This Week in Neuroscience

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Latest episodes

• Arc, tau, and Alzheimer's

  September 29, 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

  Jason Shepherd joins TWiN to discuss the work in his laboratory showing that Arc protein plays a role in intercellular transmission of tau protein, which becomes hyperphosphorylated and misfolded, a major histopathological hallmark of…

• Plastic astrocyte networks with Melissa Cooper

  July 30, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

  Melissa Cooper joins TWiN to discuss her discovery that astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Tim Cheung Guest: Melissa Cooper Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google…

• The price of a bigger brain

  June 25, 2026 · 1 hr 27 min

  TWiN unpacks a striking paradox, that the very cell divisions that built the human brain's most advanced layers also put them at greatest risk, and how a dedicated DNA repair pathway saves them. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Vivianne…

• TWiN 72: What cesarean babies miss

  June 1, 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

  TWiN explains the finding that vaginal microbiota transfer ameliorates cesarean-associated neurodevelopmental deficits in mice via synthesis of a sphingosine derivative on neonatal skin. .Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Vivianne Morrison, and…

• Psychedelics rewire the brain from within

  April 29, 2026 · 1 hr 31 min

  TWiN explains the finding that activation of intracellular, not plasma membrane, serotonin 2A receptors is responsible for the plasticity-promoting and antidepressant-like properties of psychedelic compounds. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello…

• Unraveling the axon wrap

  March 17, 2026 · 1 hr 19 min

  TWiN explains the role of a ubiquitin ligase component in regulating the sheathing of multiple axons by Schwann cells. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS…

• Fibromyalgia and the microbiome

  March 5, 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

  TWiN explains a study which showed that transplanting gut microbiota from women with fibromyalgia into mice induces pain, as well as phenotypes commonly observed in patients, such as immune activation, metabolomic changes, and reduced skin…

• Firewall for the brain

  January 27, 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

  TWiN explores the use of speech brain-computer interfaces to restore communication to people with paralysis, and reveals strategies for protecting private inner speech. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Vivianne Morrison, and Tim Cheung…