Using machine learning to track the pandemic’s impact on mental health
Textual analysis of social media posts finds users’ anxiety and suicide-risk levels are rising, among other negative trends.
Department
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Scientists identify specific brain region and circuits controlling attention
Norepinephrine-producing neurons in the locus coeruleus produce attention focus, impulse control via two distinct connections to prefrontal cortex.
How a worm may yield insights into the gut-brain relationship
Gurrein Madan, brain and cognitive sciences graduate student and MathWorks Fellow, studies gut–brain signaling with implications for human health.
Study helps explain why motivation to learn declines with age
Research on mice suggests aging affects a brain circuit critical for learning to make some types of decisions.
Emery Brown wins Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience
Award cites major contributions to statistical analysis of brain activity and advancing the neuroscience of anesthesia.
Neural pathway crucial to successful rapid object recognition in primates
Recurrent processing via prefrontal cortex, necessary for quick visual object processing in primates, provides a key insight for developing brain-like artificial intelligence.
Statistical model improves analysis of skin conductance
By accounting for sweat physiology, method can make better use of electrodermal activity for tracking subconscious changes in physical or emotional state.
Scientists uncover new clues about Parkinson’s disease
Tool developed at MIT simultaneously measures chemical and electrical brain signals, revealing unexpectedly complex relationship between brain signals.
Alzheimer’s risk gene disrupts endocytosis, but another disease-linked gene could help
Astrocytes with the APOE4 gene variant show deficits of a key cellular function, but overexpressing the gene PICALM overcame the defect.
Neuroscientists discover a molecular mechanism that allows memories to form
Modifications to chromosomes in “engram” neurons control the encoding and retrieval of memories.
How we make moral decisions
In some situations, asking “what if everyone did that?” is a common strategy for judging whether an action is right or wrong.
Live imaging method brings structure to mapping brain function
Scientists distinguish brain regions based on what they do, but now have a new way to overlay information about how they are built.
MIT undergraduates pursue research opportunities through the pandemic
Working remotely this summer, students worked to better understand human intelligence and to advance machine learning applications.
Rapid test for Covid-19 shows improved sensitivity
A CRISPR-based test developed at MIT and the Broad Institute can detect nearly as many cases as the standard Covid-19 diagnostic.
School of Science appoints 12 faculty members to named professorships
Those selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers.