Penn NeuroKnow 🧠

Driving you mad: Understanding the rabies virus People have lived in fear of rabies for thousands of years, but it’s only recently we’ve started to learn how it works.

People have lived in fear of rabies for thousands of years, but it’s only recently we’ve started to learn how it works.

Omer Zeliger shares how rabies drives you mad in this week's post: pennneuroknow.com/2026/03/10/d...

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Your daily D.O.S.E of happiness: Uncovering the complexities of the “happy hormones” A group of brain chemicals that play a role in promoting happiness have earned the nickname the “happy hormones”, but there’s much more to them than that! Let’s dive into their diverse biological f…

A group of brain chemicals that play a role in promoting happiness have earned the nickname the “happy hormones”, but there’s much more to them than that!

Dive into their diverse biological functions in this week's post: pennneuroknow.com/2026/03/03/y...

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Your daily D.O.S.E of happiness: Uncovering the complexities of the “happy hormones” A group of brain chemicals that play a role in promoting happiness have earned the nickname the “happy hormones”, but there’s much more to them than that! Let’s dive into their diverse biological f…

A group of brain chemicals that play a role in promoting happiness have earned the nickname the “happy hormones”, but there’s much more to them than that!

Dive into their diverse biological functions in this week's post: pennneuroknow.com/2026/03/03/y...

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Thinking with your stomach: A newly discovered neural pathway related to food comas Ever wondered why sometimes a full stomach makes you sleepy? One new paper has a compelling answer!

Ever wondered why sometimes a full stomach makes you sleepy? One new paper has a compelling answer!

Dive into the science behind food comas in this week's post by Joseph Stucynski: pennneuroknow.com/2026/02/24/t...

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Thinking out loud: How inner speech can transform brain-computer interfaces What if the voice in our heads had the potential to revolutionize communication for people with paralysis or progressive disease that affected their ability to speak? Recent research shows that inn…

Can the voice in our heads revolutionize communication for people who can't speak?

Learn how inner speech is decoded from brain activity and the concerns it raises about protecting our private thoughts: pennneuroknow.com/2026/02/17/t... (by @kara-mcgaughey.bsky.social)

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More than meets the eye: How different animals see the world What would it be like to see through the eyes of another animal? Learn how different animals see the world.

Ever wondered what it would be like to see through the eyes of another animal?

Explore the fascinating diversity of eye designs across the animal kingdom in this week's post by @catrinahacker.bsky.social: pennneuroknow.com/2026/02/10/m...

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Adolescent nicotine exposure fundamentally changes the brain to make subsequent morphine use in adulthood more rewarding — GLIA or technically, Paradoxical Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Signaling Drives Enhanced Morphine Reward After Adolescent Nicotine [See original abstract on Pubmed]

Recent NGG graduate Ruthie Wittenberg explores how nicotine exposure during adolescence can fundamentally change the brain’s reward circuitry, making opioids like morphine more rewarding later in adulthood. Check it out here! www.upennglia.com/briefs/bib-a...
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KIF1A: The neuron’s marathon runner To function properly, neurons need supplies- but how do all these supplies make it from one end of a neuron to another?  This article explores the incredible protein that gets the job done, aptly n…

To function properly, neurons need supplies- but how do these supplies make it from one end of the neuron to another?  

Learn about the incredible protein, nicknamed your neuron's marathon runner, that gets the job done: pennneuroknow.com/2026/02/03/k...

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When insects lose their minds: The fascinating world of parasitic fungi You might think mind control is the stuff of science fiction, but for many fungi it’s just what they do. Explore how parasitic fungi control the insects they infect.

You might think mind control is science fiction, but for some fungi it’s just what they do.

Explore the fascinating world of parasitic fungi and how they control infected insects in this week's post by @catrinahacker.bsky.social: pennneuroknow.com/2026/01/27/w...

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The Salem Witch Trials: If not witchcraft, then what? We’ve all heard stories detailing the Salem Witch Trials, but nobody can really explain where the symptoms shown by “victims of witchcraft” came from. Here, we unpack how popular medical explanatio…

If witchcraft wasn’t at play in the Salem witch trials, what caused the symptoms that sparked the accusations?

Read this week’s post from @pennngg.bsky.social student Emma Fischer to explore possible medical explanations.

pennneuroknow.com/2026/01/20/t...

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We'll be back to our weekly posts next week, but in the meantime don't forget to check out our 2025 Neuroscience Year in Review post!

Find out what got our writers excited about neuroscience last year: pennneuroknow.com/2025/12/30/2...

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The battle of the sexes: Whose brain comes out on top? Popular culture loves the idea that men and women think differently, but the science is far less dramatic. Here’s what the research shows about cognitive ability and brain differences between the s…

Popular culture loves the idea that men and women think differently, but the science is far less dramatic.

Here’s what the research shows about cognitive ability and brain differences between the sexes: pennneuroknow.com/2025/12/23/t...

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2025 Neuroscience Year in Review Our writers share what got them excited about neuroscience in 2025.

From new discoveries to enduring questions, 2025 was a fascinating year for neuroscience.

Read the neuroscience stories that excited each of our writers most in 2025: pennneuroknow.com/2025/12/30/2...

Thanks for reading along and see you in 2026!

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The science and stigma behind premenstrual disorders The idea that women are naturally predisposed to mental and emotional disturbances during “that time of month” dates back centuries. Is it biology or baloney? PMS or BS?

PMS or BS? For centuries, menstrual cycles have been blamed for emotional changes in women—but is this biology or baloney?

Read this week’s post from @pennngg.bsky.social student Eve Gautreaux to unpack the history and science of PMS.

pennneuroknow.com/2025/12/16/t...

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T cells in the immune system: Friend or foe? T cells are a type of immune cell that defend your body against disease. While these mighty cells normally serve to protect you from foreign invaders, what happens if they turn on you?

Normally T cells fight off germs- but what happens when they start to fight you?

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student @hayleylenhard.bsky.social’s post to explore the role of T cells in the immune system, the brain, and autoimmune disease.
pennneuroknow.com/2025/12/09/t...

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The blood brain barrier and its Trojan Horses Ever wonder what delivering drugs to the brain and Greek mythology have in common? If so, come check out this article on Trojan Horses in science!

What do Greek mythology and drug delivery to the brain have in common?

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student @annakasper1.bsky.social's post to see how scientists use Trojan-horse techniques to sneak medicine past the blood brain barrier.

pennneuroknow.com/2025/12/02/t...

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When good things turn bad: How your brain decides what you like and dislike How do we decide what we like and what we don’t? Discover how the brain forms these judgments and how they can flip after just one bad experience.

How does your brain decide what you like and dislike— and why can those feelings flip after a bad experience?

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student Lucas Tittle's post to explore the neural machinery behind valence and its flexibility.
pennneuroknow.com/2025/11/18/w...

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Vaccines and autism: Let’s talk about it The conversation around autism and vaccines has become an increasingly hot topic of late (to put it mildly), but did you know that this debate began over 25 years ago? Here is a brief overview of t…

There’s a lot of talk about vaccines and autism, but what does the science say?

This week @pennngg.bsky.social student Nita Rome unpacks the history behind these concerns and how modern studies have debunked this misconception.

pennneuroknow.com/2025/11/11/v...

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How psychedelics remap the brain to help overcome traumatic fear — GLIA or technically, Psilocybin-enhanced fear extinction linked to bidirectional modulation of cortical ensembles [See original abstract on Pubmed]

Sophie Rogers of the Corder @flybottleescape.bsky.social lab studies how a psychedelic drug with growing therapeutic promise can alter the brain in ways that help overcome traumatic fear memories. Read more in this brief by fellow NGG student Jafar Bhatti! www.upennglia.com/briefs/bib-p...

How to make a guy compost in 10 days How can we use neuroscience to encourage environmentally-friendly decisions?

Why is it so hard to turn good climate intentions into real habits?

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student Margaret Gardner’s post to learn how neuroscience could help bridge the gap between our values and our actions. pennneuroknow.com/2025/11/04/h...

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Recording everything everywhere all at once Neuroscientists can now record from many parts of the mouse brain at once, helping us see how millions of neurons work together to guide behavior.

The billions of neurons in our brain work together like an orchestra. Now tools let scientists listen to the whole performance across different parts of the brain.

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student Abby Lieberman’s post to learn how: pennneuroknow.com/2025/10/28/r...

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The brain behind the balance Your brain is more than a thinking machine. Even when you rest, your brain is constantly monitoring, adjusting, and fine-tuning every heartbeat, breath, and chemical signal – keeping your body bala…

Your brain is more than a thinking machine. Even when you rest, your brain is busy monitoring, adjusting, and fine-tuning your existence.

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student Serena Chen’s post to learn how your brain keeps you balanced pennneuroknow.com/2025/10/21/t...

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Mighty mitochondria, the powerhouses of your nervous system Neurons require a lot of energy to keep your brain functioning, and this energy is overwhelmingly generated by certain cellular components: the mitochondria. Here, we discuss how mitochondria actua…

Mitochondria, the “powerhouse of the cell,” fuel your brain’s energy-hungry neurons. But that's not all they do!

Read @pennngg.bsky.social student Julia Riley's post to learn how mitochondria safeguard neurons and earn their moniker.
pennneuroknow.com/2025/10/14/m...

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Why our brains find conspiracy theories appealing Discover why conspiracy theories grab our attention, and how the brain’s reward systems and social instincts make them so hard to resist.

Ever wonder why conspiracy theories seem to spread faster than facts?

In our latest article, @pennngg.bsky.social student Emma Noel explains how our brain’s reward systems and social nature fuel belief in conspiracy theories. pennneuroknow.com/2025/10/07/w...

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including for the brain where it might be able to reverse some of the bad that a high natural sugar diet can cause.

- Stephen (post author)

3/3

As a result, it isn’t commonly studied as an “artificial sweetener” and for simplicity of the post, I chose not to discuss it. But it is a unique sweetener that some studies suggest has several health benefits, ...

2/3

Thanks for the comment – stevia is a weird one that’s in a category of its own. It’s similar to artificial sweeteners since it doesn’t have any calories, but it’s also similar to sugar since it occurs naturally.
1/3

Sweet but not innocent: Artificial sweeteners and brain health A recent study suggests artificial sweeteners are associated with a faster cognitive decline. How might that be happening?

Artificial sweeteners are supposed to be a guilt-free way to get your sweet fix, but are they?

This week Stephen Wisser explores a recent study suggesting that artificial sweeteners are associated with faster cognitive decline: pennneuroknow.com/2025/09/30/s...

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To pee or not to pee: How the brain controls the bladder That urge to pee? It’s not so simple. Behind it is a complex brain-bladder conversation that decides when to hold and when to go.

That urge to pee? It’s not so simple. Behind it is a complex brain-bladder conversation that decides when to hold and when to go.

Learn how your brain controls your bladder in this week's post by Andrew Nguyen: pennneuroknow.com/2025/09/23/t...

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To pee or not to pee: How the brain controls the bladder That urge to pee? It’s not so simple. Behind it is a complex brain-bladder conversation that decides when to hold and when to go.

That urge to pee? It’s not so simple. Behind it is a complex brain-bladder conversation that decides when to hold and when to go.

Learn how your brain controls your bladder in this week's post by Andrew Nguyen: pennneuroknow.com/2025/09/23/t...

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