Mental health

Karen Singleton will become chief of MIT Medical’s Mental Health and Counseling Service in January 2017.

Karen Singleton named chief of MIT Medical’s Mental Health and Counseling Service

October 20, 2016

A new study from MIT finds that positive and negative emotions are controlled by two populations of neurons that are genetically programmed to encode memories of either fearful or pleasurable events.

A delicate balance between positive and negative emotion

Neuroscientists identify two neuron populations that encode happy or fearful memories.

October 17, 2016

MIT scientists have identified a way to enhance the long-term benefit of exposure therapy in rats, offering a way to improve the therapy in people suffering from phobias and more complicated conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pinpointing a brain circuit that can keep fears at bay

Study suggests path to prolonging treatment effectiveness for phobias or post-traumatic stress disorder.

September 26, 2016

Left to right: PhD student Fadel Adib, PhD student Mingmin Zhao, and Professor Dina Katabi pose with their EQ-Radio device, which can detect emotion using wireless signals.

Detecting emotions with wireless signals

Measuring your heartbeat and breath, CSAIL device can tell if you’re excited, happy, angry, or sad.

September 20, 2016

Kay Tye, the Whitehead Career Development Assistant Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a member of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, has been awarded the 2016 Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research.

Kay Tye receives Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research

Neuroscientist recognized by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation for project on neural circuits for anxiety control.

August 3, 2016

A fourth-year PhD student in electrical engineering and computer science, Ariel Anders works beside a light-therapy box recently installed at MIT.

In Stata Center phone booths, "light-therapy" aims to brighten moods

Graduate student who suffered from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) develops MindHandHeart Innovation Fund project.

July 29, 2016

“How lithium acts on the brain has been this great mystery of psychopharmacology,” says Joshua Meisel, an MIT postdoc and lead author of a new study. “There are hypotheses, but nothing’s been proven.”

New clue to how lithium works in the brain

Biologists find a possible explanation for why the drug helps bipolar patients.

July 7, 2016

Chancellor announces realignment of key student support organizations into Division of Student Life

Blanche Staton will serve as interim graduate dean.

July 1, 2016

MyLife Services: A new benefit for MIT faculty, staff, postdocs, and families

MIT employees and their families can now take advantage of a network of experts to help with personal, financial, emotional, and other concerns.

June 24, 2016

Fen Tung, a BollyX Regional Trainer for Boston, will play an integral role in Rheinila Fernandes’s “Motivate and Move” pilot for MIT graduate students this summer.

MindHandHeart’s 10 newest Innovation Fund projects reduce stress and lower barriers to support

The MindHandHeart Innovation Fund announced its third round of grant winners at its final steering committee meeting for the academic year.

May 25, 2016

In the top image, a neuronal axon (green) forms many synapses, highlighted in purple. The bottom image shows an axon from a fruit fly lacking the Shank protein. In these flies, not as many synapses form, and some of them (indicated by the white arrows) do not fully mature.

Neuroscientists illuminate role of autism-linked gene

Loss of Shank gene prevents neuronal synapses from properly maturing.

May 24, 2016

Puppy Lab founder Stephanie Ku (left) poses with Wingnut and Puppy Lab team-in-training Ann Peters of MIT Lincoln Lab and Pythagoras.

MIT Puppy Lab to open during National Mental Health Awareness Month

Stephanie Ku’s Puppy Lab, a proposal funded by the MindHandHeart Innovation Fund, opens its doors during the two weeks before and during finals.

May 4, 2016

Two neurons of the basolateral amygdala. MIT neuroscientists have found that these neurons play a key role in separating information about positive and negative experiences.

How the brain processes emotions

Neuroscientists identify circuits that could play a role in mental illnesses, including depression.

March 31, 2016

The brain’s thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), highlighted in the center, is responsible for blocking out distracting sensory input. "For autism, schizophrenia, and other neurodevelopmental disorders, it seems like TRN dysfunction may be involved in some patients,” Guoping Feng says.

Study reveals a basis for attention deficits

New findings could help scientists develop treatments for ADHD and other disorders.

March 23, 2016

Founding planners of RAK Week, Bettina Arkhurst and Cory Johnson (left and far right), with volunteer graphic designer Daniel Sanchez (center).

Two sophomores champion MIT’s first Random Acts of Kindness Week

Proposal funded by the MindHandHeart Innovation Fund set to launch after spring break; new Innovation Fund applications accepted through March.

March 17, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - On Campus and Around the world

Browse By

Topics

Departments

Centers, Labs, & Programs

Schools

Topic