming from? Writer Marissa Maroni answers these questions and more in this week’s post: “What is a headache?”

pennneuroknow.com/2022/11/29/w

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