#WashUNeuroCommunity
LightNews LightNews
washuonr.bsky.social
Analyzing data from >15,000 children, Rebecca Schwarzlose @washumedicine.bsky.social and team find that sensory over-responsivity is connected to autistic traits and to anxiety (in kids with/without autism) but is not directly related to ADHD. @jaacapjournals.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Sensory overload in kids has distinct neurobiological roots
A study led by WashU Medicine researchers finds that sensory distress is directly related to both autism and anxiety, but not ADHD. The research also identified distinct patterns of brain connectivity...
bit.ly
October 5, 2026 at 7:48 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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...
bit.ly
June 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
A team led by @jordacular.bsky.social @washumedicine.bsky.social identified cell-surface receptors in the locus coeruleus that act as biological brakes on pain, to relieve chronic neuropathic pain following nerve injury. @currentbiology.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Scientists identify brain’s brake that shuts off chronic pain | WashU Medicine
Findings from a mouse study by WashU Medicine researchers could lead to targeted treatments for chronic nerve pain.
bit.ly
September 29, 2026 at 5:08 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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.
bit.ly
August 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
With $3.3M funding from National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health; Meaghan Creed @washumedicine.bsky.social hopes to pinpoint how, when and where dopamine signaling is disrupted in the brain as neuropathic pain becomes chronic.

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Creed to study dopamine system changes in chronic nerve pain
Meaghan Creed, an associate professor of anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received a $3.3 million five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse ...
bit.ly
December 17, 2025 at 5:07 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
How a ketogenic diet reduces seizures was unknown. New findings by Ghazaleh Ashrafi, Gabor Egervari and Vitaly Klyachko @washumedicine.bsky.social identify changes in genetic activity and in excitatory and inhibitory signaling. @cp-cellreports.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity
bit.ly/4swTuBR
Study explains how ketogenic diets prevent seizures | WashU Medicine
New findings in mice shed light on the brain’s response to the keto diet, long known to help treat some patients with epilepsy.
bit.ly
March 31, 2026 at 3:59 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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
bit.ly
June 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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
bit.ly
July 16, 2025 at 8:21 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
Collaborators Alexander H. Stegh, @washumedicine.bsky.social and Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University show that nasal delivery of spherical nucleic acids safely/effectively activates immune response to attack glioblastoma. @pnasnexus.org

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Nasal drops fight brain tumors noninvasively
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a nano-sized medicine delivered through the nose that boosts the anti-cancer immune response and successfully elimin...
bit.ly
November 25, 2025 at 8:47 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
A team led by Erica L. Scheller @washumedicine.bsky.social, with Xiao Zhang and others identified a potent pathway that begins in the brain and leads to loss of all body fat without reducing food intake. Findings published in @natmetabolism.nature.com.

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Specific brain signals rapidly eliminate body fat in mice
A study by researchers at WashU Medicine reveals how the body reprograms stable fat cells to eliminate stubborn fat reserves.
bit.ly
February 19, 2026 at 8:29 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
Ryan Raut @washumedicine.bsky.social and colleagues use wide-field optical imaging to show that pupil dilation can predict brain-wide activity patterns such as changing neural activity, oxygen levels or metabolic activity.

@nature.com
#WashUNeuroCommunity
Brain’s dynamics can be accurately tracked from a mouse’s eyes
WashU Medicine researchers show that it is possible to accurately predict the state of brain activity by tracking variations in an animal’s pupil dilation, suggesting that brain circuits and the body ...
bit.ly
May 12, 2026 at 5:33 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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.
bit.ly
July 2, 2025 at 6:32 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
Using optogenetics to safely create arrhythmia on demand, Chao Zhou @washuengineers.bsky.social and team provide insight into the heart-brain connection and the broader systemic consequences of cardiac dysfunction. @science.org

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Light, genetics provide insight into arrhythmia’s effects on brain
Researchers at a Washington University in St. Louis lab have induced on-demand arrhythmia in a mouse model using light to better understand arrhythmia's effect on the brain.
bit.ly
June 29, 2026 at 4:55 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
Bruce Carlson of Biology @washu.edu and grad student Marty Jarzyna found that in electric fish, the MCA brain region is a hub for corollary discharge, the universal process of distinguishing sensory inputs from self vs from others. @currentbiology.bsky.social

#WashUNeuroCommunity
New research reveals how brains update their predictions
Researchers in Bruce Carlson’s lab at Washington University in St. Louis study electric fish to understand the basics of brain sensory processing and prediction.
bit.ly
June 23, 2026 at 1:21 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
A team including Rajendra Apte @washumedicine.bsky.social and Andria Ford @washuneurology.bsky.social demonstrate a correlation between macular volume and brain white matter loss in RVCL-S.

#WashUNeuroCommunity
bit.ly/4t1pleD
What the eye can tell us about RVCL-S | Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Participants with RVCL-S underwent eye imaging and brain MRI scans to see if changes in the retina reflect disease severity in the brain.
bit.ly
February 4, 2026 at 4:53 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
Chenyang Lu @washuengineers.bsky.social, Lisa Tabor Connor and team created a potential AI assistant that may help individuals with cognitive decline cook meals and maintain independence.

#WashUNeuroCommunity
bit.ly/4b9Jmt1
AI ‘CHEF’ could help those with cognitive declines complete home tasks
AI-occupational therapy team leverages novel vision-language models to detect cognitive errors
bit.ly
January 23, 2026 at 6:06 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
Catherine Lang from the @washu.edu program in Physical Therapy pioneered wearable sensors to track/enhance stroke recovery and has been installed as the inaugural Barbara J. Norton Professor of Physical Therapy, the program’s first named professorship.

#WashUNeuroCommunity
Lang named Barbara J. Norton Professor of Physical Therapy
Catherine E. Lang, a leading researcher in the field of stroke recovery and rehabilitation in the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine Program in Physical Therapy, has been installed ...
bit.ly
December 10, 2025 at 6:58 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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...
bit.ly
October 3, 2025 at 6:22 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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.
bit.ly
September 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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.
bit.ly
August 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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
July 10, 2025 at 6:17 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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 ...
bit.ly
June 12, 2025 at 6:01 PM
washuonr.bsky.social
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
June 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM