The Neurogenesis Project
Research-backed articles on brain recovery, neuroplasticity, addiction neuroscience, and cognitive optimization from our clinical team.
A 2026 University of Iowa study shows acetazolamide, an old glaucoma drug, reverses the synaptic rewiring in the reward center that makes opioid relapse so hard to prevent.
Dr. Drew Edwards, EdD · June 2, 2026
Read More →Stanford and Buffalo researchers classify POTS, ME/CFS, and Long COVID as neuroimmune disorders driven by brainstem inflammation and immune dysregulation.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · June 2, 2026
Read More →The ovary is a neurological organ. Menopause produces measurable neurodegeneration in frontal and temporal brain regions. The evidence says we can treat it.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 30, 2026
Read More →A new Lancet study from UCSF detected Alzheimer's pathology in 6% of dementia-free 61-year-olds and predicted accelerated cognitive decline 5 years later.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 30, 2026
Read More →A new EEG study from Manchester shows alcohol recovery rewires reward-feedback signals over years and exposes a brain trait present before the first drink.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · May 28, 2026
Read More →Folate receptor alpha autoantibodies block folate transport into the brain. The test is a blood draw. The fix is leucovorin. From autism to dementia.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 25, 2026
Read More →PET imaging shows dopamine recovery takes 12 to 17 months of abstinence, not the 28 days insurance pays for. The standard timeline doesn't match the biology.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · May 21, 2026
Read More →A 2026 Nature Metabolism study identified irisin, released by muscles during exercise, as the direct molecular signal protecting neurons from MS damage.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 21, 2026
Read More →A systematic review presented at ASAM 2026 found ketamine can address depression and alcohol use disorder at the same time. What this means for recovery.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · May 19, 2026
Read More →Arachnoiditis scars the same tissue that absorbs cerebrospinal fluid. The downstream picture often mirrors normal pressure hydrocephalus, and gets missed.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 16, 2026
Read More →A new brain imaging study shows methylphenidate boosts cognition only in brains with the right baseline dopamine. Why precision matters before any pill.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 14, 2026
Read More →A 2026 Lancet trial of semaglutide for alcohol use disorder cut heavy drinking by 41 percent. The number needed to treat beat every approved AUD med.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · May 12, 2026
Read More →A 20-year follow-up of the ACTIVE study found cognitive speed training cut dementia risk by 25%. The bigger story is what amplifies that effect.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 11, 2026
Read More →A 12-month RCT cut brain age by nearly a year with 150 minutes of weekly cardio. The textbook mechanism, BDNF, didn't budge. That tells us something.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 7, 2026
Read More →Three to four daily cups lengthened telomeres and shaved five years off biological age in adults with severe mental illness, a new King's study found.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · May 5, 2026
Read More →Addiction hijacks the brain's survival circuitry before willpower gets a vote. Treating it without addressing neurology is resetting a bone without an X-ray.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. & Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 2, 2026
Read More →A new University of Minnesota study uses gene therapy to deliver agmatine to the spinal cord and prevents opioid tolerance from developing in the first place.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · April 30, 2026
Read More →A 2017 PET-fMRI study tracked dopamine in mothers watching their infants. The circuit that fires for a baby is the one drugs hijack. That changes recovery.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · April 26, 2026
Read More →Precision neuromedicine integrates pharmacogenomics, biomarkers, genetics, neurotransmitter metabolites, MRI, and biometrics. No single test is enough.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 24, 2026
Read More →A randomized crossover trial in Scientific Reports found one month of HEPA filtration improved executive function 12% in adults over 40. Mechanism explained.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 23, 2026
Read More →A WashU study in eNeuro shows a stimulating environment cuts fentanyl use and stress-triggered relapse in rats. What this means for real recovery programs.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · April 21, 2026
Read More →The regulatory door on compounded peptides is starting to open. For brain medicine, that is a meaningful shift physicians should be thinking about now.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 20, 2026
Read More →CADASIL is the most common inherited cerebral small vessel disease, and one of the most underdiagnosed. New NOTCH3 data show a far broader spectrum.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 17, 2026
Read More →AI exocortex systems build personalized cognitive baselines over years of interaction, detecting subtle decline before any clinical test catches it.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 17, 2026
Read More →A 2026 Science Advances study shows DeltaFosB rewires the hippocampus during chronic cocaine use, driving relapse long after someone stops using.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · April 16, 2026
Read More →The first U.S. patient received lab-grown dopamine neurons for Parkinson's in a Weill Cornell Phase IIa trial. Neural cell replacement is getting closer.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 13, 2026
Read More →New brain age biomarkers and neuroplasticity research are turning cognitive decline from a vague worry into a measurable, treatable problem.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 9, 2026
Read More →A 2026 eLife study maps the brain pathway linking stress to alcohol relapse, showing why rigid recovery patterns are biology, not a failure of willpower.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · April 7, 2026
Read More →Proliv™Rx is the first FDA-approved at-home brain stimulation device for treatment-resistant depression. Here's what the clinical data shows.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 3, 2026
Read More →A massive Rutgers-led genetic study confirms addiction risk comes from impulse-control genes, not drug-specific ones. It rewrites how we treat it.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · April 2, 2026
Read More →A new Washington University study shows p-tau217, a single blood biomarker, can estimate when Alzheimer's symptoms will begin — 15 to 20 years before onset.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · March 31, 2026
Read More →GLP-1 receptors sit inside the brain's dopamine reward circuit. A 2024 clinical trial found semaglutide cut alcohol consumption by 40% in people in recovery.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · March 28, 2026
Read More →MRI normal. Cognitive testing borderline. Diagnosis: 'mild cognitive impairment, probably age-related.' That gap is where integrative neurology lives.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · March 15, 2026
Read More →Eriksson's 1998 discovery that adults grow new hippocampal neurons reshaped neuroscience. The therapeutic implication was clear. Reality is more complicated.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · March 1, 2026
Read More →Standard imaging shows structure. Advanced techniques show function, connectivity, and metabolism. Together they reveal what no single test can see.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · February 1, 2026
Read More →The subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus is where adult neurogenesis happens. The signaling is known. Clinical applications are catching up.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · December 7, 2025
Read More →Two 52-year-olds can be decades apart neurologically. One has the brain of a 42-year-old; the other looks 65. Advanced imaging reveals the mechanisms behind it.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · November 16, 2025
Read More →'Brain rejuvenation' has been colonized by wellness marketing to mean almost nothing. The underlying biology is real, measurable, and worth taking seriously.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · October 26, 2025
Read More →'My MRI was normal, so my cognitive problems must be psychological.' A normal structural MRI rules out tumors and strokes. It says little about the rest.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · September 21, 2025
Read More →Addiction rewires the brain's error-detection system. The elaborate narratives addicted persons construct aren't lies — they're a brain that's gone offline.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. & Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · July 23, 2025
Read More →Regenerative neurotherapies sit in a strange space. The biology is legitimate. The evidence is growing. The marketing is often absurd. Here's what holds up.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 25, 2025
Read More →Conventional neurology saves lives in crisis but fails at preventing decline. Integrative neurology combines pharmacology with metabolic and regenerative care.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 18, 2025
Read More →Brain failure occurs when neural networks lose the ability to maintain normal function. Understanding this concept is the first step toward recovery.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · March 6, 2025
Read More →For much of the twentieth century scientists believed the brain could not repair itself. Modern neuroscience has proven otherwise.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · March 6, 2025
Read More →The default mode network and the executive control network suppress each other. Peak performance needs both, coordinated. Most brain-training apps ignore this.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · March 2, 2025
Read More →The economy now rewards cognitive capacity, not physical capacity. Your brain is the asset — and most high performers are burning it out.
Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. & Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. · September 23, 2020
Read More →Intervention isn't a TV spectacle. It's a structured clinical process designed to work with the addicted brain, not against it. Here's how it actually works.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. & Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · September 2, 2020
Read More →Obesity is a metabolic disease, not a willpower problem. The brain's satiety signals misfire through leptin resistance — understanding why changes treatment.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. & Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · July 3, 2020
Read More →Unforgiveness isn't a moral failing—it's a neurobiological state. The ventral striatum rewards punishment through the same circuitry hijacked by addiction.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. & Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · May 26, 2020
Read More →A clinical deficiency in dopamine, the brain's salience neurotransmitter, explains addiction, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and overeating through one mechanism.
Dr. Drew W. Edwards, Ed.D, M.S. & Dr. Sean C. Orr, M.D. · April 5, 2020
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