Medicine & Health

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine are joining a national network, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to map the intricacies of the brain, with a goal of deepening knowledge of how the brain works and generating new insights into how the brain functions in healthy people — and how it malfunctions in Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism and numerous other conditions.

A comprehensive analysis of federal data by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine shows people who have had COVID-19 are at an elevated risk of developing neurological conditions within the first year after infection.

The Organization for Human Brain Mapping has awarded its Glass Brain Award to Deanna Barch, of Arts & Sciences and the School of Medicine, in recognition of her influential work on the function of the human brain.

A new study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, has identified abnormalities in the development of the brain’s visual system in infants that may predispose them to developing autism.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown function for the fragile X protein, the loss of which is the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability. The researchers showed that the protein modulates how neurons in the brain’s memory center process information, a central part of learning and memory.

Researchers from the Washington University Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders have identified a specific neuropeptide and a neural circuit that transmit pleasant touch from the skin to the brain. The findings eventually may help scientists better understand and treat disorders characterized by touch avoidance and impaired social development.

By scanning the genomes of nearly 6,000 stroke patients, School of Medicine scientists identified two genes associated with recovery. Both are involved in regulating neuronal excitability, suggesting that targeting overstimulated neurons may help promote recovery in the first 24 hours after stroke.

Up to half of older adults may have sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing and sleep are briefly interrupted many times a night. A new study from the School of Medicine shows that this chronic tiredness can have serious implications for road safety.

Scanning the brains of newborns, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that maternal exposure to poverty and crime can influence the structure and function of young brains even before babies make their entrances into the world.

The Society for Research in Psychopathology has awarded its Joseph Zubin Lifetime Achievement Award to WashU’s Deanna Barch in recognition of her lifetime contributions to the understanding of the field.