McGovern Institute

Mehrdad Jazayeri, the Robert A. Swanson Career Development Professor of Life Sciences, a member of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the senior author of the study.

How the brain performs flexible computations

New neural model reveals how the brain adapts to new information.

June 6, 2018

Ed Boyden (left) and Feng Zhang have been named HHMI investigators.

Ed Boyden and Feng Zhang named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators

MIT faculty members are among 19 top scientists selected from across the nation.

May 23, 2018

MIT neuroscientists explain why some people hear "Yanny" and others hear "Laurel" in the audio clip that has taken the world by storm.

Featured video: The neuroscience behind "Yanny" vs. "Laurel"

MIT grad students explain why some people hear "Yanny" and others hear "Laurel" in the audio clip that's taken the world by storm.

May 17, 2018

Ann Graybiel wins 2018 Gruber Neuroscience Prize

MIT neuroscientist is recognized for her pioneering work on the complexity and function of the basal ganglia.

May 16, 2018

Biologists compared C. elegans embryos missing the alfa-1 gene, right, to those with the gene, left. At bottom right, abnormal blobs of yolk labeled with a fluorescent protein can be seen in the embryo lacking alfa-1.

Biologists discover function of gene linked to familial ALS

Study in worms reveals gene loss can lead to accumulation of waste products in cells.

May 4, 2018

David Anderson of Caltech is the winner of the 2018 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience.

McGovern Institute awards 2018 Scolnick Prize to David Anderson

Neuroscientist honored for his work on the biology of neural stem cells and neural circuits that control emotional behaviors.

May 3, 2018

MIT’s four new NAS members are (from left): Feng Zhang, Mehran Kardar, Amy Finkelstein, and Xiao-Gang Wen.

National Academy of Sciences elects four MIT professors for 2018

Finkelstein, Kardar, Wen, and Zhang honored for research achievements.

May 1, 2018

MIT researchers have designed MRI sensors that form clusters in the presence of calcium, allowing them to monitor neuron activity in the living brain.

Calcium-based MRI sensor enables more sensitive brain imaging

System detects direct signals of neural activity; could reveal patterns underlying behavior.

April 30, 2018

MIT neuroscientist Nancy Kanwisher is the winner of the 2018 C.L. de Carvalho-Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science.

Nancy Kanwisher receives 2018 Heineken Prize

MIT cognitive scientist recognized for her work on the organization of the human brain.

April 24, 2018

Eight from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2018

Prestigious honor society announces 213 new members this year.

April 18, 2018

School of Science announces Infinite Mile Awards for 2018

Seven staff members honored for their outstanding contributions to the MIT community.

April 3, 2018

Ed Boyden is a recipient of the 2018 Canada Gairdner International Award.

Ed Boyden receives 2018 Canada Gairdner International Award

MIT scientist is among three recognized for the discovery of optogenetics.

March 27, 2018

MIT graduate student Hilary Richardson helps a child into an MRI scanner for a study of how children's brains develop the ability to think about the mental states of other people.

Study finds early signatures of the social brain

Children as young as 3 have brain network devoted to interpreting thoughts of other people.

March 12, 2018

Catching a bouncing ball or hitting a ball with a racket requires estimating when the ball will arrive. Neuroscientists have long thought that the brain does this by calculating the speed of the moving object. However, a new study from MIT shows that the brain's approach is more complex.

Study reveals how the brain tracks objects in motion

Timing and speed are both important for making accurate estimates of how an object will travel.

March 5, 2018

Researchers at MIT and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have developed a new modified version of the rabies virus that stops replicating once it infects a cell, allowing it to deliver its genetic cargo without harming the cell.

Viral tool traces long-term neuron activity

New technique is nontoxic to cells, should allow scientists to study neuron function for months or years instead of weeks.