Picower Institute for Learning and Memory

A new technology called ELAST transforms tissues, such as this slab of human brain, to make them reversibly stretchable or compressible, as well as much more durable. This allows them to be repeatedly stretched out or squished down thin for much faster infusion of labeling probes, which labs use to highlight cells or molecules under the microscope.

Making tissue stretchable, compressible, and nearly indestructible

Chemical process called ELAST allows labeling probes to infuse more quickly, and makes samples tough enough for repeated handling.

May 20, 2020

MIT scientists have identified a potential new strategy for treating Fragile X syndrome, a disorder that is the leading heritable cause of intellectual disability and autism. The team includes, from left–right: Amanda Coranado, Arnold Heynen, Mark Bear, Rebecca Senter, Laura Stoppel, and Patrick McCamphill.

Scientists find a new way to reverse symptoms of Fragile X

Drug compound, tested in mice, could be effective in treating the leading heritable cause of intellectual disability and autism.

May 20, 2020

In this figure, neurons in the bottom row, which are missing the HDAC1 gene, show higher levels of DNA damage (green) than normal neurons.

Study finds that aging neurons accumulate DNA damage

Reactivating an enzyme that promotes DNA repair can help to reverse age-related cognitive decline in mice.

May 18, 2020

MIT researchers have found that a protein called SYT7 appears to limit activity at neural connections called synapses. Here, synapses glowing light green are engaged in neurotransmitter release.

Study finds “volume dial” for turning neural communication up or down

The protein Synaptotagmin 7 limits supply of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles for release at synapses.

May 13, 2020

Mounting evidence suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus affects the brain, as well as the lungs.

How could Covid-19 and the body’s immune response affect the brain?

Picower Institute researchers are embarking on experiments to learn the mechanisms by which coronavirus might affect mental health.

April 28, 2020

“I’m grateful that I have skills to contribute during this time when the hospital needs our help and patients need our help,” says Picower Institute researcher and Massachusetts General Hospital neurologist Diane Chan, who has been helping evaluate patients in respiratory illness clinics during the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 calls MIT physician-scientist to front-line respiratory care

Neurologist and researcher Diane Chan pitches in to help New England get through tough times.

April 22, 2020

MIT Senior Research Associate Kendyll Burnell and her poodle Soma examine neural imaging data together at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Researching from home: Science stays social, even at a distance

Picower Institute researchers are advancing their work in many ways despite time away from the lab required to corral Covid-19.

April 7, 2020

“When you encounter something new, there are some really new and notable stimuli, but you already know quite a bit about that particular experience, because it’s a similar kind of experience to what you have already had before,” says Susumu Tonegawa, a professor of biology and neuroscience at the RIKEN-MIT Laboratory of Neural Circuit Genetics at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Me...

Neuroscientists find memory cells that help us interpret new situations

Neurons that store abstract representations of past experiences are activated when a new, similar event takes place.

April 6, 2020

School of Science announces 2020 Infinite Mile Awards

Ten staff members recognized for dedication to School of Science and to MIT.

March 16, 2020

A genome-wide analysis has revealed genes that are essential for neuron survival, as well as genes that protect against the effects of Huntington’s disease.

Genetic screen offers new drug targets for Huntington’s disease

Neuroscientists identify genes that modulate the disease’s toxic effects.

January 30, 2020

The same neurons that store feelings of reward also store memories that suppress fearful ones, a new study shows. In this image, the broader population of Ppp1r1b neurons is labeled green while neurons storing a specific fear extinction memory are labeled red.

With these neurons, extinguishing fear is its own reward

The same neurons responsible for encoding reward also form new memories to suppress fearful ones.

January 21, 2020

School of Science recognizes members with 2020 Infinite Kilometer Awards

Four members of the School of Science honored for contributions to the Institute.

January 3, 2020

MIT and Harvard Medical School researchers have uncovered a cellular mechanism that may explain why some children with autism experience a temporary reduction in behavioral symptoms when they have a fever.

Study may explain how infections reduce autism symptoms

An immune molecule sometimes produced during infection can influence the social behavior of mice.

December 18, 2019

The visual cortex, where the brain processes visual input, is made like a stack of pancakes. In a new study, scientists sought to determine the role in several visual phenomena of a receptor on neurons in layer 4.

Study probing visual memory and amblyopia unveils many-layered mystery

Scientists pinpoint the role of a receptor in vision degradation in amblyopia.

December 17, 2019

At MIT, Héctor De Jesús-Cortés studies neuronal electrical activity underlying diseases such as amblyopia, or lazy eye.

Supporting students in Puerto Rico after a hurricane’s devastation

Postdoc Héctor De Jesús-Cortés works to build up the STEM pipeline from his homeland to MIT and beyond.

December 13, 2019

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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