Scientists long believed that carbon dioxide inhaled during sleep activates neurons responsible for breathing and causes a person to wake up.However, a recent University of Iowa study identifies a group of neurons responsible for arousal that are directly triggered by carbon dioxide and cause mice to wake up without any changes to breathing, according to a press release from the Carver College of...

The Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences is pleased to announce that Dr. Jan Wessel, an assistant professor in the Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Neurology, has been awarded an R01 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) entitled "The Role of a Neural Mechanism for Inhibitory Control in Cognitive Flexibility." The collaborators on this...

Finding underscores that animals beyond humans and primates show abstract intelligence. Pigeons aren’t so bird-brained after all.New research at the University of Iowa shows that pigeons can discriminate the abstract concepts of space and time—and seem to use a different region of the brain than humans and primates to do so. In experiments, pigeons were shown on a computer screen a static...

The honor will be presented at the February 2018 AAAS meetingUniversity of Iowa faculty member Daniel Tranel has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. Election as a AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.This year 396 members have been...

Male mice with a genetic variant tied to autism have learning difficulties that females with the variant do not, a new study suggests1.The mice are missing a stretch of DNA on chromosome 16 called 16p11.2. About 30 percent of people with the deletion have autism.The male mice also show sex-specific changes in the activity of a molecular pathway thought to be involved in autism and related...

For patients who have undergone brain surgery, little is known about how their cognitive functions change and recover over time.As a doctoral student at the University of Iowa, Matt Sutterer uncovered answers about the brain’s plasticity and reorganization. His research demonstrated that brain network changes occur in the early weeks after surgery, and continue months after the procedure.“For...

UI's very own Dr. John Wemmie was featured in a recent article published by the Scientific American regarding psychiatric disorders and their relationship to increased levels of acidity found in the brains of people with psychiatrci disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This area of investigation could have novel implications for therapies for psychiatric disorders. Read the full...

Three women, each with diverse clinical and research specialties, are now at the helm of the Department of Psychiatry. The dynamic trio joins a strong leadership team that already includes another female leader, bringing the total to four women leaders with common goals of boosting mental health care and training, while keeping the department at the cutting-edge of research. Top Row: Jodi Tate...

UI faculty members discuss the new undergraduate neuroscience major approved by the state Board of Regents on June 28.The University of Iowa is elevating its strength in the health sciences to bring together numerous disciplines and create an undergraduate neuroscience major.The state Board of Regents approved the major in a June 28 telephonic meeting.Months prior to the regents’ approval of the...

Neuroscience student Arianna Rigon successfully defended her thesis on July 13th. Arianna (center) is co-mentored by Michelle Voss, PhD (left), and Melissa Duff, PhD (right). Congratulations!