The human body and all its complexity arise from just a small collection of cells that divide and morph into different types of tissues. But exactly how this occurs is hard to study because embryos are hidden inside their mothers. Some embryos are donated to science by individuals who have undergone in vitro fertilization, but […]

A specific part of the brain called the precentral gyrus is responsible for sending signals to the body’s muscles to make them move. Ever since the seminal work of Wilder Penfield close to 100 years ago, we have known that different areas of the precentral gyrus correspond to different parts of the body, like a […]

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a stringent, nearly impenetrable layer of cells that guards the brain, protecting the vital organ from hazards in the bloodstream such as toxins or bacteria and allowing only a very limited set of small molecules, such as nutrients, to pass through. This layer of protection, however, makes it difficult for […]

Putting on your workout clothes and getting to the gym can feel like a slog at first. Eventually, though, you might get in the habit of going to the gym, attending aerobics classes or for a run on the treadmill. A new study from social scientists at Caltech now shows how long it takes to […]

Dr. Gerwin Schalk, Director of the Chen Frontier lab for Applied Neurotechnology, was part of a team of researchers who were investigating the feasibility of passive functional mapping in the receptive language cortex during general anesthesia using electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals. The paper, entitled, “Passive functional mapping of receptive language cortex during general anesthesia using electrocorticography” […]

On 13 March, the School of Life Sciences and Technology at ShanghaiTech University, the Institute of Brain Health at Shanghai Mental Health Center and the Department of Anesthesiology at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital jointly published a research paper entitled “Propofol exerts anti-anhedonia effects via inhibiting dopamine transporter” in the journal, Neuron. The paper explores the […]

Professor Min Zhao and TCCI-affiliated investigator Tifei Yuan from Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiaotong University, recently co-authored a paper titled “The Structure and Individual Patterns of Trait Impulsivity Across Addiction Disorders: a Network Analysis,” published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. The study engaged 1,687 subjects with neuroactive substance and heroin […]

Recently, Professor Ying Mao, President of Fudan University-affiliated Huashan Hospital and Director of TCCI Translational Center, recently published a research paper titled “Brain perfusion, cognition, and plasma Alzheimer’s biomarkers in moyamoya disease” in collaboration with his research team in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association (IF：16.655/Q1), a top international journal on neurology. […]

On February 19, 2023, the first session of the Plato’s Spiritual Academy was organized by the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (TCCI), the Shanghai Mental Health Centre, and the Shanghai Library under the theme of “Reflections on Spiritual Phenomena from Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives.” Hundreds of participants attended the event at the East Branch of […]

The idea of journeying inside the human body to solve medical problems has been around at least since a hokey sci-fi film popularized the concept in the 1960s, but this approach to medicine has never become real because shrinking rays, sadly, do not exist. However, researchers have developed proxies for human doctors that are small […]