WashU Medicine Cerebral Palsy Family Day 2024: Overview

CP Family Day 2024

Cerebral Palsy Family Day is an annual event at the Missouri Botanical Garden that is free to all families cared for at the Cerebral Palsy and Mobility Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. During this event, caregivers learn about what it is like to grow up with CP from adults with CP. They also engage […]

Opinion: A Piece of My Mind — Don’t Waste Your Cancer (Links to an external site)

In eighth grade, instead of going to the annual class trip, I reclined in a hospital bed on the ninth floor of the cancer hospital. And instead of being handed an invitation to the eighth grade dance (though under normal circumstances, I’m not sure this would have happened either), I received a 16-page long article […]

Graves, Birke and Nichols announced as Neurology Staff Employees of the Quarter

Sara Graves, Angela Birke and Lori Nichols

The Department of Neurology congratulations three staff members for being awarded the Neurology Staff Employees of the Quarter for Q4 FY24. The department is now accepting nominations for three award categories in an effort to highlight the dedication and accomplishments of our staff members — clinical, research and administration. Clinical Staff Employee of the Quarter […]

Psilocybin generates psychedelic experience by disrupting brain network (Links to an external site)

This heat map of brain activity patterns shows profound disturbance during an individual’s experience after taking psilocybin. Relatively stable patterns before and after the dose (blue and green hues) are temporarily scrambled during the "trip" (red, orange and yellow hues). Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that psilocybin destabilizes a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking. The findings provide a neurobiological explanation for the drug’s mind-bending effects.

People who consume psilocybin-containing mushrooms — otherwise known as magic mushrooms — typically undergo a surreal experience in which their sense of space, time and self is distorted. Advocates have long argued that, under the right conditions, psychedelic experiences can alleviate mental distress, and a smattering of scientific studies suggests they may be right. Understanding […]

This Is Literally Your Brain on Drugs (Links to an external site)

This heat map of brain activity patterns shows profound disturbance during an individual’s experience after taking psilocybin. Relatively stable patterns before and after the dose (blue and green hues) are temporarily scrambled during the "trip" (red, orange and yellow hues). Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that psilocybin destabilizes a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking. The findings provide a neurobiological explanation for the drug’s mind-bending effects.

The image, as it happens, comes from dozens of brain scans produced by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who gave psilocybin, the compound in “magic mushrooms,” to participants in a study before sending them into a functional M.R.I. scanner.

Racial disparities in dementia determined by social factors (Links to an external site)

Merita (center) smiles at her great-granddaughter while her brother, Pablo, relaxes behind her. The family belongs to the Negritos community of Tumbes, a city in northern Peru. A study conducted in Peru and three other Latin American countries by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveals that racial disparities in brain health are due to social factors, with genetic ancestry playing no role.

Racial disparities in dementia are due to social determinants of health, with genetic ancestry playing no role, according to a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study, which was based on a long-running population-based survey in four Latin American countries, helps explain why people of predominantly […]

Gurnett, Ssewamala to receive faculty achievement awards (Links to an external site)

Christina Gurnett

Christina Gurnett, MD, PhD, and Fred Ssewamala, PhD, have been chosen by their academic peers to receive Washington University in St. Louis’ 2024 faculty achievement awards, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin announced. Gurnett, the A. Ernest and Jane G. Stein Professor of Developmental Neurology at the School of Medicine, will receive the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty […]

2023-24 Resident & Faculty Teaching Award Recipients

Irwin Levy Resident Teaching Award (outstanding teaching by a Neurology resident) Neurology Clerkship Student Teaching Award (faculty chosen by the students) Neurology Clerkship Student Resident Teaching Award Honor Roll Neurology Clerkship Student Faculty Teaching Award Honor Roll Sven Eliasson Award for Teaching Excellence (outstanding teaching by an adult Neurology attending) Adult Neurology Teaching Excellence Honor […]

Guerriero appointed Pediatric Epilepsy Section Head & Tomko steps in as SLCH EMU Medical Director

Guerriero & Tomko

Réjean “Rej” Guerriero, DO, has been appointed the section head for Pediatric Epilepsy, effective July 1, 2024. Concurrently, Stuart Tomko, MD, will become medical director of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Epilepsy Monitoring Unit and Neurophysicology Laboratory, which is a National Association of Epilepsy Centers Level 4 (highest level) Pediatric Epilepsy Center. Guerriero will direct […]