Three MIT students named 2026 Schwarzman Scholars
Yutao Gong, Brandon Man, and Andrii Zahorodnii will spend 2025-26 at Tsinghua University in China studying global affairs.
Department
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
How one brain circuit encodes memories of both places and events
A new computational model explains how neurons linked to spatial navigation can also help store episodic memories.
For healthy hearing, timing matters
Machine-learning models let neuroscientists study the impact of auditory processing on real-world hearing.
Study suggests how the brain, with sleep, learns meaningful maps of spaces
Place cells are known to encode individual locations, but research finds stitching together a “cognitive map” of a whole environment requires a broader ensemble of cells, aided by sleep, over several days.
Teaching AI to communicate sounds like humans do
Inspired by the human vocal tract, a new AI model can produce and understand vocal imitations of everyday sounds. The method could help build new sonic interfaces for entertainment and education.
Personal interests can influence how children’s brains respond to language
McGovern Institute neuroscientists use children’s interests to probe language in the brain.
MIT affiliates awarded 2024 National Medals of Science, Technology
Four professors and an additional alumnus honored with nation’s highest awards for scientists and engineers; Moderna, with deep MIT roots, also recognized.
MIT welcomes Frida Polli as its next visiting innovation scholar
The neuroscientist turned entrepreneur will be hosted by the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and focus on advancing the intersection of behavioral science and AI across MIT.
New autism research projects represent a broad range of approaches to achieving a shared goal
At a symposium of the Simons Center for the Social Brain, six speakers described a diversity of recently launched studies aimed at improving understanding of the autistic brain.
How humans continuously adapt while walking stably
Research could help improve motor rehabilitation programs and assistive robot control.
Revisiting reinforcement learning
A detailed new look at dopamine signaling suggests neuroscientists’ model of reinforcement learning may need to be revised.
Study: Browsing negative content online makes mental health struggles worse
Researchers have developed a web plug-in to help those looking to protect their mental health make more informed decisions.
3 Questions: Claire Wang on training the brain for memory sports
The MIT sophomore and award-winning memory champion explains what these competitions are all about and why you might want to build a “memory palace.”
Four from MIT named 2025 Rhodes Scholars
Yiming Chen ’24, Wilhem Hector, Anushka Nair, and David Oluigbo will start postgraduate studies at Oxford next fall.
Neuroscientists create a comprehensive map of the cerebral cortex
Using fMRI, the research team identified 24 networks that perform specific functions within the brain’s cerebral cortex.