Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders

Senior Writer, Neuroscience

Laura Sanders reports on neuroscience for Science News. She wrote Growth Curve, a blog about the science of raising kids, from 2013 to 2019 and continues to write about child development and parenting from time to time. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she studied the nerve cells that compel a fruit fly to perform a dazzling mating dance. Convinced that she was missing some exciting science somewhere, Laura turned her eye toward writing about brains in all shapes and forms. She holds undergraduate degrees in creative writing and biology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where she was a National Merit Scholar. Growth Curve, her 2012 series on consciousness and her 2013 article on the dearth of psychiatric drugs have received awards recognizing editorial excellence.

All Stories by Laura Sanders

  1. Health & Medicine

    A deep brain stimulation volunteer discusses life after depression

    In this bonus episode of The Deep End, you’ll hear an update from Jon Nelson, who is living what he calls his "bonus life."

  2. Neuroscience

    Human memory is flawed. But a new book says that’s OK

    The new book Memory Lane convincingly demonstrates how memories are like Lego buildings that are constantly being rebuilt.

  3. Neuroscience

    Babies can form memories, and they do it a lot like adults

    A brain scanning study of babies reveals how some of the earliest memories are made.

  4. Neuroscience

    Parrots and humans share a brain mechanism for speech

    Brain activity in vocalizing budgerigar parrots showed a pattern that harkened to those found in the brains of people.

  5. Health & Medicine

    Hear what it’s like to recover from depression with deep brain stimulation

    In the sixth episode of The Deep End, listen to what’s next for Jon Nelson and for deep brain stimulation research for depression.

  6. Health & Medicine

    6 things to know about antidepressants

    An abundance of data show that SSRIs, a class of drugs commonly used as antidepressants, are effective, though, like any drug, they have risks.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Brain implants don’t change a person’s sense of self. Hear why

    In the fifth episode of The Deep End, volunteers describe what it’s like to live with the stigma of depression and the treatments they seek for it.

  8. Health & Medicine

    Hear how people re-learn to live with emotions during brain stimulation

    In the fourth episode of The Deep End, Jon Nelson and others describe dealing with emotions they haven’t felt in a long time.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Hear patients with brain implants describe what it feels like

    In the third episode of The Deep End, Jon shares how DBS surgery went and how he and other volunteers felt in the days and weeks afterward.

  10. Health & Medicine

    ‘It felt like dread.’ Hear what severe depression can do to people

    In the second episode of The Deep End, listeners hear what it’s like to live with severe depression and the backstory of an experimental treatment.

  11. Health & Medicine

    Ozempic’s key ingredient may reduce the desire to drink alcohol

    In the first clinical trial of its kind, people taking semaglutide drank less alcohol, adding to its promise of fighting addiction.

  12. Neuroscience

    Wiggling ears may have once helped us hear

    These ancient ear muscles may provide a readout of a person's hearing efforts.