Brain and cognitive sciences

The MIT Libraries, together with the MIT Committee on the Library System and the Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research, has developed a principle-based framework to guide negotiations with scholarly publishers.

MIT announces framework to guide negotiations with publishers

Principle-based framework aims to support the needs of scholars, reflect MIT principles, and advance science.

October 23, 2019

MIT neuroscientists have identified two brain circuits that help tune out distracting sensory information.

Drug combination reverses hypersensitivity to noise

Findings in mice suggest targeting certain brain circuits could offer new ways to treat some neurological disorders.

October 21, 2019

The Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research has released its final recommendations, which aim to support and increase the open sharing of MIT publications, data, software, and educational materials.

Open access task force releases final recommendations

Report urges MIT community to openly share the products of its research and teaching.

October 17, 2019

MIT neuroscientists have shown that the core elements of an internal model also control purely mental processes.

Controlling our internal world

Design principles from robotics help researchers decipher elements controlling mental processes in the brain.

October 16, 2019

In the top row, neurons are labeled with a fluorescent probe that reveals electrical activity. In the bottom row, neurons are labeled with a variant of the probe that accumulates specifically in the neuron cell bodies, preventing interference from axons of neighboring neurons.

New method visualizes groups of neurons as they compute

Fluorescent probe could allow scientists to watch circuits within the brain and link their activity to specific behaviors.

October 9, 2019

A white-stained cluster of amyloid plaque proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease pathology, is evident in the mammillary body of a 2-month-old Alzheimer's model mouse. A new study finds that plaques begin in such deep regions and spread throughout the brain along specific circuits.

Alzheimer’s plaque emerges early and deep in the brain

Clumps of amyloid protein emerge early in deep regions, such as the mammillary body, and march outward in the brain along specific circuits.

October 8, 2019

Even relatively small differences in the duration, timing, and consistency of students' sleep may have significant effects on course test results, a new MIT study shows.

Study: Better sleep habits lead to better college grades

Data on MIT students underscore the importance of getting enough sleep; bedtime also matters.

October 1, 2019

Josh Tenenbaum receives 2019 MacArthur Fellowship

Brain and cognitive sciences professor studies how the human mind is able to learn so rapidly.

September 25, 2019

An MIT study is the first to show that a brain region called the lateral septum directly encodes movement information such as speed.

Study finds hub linking movement and motivation in the brain

Detailed observations in the lateral septum indicate region processes movement and reward information to help direct behavior.

September 19, 2019

Eduardo Undurraga, an assistant professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, runs a musical pitch perception experiment with a member of the Tsimane’ tribe of the Bolivian rainforest.

Perception of musical pitch varies across cultures

How people interpret musical notes depends on the types of music they have listened to, researchers find.

September 19, 2019

Mehrdad Jazayeri, an associate professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (left), and Hazel Sive, a professor in the Department of Biology, are the 2019 recipients of the School of Science Teaching Prizes in Graduate and Undergraduate Education, respectively.

Mehrdad Jazayeri and Hazel Sive awarded 2019 School of Science teaching prizes

Nominated by peers and students, professors in brain and cognitive sciences and biology are recognized for excellence in graduate and undergraduate education.

September 18, 2019

The primary region of the human auditory cortex (outlined in white) responds differently (blue) to natural sound when background noise is present.

Hearing through the clatter

Study reveals brain regions that respond differently to the presence of background noise, suggesting the brain progressively hones in on and isolates sounds.

September 9, 2019

MIT engineers have developed robotic thread (in black) that can be steered magnetically and is small enough to work through narrow spaces such as the vasculature of the human brain. The researchers envision the technology may be used in the future to clear blockages in patients with stroke and aneurysms.

Robotic thread is designed to slip through the brain’s blood vessels

Magnetically controlled device could deliver clot-reducing therapies in response to stroke or other brain blockages.

August 28, 2019

An $11.6 million artificial intelligence computing cluster donated by IBM to MIT will come online this fall at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

IBM gives artificial intelligence computing at MIT a lift

Nearly $12 million machine will let MIT researchers run more ambitious AI models.

August 26, 2019

An MIT study suggests that mindfulness can improve mental health and academic performance in middle school students.

Two studies reveal benefits of mindfulness for middle school students

Focusing awareness on the present moment can enhance academic performance and lower stress levels.