Search Results for: brain sciences

Adia Harvey Wingfield, professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, has joined the leadership team in Arts & Sciences as associate dean for faculty development. In her role as associate dean, Wingfield works closely with Barbara A. Schaal, dean of the faculty, in ongoing efforts to support faculty across Arts & Sciences.

Contrary to the belief that drinking can literally shrink one’s brain, a new study that includes researchers from Arts & Sciences suggests that a small brain might be a risk factor for heavier alcohol consumption.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis confirms that the brain tunes itself to a point where it is as excitable as it can be without tipping into disorder, similar to a phase transition. The new research from Keith Hengen, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, is published Oct. 7 in the journal Neuron.

Ryan Bogdan, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, received a two-year, $264,938 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effects of alcohol on the maturing brain. The study will look at genome-wide association studies to longitudinal neuroimaging studies of adolescents and young adults in order to disentangle the contributions […]

Chancellor Andrew D. Martin and Interim Provost Marion Crain have appointed a 16-member committee to identify candidates for the position of dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences. Aaron F. Bobick, dean of the McKelvey School of Engineering, will chair the search committee.

A global study comparing 2,062 birds finds that, in highly variable environments, birds tend to have either larger or smaller brains relative to their body size. New research from Carlos Botero, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, finds birds with smaller brains tend to use ecological strategies that are not available to big-brained counterparts.

Physicists studying the brain at Washington University in St. Louis have shown how measuring signals from a single neuron may be as good as capturing information from many neurons at once using big, expensive arrays of electrodes. The new work continues the discussion about how the brain seems to function in a “critical” state. The research was reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Marco Colonna, MD, the Robert Rock Belliveau, MD, Professor of Pathology (left), and Timothy J. Ley, MD, the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Chair in Oncology, both at the School of Medicine, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The new members were announced April 30.

Adult depression has long been associated with shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region that plays an important role in memory and response to stress. Now, new research from Washington University in St. Louis has linked participation in team sports to larger hippocampal volumes in children and less depression in boys ages 9 to 11.

A new study from the School of Medicine finds that women’s brains appear to be about three years younger than men’s of the same chronological age, metabolically speaking. The findings could be one clue to why women tend to stay mentally sharp longer than men.