OU Neuroscience

@OUHealth & @OU_Neurosurgery's Neuroscience Grad Prog co-directed by Drs. Smith (@ZacharyASmithMD) & Sherry (@MyOnlyNeuron); Podcast: "Neuroscience Frontier"

[Danielle Beckman @DaniBeckman]

Brain microscopy with annotations for better understanding ☺️! What if we take a deep dive into the cerebral sulcus? The grey matter has the neurons' cell bodies🔵, and while microglia🟣are more evenly distributed, astrocytes🟡shape changes in the white matter. #Neuroscience

[Louisa Nicola @louisanicola_]

Exercise is a brain drug. Here’s the biology behind it

New review in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience breaks down how exercise boosts brain BDNF, the key molecule for learning and memory.

What matters most:

1. Exercise reliably increases brain BDNF, a driver of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis
2. BDNF supports memory, learning, mood, and stress resilience
3. Blocking BDNF signaling removes many cognitive benefits of exercise

How exercise raises BDNF:
4) Neuronal activity increases calcium signaling and gene expression
5) Increased cerebral blood flow activates endothelial BDNF production
6) Muscle and liver release exerkines like lactate, irisin, IGF-1, and ketones that signal the brain
7) Brain BDNF comes from neurons, blood vessels, and peripheral organs working together

Exercise isn’t just movement, it’s a whole body signal that rewires the brain from the inside out.

[Sheila Macrine, Ph.D. @MacrinePhD]

A massive discovery in neuroscience: fMRI signals don't always match true neural activity. In ~40% of cases, signals increased where activity actually decreased. This challenges the core assumptions of tens of thousands of studies.
#Neuroscience #fMRI #BrainResearch #CognitiveScience #MedicalResearch https://t.co/jhZ9Rluq5X via @neurosciencenew

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

Success is not about finishing everything you start. It’s about knowing when to grit and when to quit.

235 studies: When people adjust their goals and plans in the face of challenges, they make more progress—and feel less depressed and anxious.

The ultimate flex is flexibility.

[OU Neuroscience @OUNeuroscience]

Last presentation for the Fall 2026 semester was a hit! Jennifer Ihuoma presented and packed the auditorium! Jennifer Ihuoma is a PhD Candidate in the lab of Dr. Stefano Tarantini. @StefanoT_PhD @_JenniferIhuoma @zacharyasmithmd @MyOnlyNeuron #presentation #neuroscience

[OU Neuroscience @OUNeuroscience]

@OUNeuroscience alumni at work!!
Way to go @RafalGulej!!

@OU_Neurosurgery @OUbabybrainMD @zacharyasmithmd @zoltan_ungvari

[Stefano Tarantini @StefanoT_PhD]

Huge congrats to @_JenniferIhuoma for Best Student Abstract and talk at the crossroads of dyslipidemia & mitochondrial aging, and to @SherwinTavakol at the @OUneuroscience Symposium. Proud and grateful for the teamwork that made this possible.
Team science at its best!👏🧠

[OU Neuroscience @OUNeuroscience]

@OUNeuroscience alumni at work!!
Way to go @RafalGulej!!

@OU_Neurosurgery @OUbabybrainMD @zacharyasmithmd @zoltan_ungvari

[GeroScience @GeroScienceAGE]

📢 New Open🔓 Access Article Alert

“Irradiation-induced brain senescence accelerates cardiac aging via systemic mechanisms: insights from transcriptomic profiling” by Rafal Gulej (@RafalGulej) & Zoltán Ungvári (@zoltan_ungvari) et al.

👉 https://t.co/9X3GQOUbP4

Key Insights:

📌Brain irradiation in mice induces cellular senescence, triggering systemic molecular changes.

📌Transcriptomic analysis shows that this brain senescence activates pathways that lead to cardiac aging, including inflammation and extracellular matrix remodeling.

📌The study suggests that brain aging can drive heart aging, supporting the concept that aging in one organ system can propagate to others through circulating factors.

Why It Matters:
This work reveals a crucial brain-heart aging axis, highlighting that targeting brain senescence may have protective effects on cardiac aging — a potentially novel interventional strategy in geroscience.

#Aging #Senescence #CardiovascularAging #Geroscience #BrainHeartAxis

[Andrew Jea @OUbabybrainMD]

Grateful for the opportunity to visit with our EM colleagues this morning at @OUHealth. Really excited to see the culture that @Dr_AzeemAhmed and his brand new @OUCollegeofMed department are creating, and the great things they will accomplish as a team.

[Zachary A. Smith, M.D. @zacharyasmithmd]

Way to go our friend and colleague @JeffreyZuccato and @OU_Neurosurgery on this award!!
Great to see.
(And to mentor @gelarehzadeh)

[University of Oklahoma Neurosurgery @OU_Neurosurgery]

Congrats @SherwinTavakol and @_JenniferIhuoma. Absolutely amazing talks during the symposium and fantastic research!!!
And to your mentor @StefanoT_PhD.

[University of Oklahoma Neurosurgery @OU_Neurosurgery]

Afternoon session at our @OUCollegeofMed, @OUNeuroscience with focus on Traumatic Brain Injury and concussion. Great to have Dr Jasmeet Hayes from Ohio State.

[OU Neuroscience @OUNeuroscience]

Congrats to Jeng Shi Kong of Dr Yabulchansky laboratory, winner of the number one abstract in our symposium!!! Great talk and data!

[University of Oklahoma Neurosurgery @OU_Neurosurgery]

Congrats to award winners on their presentations, posters and flash talks at our annual @OUNeuroscience symposium here at @OUHealth

[OU Neuroscience @OUNeuroscience]

Discussion of data on hemorrhage development w tPA from resident winner from OU Neurology, Dr Boada-Robayo; great talk!! @OU_Neurosurgery @zacharyasmithmd @Camila_BP_Phd

[Christopher S. Graffeo, M.D., M.S. @graffeo]

Our new traumatologist extraordinaire #PhilBonney @OU_Neurosurgery kicking off a tremendous agenda for our fourth annual @OUNeuroscience symposium... up next, first keynote from @DrFehlings!

[Zachary A. Smith, M.D. @zacharyasmithmd]

Great podium talks from our abstract winners at @OUNeuroscience symposium from medical student to graduate level submissions. @OU_Neurosurgery

[Christopher S. Graffeo, M.D., M.S. @graffeo]

SO proud of our incredible students, residents, and postdocs participating in @OU_Neurosurgery @OUNeuroscience Symposium, incl fantastic flash talks last night from PGY5 & KPAC-winner @SherwinTavakol, & my #SurgicalInnovationLab collaborator & mentee @BesteGulsuna 🙌

[Zachary A. Smith, M.D. @zacharyasmithmd]

Learning from SCI from an absolute expert on this topic, Dr Michael Fehlings from U. Toronto one of our keynote speakers on spinal injury and repair. @OU_Neurosurgery @OUNeuroscience

[Christopher S. Graffeo, M.D., M.S. @graffeo]

Such an honor to welcome @DrFehlings, a giant in the field of #SCI, to our symposium... kudos on a another fantastic program, @zacharyasmithmd @OUbabybrainMD @OU_Neurosurgery @OUNeuroscience !