Mason Neuroscience

Huzzah! Mason Neuro scientists earn $2.1M grant. cec.gmu.edu/news/2026-01/g…

You don’t need a brain to benefit from a good night of sleep. Despite lacking a central nervous system, jellyfish and sea anemones have sleep patterns remarkably similar to those of humans, researchers report. Learn more: scim.ag/49qn4k2

research assistant job: docs.google.com/document/d/1El…

Your body has a master clock hidden deep in the brain, and it quietly controls almost everything you feel during the day. This chart shows what that clock is actually doing, and why your sleep, hunger, hormones, energy, and mood follow the same 24-hour rhythm every single day. Here’s the simple breakdown: ⏰ The “master clock” lives in the "SCN" (as its abbreviated) Located in the hypothalamus, it takes in light from your eyes and uses it to reset your entire system. • Light in the morning tells your brain: wake up, raise cortisol, increase alertness. • Darkness at night flips the switch: make melatonin, lower body temperature, prepare for sleep. 🌙 Melatonin rises only when the SCN says it’s dark The pineal gland releases melatonin to start the sleep process. If light hits your eyes at night (phones, TVs, bright LEDs), that signal can shut off or slow down. 😴 Serotonin and melatonin are linked During the day, serotonin helps regulate mood and alertness. At night, the system converts part of that serotonin into melatonin to drive sleep timing. 🧠 Your organs follow the brain’s schedule Every major organ has its own “clock genes,” and they all sync to the SCN. That’s why timing matters: Daytime: • Muscle: glycolytic metabolism and strength performance peak • Liver: glycogen and cholesterol synthesis • Pancreas: insulin secretion • Fat: lipogenesis and adiponectin production Nighttime: • Muscle: oxidative metabolism and repair • Liver: gluconeogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis • Pancreas: glucagon secretion • Fat: lipid breakdown and leptin release (signals satiety) In other words: Your biology isn’t the same at 8 AM as it is at 8 PM. 🍽️ Food and activity act as “secondary clocks” Eating late, irregular sleep, shift work, or inconsistent light exposure can confuse these clocks and throw off hormones, metabolism, and mood. This is why: • Morning light improves sleep • Regular mealtimes stabilize metabolism • Late-night eating increases glucose spikes • Consistent sleep strengthens hormone rhythms • Exercise timing can shift circadian signals Your circadian rhythm isn’t just about sleep. It’s a full-body timing system coordinating hormones, temperature, digestion, metabolism, and repair. Get your light, food, and sleep aligned… And the rest of your biology starts working with you instead of against you. Graphic citation: Unknown Research citation: PMID: 11584554

Twitter is full of A.I & bad news now, so I'm doing my part to make it prettier with some NeuroArt☺️. This is my favorite🔬 image from this project:🟡shows neural stem cells during embryonic brain development guiding neurons🟣to their final location.🔵shows macrophages/microglia

PhD vs Master student.

As neuroradiologists, we spend a lifetime mastering arteries. Yet it is often the veins—quiet, adaptive, overlooked—that decide the outcome. Launching my neuroradiology education series this month, starting with developmental venous anomalies. #Neuroradiology #NeuroTwitter

Ritalin works, but not how we thought it did. Out today @CellCellPress : cell.com/cell/fulltext/… No effect on attention systems. Boosts arousal and anticipated reward. It doesn't help you pay attention better, but it lets you persist in boring tasks. bsky.app/profile/benjam…

How animals detect the Earth’s magnetic field remains a mystery in sensory biology. In a new Science study, researchers used whole brain activity mapping, tissue clearing, and light sheet microscopy to identify neuronal populations activated by magnetic stimuli in the pigeon. Learn more: scim.ag/3MrcjXe

Electron microscopy is @nature's Method of the Year! 🧠🔬🏆 @naturemethods shares why MICrONS and FlyWire are proof that #ElectronMicroscopy is helping us gain a deeper understanding of the brain and its incredible complexity: nature.com/articles/s4159… #studyBRAIN

Dopaminergic tone inhibits spontaneous glutamate release and augments homeostatic synaptic plasticity nature.com/articles/s4138…

Reviewer 2

Long thought of as support cells, astrocytes are emerging as key players in health and disease go.nature.com/4oHwUUz

How do the metabolic waste products get cleared from our brain? And how does this process intersect with the brain's immune system? An exceptional review by @jonykipnis and colleagues @NeuroCellPress cell.com/neuron/fulltex…

Computational Framework for Modeling Effects of Brain Collateral Circulation - goo.gl/scholar/zHXyfd #ScholarAlerts

Blood flow in a transparent zebrafish embryo. Credit to @damiandn . #ZebrafishZunday

early career scholar and their first publication

Research Associate in Neuroscience jobs.chronicle.com/job/37912098/r…

Re-reading what you wrote the next day

Making a 4ft tall art piece, with a bunch of chunky walnut wood neurons.