Pharmacology

Recent articles

Illustration of ketamine blocking open ion channels in active NMDA receptors, quieting the cells and disrupting downstream signaling involved in depression.

Ketamine targets lateral habenula, setting off cascade of antidepressant effects

The drug’s affinity for overactive cells in the “anti-reward” region may help explain its rapid and long-lasting results.

By Olivia Gieger
4 September 2024 | 6 min read
A photograph of a scientist holding a cannabis plant

Cannabis may be rescheduled–what does it mean for neuroscience?

The drug could become much easier to access, increasing the number of researchers who can work with it and the manufacturers who can produce it.

By Gina Jiménez
22 May 2024 | 6 min read
Black-and-white photograph of William Catterall in a lab.

The legacy of William Catterall, ‘father of ion channels’

Catterall, who characterized the structure, function and regulation of sodium and calcium channels crucial for neuronal excitability, died last month at the age of 77.

By Calli McMurray
12 March 2024 | 7 min read
Research images of the human motor cortex

What happens when a histopathologist teams up with computational modelers?

Answers emerge in my chat with Nicola Palomero-Gallagher, a rare example of someone who connects the brain’s microscopic constituents and macroscopic features.

By Mac Shine
11 December 2023 | 7 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Protein tug-of-war controls pace of synaptic development, sets human brains apart

Human-specific duplicates of SRGAP2 prolong cortical development by manipulating SYNGAP, an autism-linked protein that slows synaptic growth.

By Holly Barker
23 October 2025 | 9 min listen
Mouse sensory neurons express the ion channel TPRV1 .

Neurons tune electron transport chain to survive onslaught of noxious stimuli

Nociceptors tamp down the production of reactive oxygen species in response to heat, chemical irritants or toxins.

By Viviane Callier
22 October 2025 | 5 min listen

Vicente Raja brings ecological psychology concepts to neuroscience

He suggests neuroscientists should pay more attention to the principles of Gibsonian ecological psychology, such as affordances, ecological information and resonance, to better explain perception and action.

By Paul Middlebrooks
22 October 2025 | 99 min listen

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