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Cocktails & Chromosomes: How the brain and body communicate

Ever wake up gasping for air? It’s easy enough to consider how your brain communicates with your body regarding planned activities, like taking a walk in the park. You think about something, and then you act on it. But what about those everyday functions that don’t require a conscious effort? Take breathing for instance.

“If you’re sleeping and you roll over on your face, how does your brain know to engage this gasping response to wake you up?” That’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Assistant Professor Jeremy Borniger. A pioneer of the burgeoning field known as cancer neuroscience, Borniger is one of several CSHL scientists studying how the brain and body communicate in health and disease. During our latest Cocktails & Chromosomes event, he unpacked how the brain senses changes in the body, how it interprets that information, and how its signals influence physiology or behavior.

Press play to check out Borniger’s full Cocktails & Chromosomes talk. Then sign up for the next installment, “Barcoding, bugs, and brews,” with CSHL’s DNA Learning Center.