Brain and Cognitive Sciences

K. Guadalupe Cruz studies the neuroscience of decision-making and creates community in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Fueled by the power of stories

A fascination with storytelling led K. Guadalupe Cruz to graduate studies in neuroscience and shapes her work to promote inclusivity at MIT.

December 5, 2019

MIT neuroscientists have shown that people can enhance their attention by using neurofeedback to decrease alpha waves in one side of the parietal cortex.

Controlling attention with brain waves

Study shows that people can boost attention by manipulating their own alpha brain waves.

December 4, 2019

Li-Huei Tsai, left, is the Picower Professor of Neuroscience and director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and Christopher Schuh, is department head and the Danae and Vasilis Salapatas Professor of Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Two MIT professors named 2019 fellows of the National Academy of Inventors

Li-Huei Tsai and Christopher Schuh recognized for research innovations addressing Alzheimer’s disease and metal mechanics.

December 3, 2019

An MIT-invented model demonstrates an understanding of some basic “intuitive physics” by registering “surprise” when objects in simulations move in unexpected ways, such as
rolling behind a wall and not reappearing on the other side.

Helping machines perceive some laws of physics

Model registers “surprise” when objects in a scene do something unexpected, which could be used to build smarter AI.

December 2, 2019

DeepRole, an MIT-invented gaming bot equipped with “deductive reasoning,” can beat human players in tricky online multiplayer games where player roles and motives are kept secret.

Bot can beat humans in multiplayer hidden-role games

Using deductive reasoning, the bot identifies friend or foe to ensure victory over humans in certain online games.

November 19, 2019

“We believe that AI plays a key role now, and in the future development of the region, if it’s used in the right way,” says Omar Costilla Reyes, one of four MIT graduate students working to help Latin America adopt artificial intelligence technologies. Pictured here (left to right) are Costilla Reyes, Emilia Simison, Pedro Antonio Colon-Hernandez, and Guillermo Bernal.

Students push to speed up artificial intelligence adoption in Latin America

To help the region catch up, students organize summit to bring Latin policymakers and researchers to MIT.

November 19, 2019

Clockwise from top left: Riccardo Comin, Joseph Davis, Lawrence Guth, Michael Halassa, Sebastian Lourido, Brent Minchew, Elly Nedivi, Andrei Neguț, Matĕj Peč, Kerstin Perez, Bjorn Poonen, Daniel Suess, Alison Wendlandt, and Julien de Wit

School of Science appoints 14 faculty members to named professorships

Those selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers.

November 4, 2019

The MIT Libraries, together with the MIT Committee on the Library System and the Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research, has developed a principle-based framework to guide negotiations with scholarly publishers.

MIT announces framework to guide negotiations with publishers

Principle-based framework aims to support the needs of scholars, reflect MIT principles, and advance science.

October 23, 2019

MIT neuroscientists have identified two brain circuits that help tune out distracting sensory information.

Drug combination reverses hypersensitivity to noise

Findings in mice suggest targeting certain brain circuits could offer new ways to treat some neurological disorders.

October 21, 2019

The Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research has released its final recommendations, which aim to support and increase the open sharing of MIT publications, data, software, and educational materials.

Open access task force releases final recommendations

Report urges MIT community to openly share the products of its research and teaching.

October 17, 2019

MIT neuroscientists have shown that the core elements of an internal model also control purely mental processes.

Controlling our internal world

Design principles from robotics help researchers decipher elements controlling mental processes in the brain.

October 16, 2019

In the top row, neurons are labeled with a fluorescent probe that reveals electrical activity. In the bottom row, neurons are labeled with a variant of the probe that accumulates specifically in the neuron cell bodies, preventing interference from axons of neighboring neurons.

New method visualizes groups of neurons as they compute

Fluorescent probe could allow scientists to watch circuits within the brain and link their activity to specific behaviors.

October 9, 2019

A white-stained cluster of amyloid plaque proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease pathology, is evident in the mammillary body of a 2-month-old Alzheimer's model mouse. A new study finds that plaques begin in such deep regions and spread throughout the brain along specific circuits.

Alzheimer’s plaque emerges early and deep in the brain

Clumps of amyloid protein emerge early in deep regions, such as the mammillary body, and march outward in the brain along specific circuits.

October 8, 2019

Even relatively small differences in the duration, timing, and consistency of students' sleep may have significant effects on course test results, a new MIT study shows.

Study: Better sleep habits lead to better college grades

Data on MIT students underscore the importance of getting enough sleep; bedtime also matters.

October 1, 2019

Josh Tenenbaum receives 2019 MacArthur Fellowship

Brain and cognitive sciences professor studies how the human mind is able to learn so rapidly.

September 25, 2019

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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