Author Archives: Susan Lubejko

November 18

COVID-19 on the brain

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As the world has struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past nearly two years, scientists and doctors have worked in absolute overdrive to provide patients with safe and effective treatments and preventative vaccines in record time. However, providing treatment options for patients infected with the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus has been a challenge due to […]

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August 12

Bridging the Gap Between the Brain and Communication

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What is your preferred mode of communication? For many of us, we feel comfortable speaking, writing, or typing to share our thoughts and connect with others. Our practiced texting thumbs and typing fingers have allowed us to document written language with incredible speed. In some cases, however, patients may find themselves with the inability to […]

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June 17

How Neuroscience Tools Can Help Patients Regain Their Vision

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Biomedical scientists, including many neuroscientists, often get into the scientific research game with the goal of seeing a future in which their work can directly impact human health and wellbeing. There is often a disconnect, however, between the long hours in the lab working with cells, rodents, or computers and the eventual future applications of […]

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May 07

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane: the study of nostalgia

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Living through a global pandemic with limited access to friends, family, and fun has undoubtedly left many of us feeling emotional. Perhaps you’ve been listening to music during your many hours at home and a song has come on that forces you to reminisce on a particular trip you took with your best friend in […]

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March 11

The Future of the Neuroscience of Dreaming

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What is the purpose of dreaming? What do the contents of your dreams mean? What is your brain doing during dreams to produce the sometimes surreal experiences that leave you confused upon waking? Why do we remember some parts of our dreams, but struggle to recall the events in others? The unsatisfying answer to these […]

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January 14

Do pets understand our language?

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Humans are unique in our use of sophisticated spoken language to communicate. While other animals use communicative calls and sounds, human language features complex grammar and structure that allows us to convey a nearly infinite number of ideas. Homo sapiens, the species name for modern humans, appears to have been far superior to other hominid […]

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November 05

Why do we get hangry?

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I’ll admit it – I get very hangry. “Hangry” (a colloquial combo of “hunger” and “angry”) describes the grumpiness and irritability I experience when I’ve gone a bit too long between meals. Hunger itself is an important physiological feeling that signals when our body is low on energy that needs to be replenished by eating. […]

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September 24

Something to sneeze at: Hunger-induced sneezing?

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If you’re anything like me and crave the look of a pantry or office supplies organized by color in clear bins, you’ve probably, also like me, already binged Netflix’s Get Organized with the Home Edit, in which organizational gurus Clea and Joanna of The Home Edit Instagram fame edit and contain disorganized kitchens, closets, offices, […]

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July 09

How much does your brain pay attention while you’re asleep?

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*Tick, tick, tick* I glance over into the dusty corner of the dimly lit room, and to my horror, I see what looks like some sort of explosive device fitted with a clock, inevitably ticking down to my demise. *Tick, tick, tick* I freeze in fear, unsure of how to resolve this situation. The ticking […]

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June 11

Disparities in the Treatment of Pain Experienced by Black Patients

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Recent events in the United States, namely the murders of two Black Americans George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police, have thrust racial policies and violence faced by Black Americans onto the national and global stage. To be clear, the racism faced by the Black community is not new, has been known […]

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