Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · 5d

New study by Joe Feldman @washuartsci.bsky.social and collaborators links lead exposure to lower standardized test scores. Using models to fill in missing lead exposure data, they predict an even stronger impact of lead on test score performance.

#WashUNeuroCommunity

bit.ly/3IN3rcS

New study may help uncover childhood lead exposure's true impact

Data scientists at Washington University in St. Louis used new statistical tools to find that the association between lead exposure and academic test scores may be even stronger than previously suspec...

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · 13d

A team including Jose Moron-Concepcion, Erik Musiek and Khairunisa Ibrahim @washumedicine.bsky.social and others generated a model to explore links between chronic pain and sleep disruption. Findings published in @npp-journal.bsky.social.

#WashUNeuroCommunity

Mouse study links chronic pain to disrupted sleep patterns

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine have developed the first mouse model to replicate the disrupted sleep patterns seen in people with chronic pain.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · 21d

What do our words reveal about us? Josh Oltmanns of Psychological and Brain Sciences @washu.edu (Arts & Sciences) and colleagues are developing AI tools to help psychologists uncover hidden cues in language that reflect personality traits and mental-health signals.

bit.ly/4ponpuX

What do our words say about our minds?

Words are windows into the brain. The words that we choose — and how we say them — speak volumes about our personalities and even our mental health, said Josh Oltmanns, an assistant professor of psych...

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · 29d

A team led by @drbhooma.bsky.social
@washuneurology.bsky.social @washumedicine.bsky.social identified an objective measure of leg dystonia in children with cerebral palsy, and mimicked this measurement in mice to better understand causes and possible therapies for dystonia.

bit.ly/3JLFX7Z

New method accurately assesses movement disorder in children | WashU Medicine

A study in humans and mice from WashU Medicine could inform new treatments for leg dystonia, a common complication of cerebral palsy.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Aug 29

Charles Conway (Psychiatry @washumedicine.bsky.social) reports a new study in which participants with treatment-resistant depression received vagus nerve stimulation for one year via a pacemaker-like device implanted under the skin. Patients reported improved lives.

bit.ly/47OVZb7

Hope for those with treatment-resistant depression

A WashU Medicine study paves the way to make an effective treatment more accessible to those 'paralyzed by life.'

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Aug 25

Christina Gurnett and Lawrence Salkoff report in
Frontiers of Pharmacology that fluoxetine (Prozac) improved seizure control in two sisters, patients of Dr. Gurnett with a rare pathogenic variant in the KCNC2 gene, identified by @tycheleturner.bsky.social‬.

#WashUNeuroCommunity

WashU Medicine researchers identify potential for repurposing Prozac to treat rare epilepsy - Department of Neuroscience

Gurnett and Salkoff are lead authors on a case report on how Prozac can be used in the treatment of children with rare forms of epilepsy.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Aug 7

Hong Chen @washuengineers.bsky.social in the Department of Neurosurgery aims to develop synthetic torpor (lower temp, metabolism) using focused ultrasound, with potential for stroke neuroprotection, organ preservation, lifespan extension and others.
#WashUNeuroCommunity
bit.ly/41gQs9x

WashU Expert: Synthetic torpor has potential to redefine medicine

Hong Chen, a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis, shares the potential for using synthetic torpor technology to develop new treatments for a range of illnesses and injuries.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jul 31

A new study by Carlos Cruchage and Muhammad Ali WashU Psychiatry @washumedicine.bsky.social published in @naturemedicine.bsky.social used plasma from 10,500+ patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's or FTD to create and validate a model to predict risk of each disease.

bit.ly/41h5tYF

Blood plasma reveals shared pathways in neurodegenerative diseases

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine researchers identify biomarkers of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and frontotemporal dementia from blood plasma, suggesting new therapeutic avenues.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jul 16

The @WashUNeurology @washuneurology.bsky.social has been selected by The Michael J. Fox Foundation as one of eight new sites for the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders. The new program will be led by Baijayanta Maiti, MD, PhD.

#WashUNeuroCommunity

bit.ly/3Uem3EB

WashU Medicine selected for Parkinson’s disease training program | WashU Medicine

Edmond J. Safra Fellowship to fund training of movement disorder specialist in the Department of Neurology

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jul 15

A new paper by Theresa Gildner of @washuartsci.bsky.social and Annette Langer-Gould of Los Angeles General Medical Center finds that #MS is more common in Black than white women, and that disparities in the environment and the health system are driving that trend.

bit.ly/3It6w19

Unequal risk: Why MS is a growing problem in Black communities

A new paper is challenging longstanding misconceptions about multiple sclerosis, a common autoimmune disease that affects roughly one million people in the United States. “For many years, MS was seen ...

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jul 11

Andrew Yoo and Zhao Sun of @washumedicine.bsky.social receive Morby Prize @curealzheimersfund.bsky.social ‪for seminal study in @science.org to show skin cells from patients with late-onset Alzheimer’s can be transformed into neurons and reproduce hallmarks of the disease bit.ly/4kxcmf6

Yoo, Sun recognized for developing novel method to study aged neurons | WashU Medicine

Morby prize from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund honors groundbreaking Alzheimer’s research

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jul 10

The Saint Louis Science Center / WashU St. Louis Neuroscience Outreach invite you to Up Late: Experience Sound on July 19 where @washu.edu ‬grad students will be among the presenters testing the limits of human hearing. #WashUNeuroCommunity

For tickets and more information, visit slsc.org/up-late

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jul 2

A collaboration among Ben Warner and Chenyang Lu at the McKelvey School of Engineering along with Sarah England and Peinan Zhao at WashU OBGYN shows sleep patterns in people experiencing pregnancy can effectively predict preterm birth.

@washu.bsky.social
#WashUNeuroCommunity

bit.ly/4ns79bn

Sleep data from wearable device may help predict preterm birth

An interdisciplinary research team at Washington University in St. Louis has found that variability in sleep patterns in people experiencing pregnancy can effectively predict preterm birth.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 27

Keith Hengen @washuartsci.bsky.social notes that “criticality” - the tipping point between order & chaos - is the key to understanding how the brain works, & how to keep it free from Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

Woodrow Shew @uarkansas.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity

bit.ly/3HTODZg

A unified theory of the mind

In a new paper with implications for preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, Keith Hengen, an associate professor of biology, suggests a new comprehensive approach to understa...

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 23

@iddrc-washu.bsky.social + The McDonnell Genome Institute @washumedicine.bsky.social secure a $12M NIH grant to form the Scalable Mouse Assay Center. Led by Joseph Dougherty - WU-SMAC will curate models of neurodevelopmental/psychiatric disorders known to be caused by a single gene mutation.

$12 million grant funds studies of role of genes in autism, similar diagnoses

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis received a $12 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to deepen understanding of autism and other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders that are caused by a single gene mutation.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 19

Rohit Pappu ‪‪@washuengineers.bsky.social - Center for Biomolecular Condensates with @stjuderesearch.bsky.social found 1) distinct mechanisms for biomolecular condensate vs fibril formation; 2) condensates are metastable sinks that detour proteins from pathological fibrillar solids.

Research untangles role of stress granules in neurodegenerative disease

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have found that biomolecular condensates play a role in suppressing the effects of ALS-causing mutations.

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 17

Join the St. Louis Translational Pain Research Forum September 26-27, 2025, hosted by the Institute of Translational Neuroscience @slu-official.bsky.social and Center for Clinical Pharmacology @washumedicine.bsky.social

Register Here: bit.ly/4n3Uo6F

washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 12

Different kinds of mindfulness practices might be helpful for different varieties of anxiety, helping to illuminate how to match anxiety sufferers with more precise treatments.

Resh Gupta and Todd Braver of @washuartsci.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity

Can mindfulness combat anxiety?

Resh Gupta If you’re anxious about work, finances, the state of the world, or anything else, you might try a moment of mindfulness. Paying close attention to the present moment without judgment — the ...

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 9

Astrocytes Take the Lead in Neural Rewiring - this discovery fundamentally changes current understanding about the determinants of brain network communication and activity.

Dr. Thomas Papouin
@washumedicine.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity

bit.ly/3FmVqK8

Overlooked cell type orchestrates brain rewiring | WashU Medicine

Rather than neurons, brain cells known as astrocytes take charge in shaping response to signal involved in vigilance, mouse study shows

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 4

It's not too late - comment on proposed Schedule F!

Under Schedule F, NIH Institute Directors could become political appointees. This is your opportunity to share your opinion: How would politicization impact the federal grant process?

Deadline June 7!

bit.ly/45ErmUK

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduc...

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washuonr.bsky.social @washuonr.bsky.social · Jun 3

A recent study from @washumedicine.bsky.social finds Alzheimer's drug safe, well tolerated in real-world use- beyond clinical trials.

Dr. Suzanne Schindler - @suzanneeschindler.bsky.social
Dr. Joy Snider
#WashUNeuroCommunity

Read More: source.washu.edu/2025/05/drug...

Drug to slow Alzheimer’s well tolerated outside of clinical trial setting

In a recent study, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found adverse events were rare and manageable among patients with very mild or mild Alzheimer’s disease who rece...

source.washu.edu

Reposted by washuonr.bsky.social

Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · May 6

@fabbs.org webinar on responding to NSF grant terminations, for those in the behavioral and brain sciences:

us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Webinar on Responding to NSF Grant Terminations. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Join the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) on Friday, May 9th, at 2:00 PM ET for an informative webinar on responding to NSF grant terminations. We will discuss the r...

us02web.zoom.us

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Reposted by washuonr.bsky.social

Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · May 2

FYI: The Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have collaborated to offer $25K rapid response grants.

"This rapid response bridge funding opportunity is for scholars and teams whose grants have recently been cancelled by NSF."

Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program

In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...

www.spencer.org

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Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · Apr 16

Excited that we are recruiting for a new postdoctoral program in Cognitive, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience at #WashU! Get in touch if you have questions!
sites.wustl.edu/systemsneuro...

CCSN Postdoctoral program | McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience | Washington University in St. LouisWashU Medicine

CCSN Postdoctoral Funding Now OpenFace Page & Mentor FormApplications Due by 5:00 pm Friday, May 2, 2025.Funding expected to start July 1, 2025....

sites.wustl.edu

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