Selected Publications
Public Writings
Sam Wang (2009): Postcards from the Brain. Physics World, July 2009: 37-39. [PDF]
Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang. Welcome To Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Keys But Never Forget How To Drive And Other Mysteries Of Everyday Life. Bloomsbury USA. Publication date March 2008. [Welcome To Your Brain website]
Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt. “A Vast Left-Handed Conspiracy.” Washington Post, July 6, 2008. [Washington Post]
Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt. “Your Brain Lies to You.” New York Times, June 27, 2008. [New York Times]
Sam Wang. “Autism myth lives on.” USA Today, April 16, 2008. [USA Today]
Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang. “Tighten Your Belt, Strengthen Your Mind.” New York Times, April 2, 2008. [New York Times]
Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang. “Exercise On The Brain.” New York Times, November 8, 2007. [New York Times]
Sam Wang. "Donald Trump Is Not the Frontrunner. Smarter Polls Would Prove It." New Republic, Election 2016, July 20, 2015. [New Republic]
Before Princeton
Synaptic plasticity and neuronal function
G.J. Augustine, E.A. Finch, and S.S.-H. Wang (1998): The spatial range of dendritic signals for cerebellar long-term depression: studies with local photolysis of caged compounds. In Integrative aspects of Ca2+ signalling. (Ed. A. Verkhratsky and E.C. Toescu). Plenum Press.
DeBello, W.M., V. O'Connor, T. Dresbach, S.W. Whiteheart, S.S.-H. Wang, F.E. Schweizer, H. Betz, J.E. Rothman and G.J. Augustine (1995): SNAP-mediated protein-protein interactions essential for neurotransmitter release. Nature, 373:626-630. [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed] [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
G.J. Augustine, H. Betz, K. Bommert, M.P. Charlton, W.M. DeBello, T. Dresbach, J.M. Hunt, V. O’Connor, F.E. Schweizer, S.S.-H. Wang, and S.W. Whiteheart (1996): Molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter secretion: functional studies at the squid giant synapse. In Basic neuroscience in invertebrates. (Ed. H. Koike, Y. Kidokoro, K. Takahashi, T. Kanaseki) Japan Scientific Societies Press.
M.E. Burns, S.A. Beushausen, G.J. Chin, D. Tang, W.M. DeBello, T. Dresbach, V. O'Connor, F.E. Schweizer, S.S.-H. Wang, S.W. Whiteheart, H. Betz, J.E. Rothman, and G.J. Augustine (1995): Proteins involved in synaptic vesicle docking and fusion.Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 60:337-348.
Optical and other methods
T. Furuta, S.S.-H. Wang, J.L. Dantzker, T.M. Dore, W.J. Bybee, E.M. Callaway, W. Denk and R.Y. Tsien (1999): Brominated 7-hydroxycoumarin-4-ylmethyls: novel photolabile protecting groups with biologically useful cross-sections for two photon photolysis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 96(4):1193-1200.
G.J. Augustine, D.L. Pettit, and S.S.-H. Wang (1999): Spatially resolved flash photolysis via chemical two-photon uncaging. In Imaging: a laboratory manual. (Eds. R. Yuste, F. Lanni, A. Konnerth) Cold Spring Harbor Press.
D.L. Pettit*, S.S.-H. Wang*, K.R. Gee and G.J. Augustine (1997): Chemical two-photon uncaging: a novel approach to mapping glutamate receptors. Neuron, 19:465-471.
*The first two authors contributed equally to this work.[PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang and G.J. Augustine (1995): Confocal imaging and local photolysis of caged compounds: dual probes of synaptic function. Neuron, 15:755-760. [PDF] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang, C.A. Mathes, and S.H. Thompson (1993): Membrane toxicity of the protein kinase C inhibitor calphostin A by a free-radical mechanism. Neuroscience Letters, 157:25-28. (published in error a second time as 156:145–148) [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang and S. Thompson (1992): A-type potassium channel clusters revealed using a new statistical analysis of loose patch data. Biophysical Journal, 63:1018-1025. [PDF] [Link to journal]
IP3, calcium signaling, and intracellular calcium wave propagation
S.S.-H. Wang and G.J. Augustine (1999): Calcium signaling in neurons: a case study in cellular compartmentalization. In Calcium as a cellular regulator. (Ed. E. Carafoli and C.B. Klee) Oxford University Press, pp. 545-566.
R. Kupferman, P.P. Mitra, P.C. Hohenberg and S.S.-H. Wang (1997): Analytical calculation of intracellular calcium wave characteristics. Biophysical Journal, 72:2430-2444. [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang and S.H. Thompson (1995): Local positive feedback by calcium in the propagation of intracellular calcium waves. Biophysical Journal, 69:1683-1697. [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang, A.A. Alousi and S.H. Thompson (1995): The lifetime of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in single cells. Journal of General Physiology,105:149-171. [PDF] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang and S.H. Thompson (1994): Measurement of changes in muscarinic and histaminergic receptor density in single neuroblastoma cells using calcium release desensitization. Cell Calcium, 15:483-496. [PDF] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang (1993): Modeling the apparent diffusion constant of calcium ions emanating from a channel: implications for calcium wave propagation. Biological Bulletin, 185:297-298. [PDF]
C.A. Mathes, S.S.-H. Wang, H.M. Vargas, and S.H. Thompson (1992): Intracellular calcium release in N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells is mediated by the M1 muscarinic receptor subtype and is antagonized by McN-A-343. Brain Research, 585:307-310. [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
Neuroethology
A.E. Schivell, S.S.-H. Wang, and S.H. Thompson (1997): Behavioral modes arise from a random process in the nudibranch Melibe. Biological Bulletin, 192(3):418-425. [PDF] [Link to journal]
Serotonin receptors
S.J. Peroutka, A. Hamik, M.A. Harrington, C.A. Mathis, P.A. Pierce, and S.S.-H. Wang (1988): R-2,5-dimethoxy-4-77bromoamphetamine [77R(–)DOB] labels a novel 5-hy-droxytryptamine binding site in brain membranes. Molecular Pharmacology, 34:537-542. [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang, C.A. Mathis, and S.J. Peroutka (1988): R-2,5-Dimethoxy-4-77bromoamphetamine (77Br-R(–) DOB): a novel radioligand which labels a 5-HT binding site subtype. Psychopharmacology, 94:431-432. [PDF1] [PDF2] [PubMed]
S.S.-H. Wang, G.A. Ricaurte, and S.J. Peroutka (1987): 3H-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "Ecstasy") interactions with brain membranes and glass fiber filter paper. European Journal of Pharmacology 138:439-443. [PDF] [Link to journal] [PubMed]
S.S. Wang and S.J. Peroutka (1989): Historical perspectives. In The Serotonin Receptors. (Ed. E. Sanders-Bush). Humana Press, pp. 3-20.