Connect or reject: Extensive rewiring builds binocular vision in the brain
A first-of-its-kind study in mice shows neurons add and shed synapses at a frenzied pace during development to integrate visual signals from the two eyes.
How an MIT professor introduced hundreds of thousands of students to neuroscience
With an emphasis on approachability, Professor Mark Bear’s “Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain” enters its fourth decade as the text of undergraduate neuroscience classes worldwide.
Gift from Dick Larson establishes Distinguished Professorship in Data, Systems, and Society
Sasha Rakhlin, a professor in IDSS and brain and cognitive sciences, has been named the inaugural holder of the new professorship.
Study: Babies’ poor vision may help organize visual brain pathways
MIT researchers found that low-quality visual input early in life may contribute to the development of key pathways in the brain’s visual system.
Accelerating scientific discovery with AI
FutureHouse, co-founded by Sam Rodriques PhD ’19, has developed AI agents to automate key steps on the path toward scientific progress.
How the brain solves complicated problems
Study shows humans flexibly deploy different reasoning strategies to tackle challenging mental tasks — offering insights for building machines that think more like us.
Envisioning a future where health care tech leaves some behind
The winning essay of the Envisioning the Future of Computing Prize puts health care disparities at the forefront.
How the brain distinguishes between ambiguous hypotheses
Neural activity patterns can encode competing hypotheses about which landmark will lead to the correct destination.
Former MIT researchers advance a new model for innovation
Focused research organizations (FROs) undertake large research efforts and have begun to yield scientific advances.
Different anesthetics, same result: unconsciousness by shifting brainwave phase
MIT study finds an easily measurable brain wave shift may be a universal marker of unconsciousness under anesthesia.
Rationale engineering generates a compact new tool for gene therapy
Researchers redesign a compact RNA-guided enzyme from bacteria, making it an efficient editor of human DNA.
Overlooked cells might explain the human brain’s huge storage capacity
MIT researchers developed a new model of memory that includes critical contributions from astrocytes, a class of brain cells.
Daily mindfulness practice reduces anxiety for autistic adults
After six weeks of practicing mindfulness with the help of a smartphone app, adults with autism reported lasting improvements in their well-being.
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
New evidence suggests sensory stimulation of gamma-frequency brain rhythm may promote broad-based restorative neurological health response.
Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten
Study shows how a dopamine circuit enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has passed, opening new avenues for understanding and potentially treating fear-related disorders.