📢 Recruiting as a new PI at the University of Pittsburgh! 🧠🔬. 🔍 Do you ever wonder how the brain regulates emotions? What circuits are involved and how do they integrate information from within and without? Join me in studying this and more.🌟.

RT @AnneEGeller: Funding from the @NIH contributed to the development of 354 out of 356 (99.4%) of the new drugs approved by the FDA betwee….

What do you want to know?.

RT @brainaddiction: It's clear that many do not understand what @NIH-funded research does to improve health. It's time to revive a study pu….

If we decrease SSRI and other antidepressant prescribing, people will lose jobs, relationships, and their lives. This isn't political; this is life and death stuff. Fin 8/8.

SSRIs don't give highs like heroin and other addictive drugs, so to call them addictive is beyond misleading. And people aren't weak for staying on them. They are successful parents, leaders, teachers, who other people rely on, and I commend them for getting treatment. 7/8.

It is true that there should be more emphasis on trying to slowly stop SSRIs after sustained remission, but many people do try to stop and spiral back and therefore stay on permanently. I'm not sure why we are okay with this for blood pressure but not depression. 6/8.

SSRI discontinuation syndrome is obviously a thing, but in practice, it just isn't that hard to stop SSRIs for the vast majority of people. Most won't have any discontinuation with a slow taper; the rest we use Prozac (long acting) for a slower taper. 5/8.

Death of family membets, lost jobs, etc. It is hard for a drug to combat all of that. Many people have challenging social situations. When the factors SSRIs can't treat aren't in the picture, SSRIs are SUPER effective for depression. *Life changing* meds. 4/8.

So why do clinical trials show such weak effects? First, the data is super noisy. Meta-analyses show on average SSRIs more effective than placebo within a week but small studies can't find this. Ppl who enroll in clinical trials, like everyone, have complex lives. 3/8.

Do SSRIs work because people with depression (or OCD, anxiety, etc) have low serotonin? NO. This doesn't "debunk" them. They boost BDNF, which promotes neuroplasticity. Probably why they don't work instantaneously. Food for thought: MOA for tylenol still unknown. 2/8.

SSRIs are miracle drugs. Trials make them seem marginally effective, but patients have many psychosocial factors working against their recovery (yet SSRIs still help!) In practice, they are remarkably effective and safe. Brief🧵 1/8.

RT @ELikhtik: The ruthless and baseless purge of NIH staff is continuing through the weekend. Please publicize as much as possible. https:/….

RT @dr_alexharris: Physicians who go into research have to be dreamers. Only 1.5% of doctors work as scientists & they earn about 60% what….

RT @jgschraiber: My time in industry convinced me of the importance of basic, government funded science research. It was crazy how much of….

RT @bita137: Many in biotech/private sector are boasting about their ways of funding and doing science . But they are staffed with PhDs and….

The NIH indirect cut does not cause money redistribution, it just cuts money onto existing grants. If there was a redistribution of money that could almost be reasonable. That's NOT what is happening.

Research like this will not continue at this same pace if the attack on NIH funding continues.

Indirects don't only cover "administrative costs" and they aren't a "slush fund." We can't use directs to pay for ANY shared resources/people. Research buildings where we work cost lots of money to build and maintain. Universities employ many people, and most are not Harvard. .

Lots of misinformation about indirects. Indirects pay our rent, ulitilies (e.g. electric), maintenance costs for our space (janitors, painters, plumbers), IT infrastructure, the admins who do many hours of work to help us apply for grants,. we can't request direct $ for these!.

Opening for a postdoc in my neuroscience lab at Pitt using cutting edge population imaging and electrophysiology techniques to map circuits regulating internal states and their manifestations. My contact is on lab website:

RT @ELikhtik: New work out with Nesha Burghardt's group. During chronic social defeat stress, mice are fear conditioned to avoid the social….