Biology-based brain model matches animals in learning, enables new discovery
New “biomimetic” model of brain circuits and function at multiple scales produced naturalistic dynamics and learning, and even identified curious behavior by some neurons.
To flexibly organize thought, the brain makes use of space
MIT researchers tested their theory of spatial computing, which holds that the brain recruits and controls ad hoc groups of neurons for cognitive tasks by applying brain waves to patches of the cortex.
At MIT, a continued commitment to understanding intelligence
With support from the Siegel Family Endowment, the newly renamed MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence investigates how brains produce intelligence and how it can be replicated to solve problems.
Chemists determine the structure of the fuzzy coat that surrounds Tau proteins
Learning more about this structure could help scientists find ways to block Tau from forming tangles in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.
This new tool could tell us how consciousness works
Researchers propose a roadmap for using transcranial focused ultrasound, a noninvasive way to stimulate the brain and see how it functions.
Celebrating worm science
Time and again, an unassuming roundworm has illuminated aspects of biology with major consequences for human health.
Prefrontal cortex reaches back into the brain to shape how other regions function
Research illustrates how areas within the brain’s executive control center tailor messages in specific circuits with other brain regions to influence them with information about behavior and feelings.
Guided learning lets “untrainable” neural networks realize their potential
CSAIL researchers find even “untrainable” neural nets can learn effectively when guided by another network’s built-in biases using their guidance method.
RNA editing study finds many ways for neurons to diversify
Tracking how fruit fly motor neurons edit their RNA, neurobiologists cataloged hundreds of target sites and varying editing rates, finding many edits altered communication- and function-related proteins.
MIT study shows how vision can be rebooted in adults with amblyopia
Temporarily anesthetizing the retina briefly reverts the activity of the visual system to that observed in early development and enables growth of responses to the amblyopic (“lazy”) eye.
Too sick to socialize: How the brain and immune system promote staying in bed
MIT researchers discover how an immune system molecule triggers neurons to shut down social behavior in mice modeling infection.
Astrocyte diversity across space and time
A new atlas charts the diversity of an influential cell type in the brains of mice and marmosets.
Staying stable
Whether they walk on two, four, or six legs, animals maintain stability by monitoring their body position and correcting errors with every step.
The cost of thinking
MIT neuroscientists find a surprising parallel in the ways humans and new AI models solve complex problems.
Symposium examines the neural circuits that keep us alive and well
Seven speakers from around the country convened at MIT to describe some of the latest research on the neural mechanisms that we need to survive.