Neuroscience

An MIT study of the neural circuits that underlie memory process reveals, for the first time, that memories are formed simultaneously in the hippocampus and the long-term storage location in the brain’s cortex. This image shows memory engram cells (green and red) which are crucial for permanent memory storage in the prefrontal cortex.

Neuroscientists identify brain circuit necessary for memory formation

New findings challenge standard model of memory consolidation.

April 6, 2017

Scientists identify brain circuit that drives pleasure-inducing behavior

Surprisingly, the neurons are located in a brain region thought to be linked with fear.

March 22, 2017

Hannah Iaccarino PhD '16 answers a question about brain cells for Ask MIT, part of MIT+K12 Videos.

Featured video: #AskMIT — Using your full brain

Kids ask tough questions; MIT students, staff, and faculty answer. This episode of "#AskMIT" describes how much of our brains we really use.

March 15, 2017

A new system from CSAIL uses EEG brain signals to detect if a person notices robots making a mistake.

Brain-controlled robots

CSAIL system enables people to correct robot mistakes using brain signals.

March 6, 2017

Harvard University neurobiologist Catherine Dulac will receive the 2017 Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, awarded by the McGovern Institute at MIT.

McGovern Institute awards 2017 Scolnick Prize to Catherine Dulac

Neurobiologist honored for her work on how pheromones control brain function and behavior.

February 13, 2017

MIT chemical engineers have developed an extremely sensitive detector that can track single cells’ secretion of dopamine. These video stills show a single cell releasing dopamine.

Sensor traces dopamine released by single cells

New technology could help neuroscientists understand how dopamine influences brain activity.

February 6, 2017

Feng Zhang named James and Patricia Poitras Professor in Neuroscience

CRISPR pioneer named to inaugural chair created by Patricia and James Poitras '63, founders of MIT’s Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research.

January 13, 2017

Neuroscientists at MIT have adapted their MRI scanner to make it easier to scan infants’ brains as the babies watch movies featuring different types of visual input.

A glimpse into the workings of the baby brain

MRI scans reveal surprising similarities in activity patterns of infant and adult visual cortex.

January 10, 2017

Interstellate: Celebrating the the beauty of neuroscience

Caitlin Vander Weele, a graduate student in brain and cognitive sciences, launches a collaborative neuro-art pictorial magazine.

January 9, 2017

“There’s a close correspondence between the behavior of networks of computers or other devices like mobile phones and that of biological systems,” says MIT professor Nancy Lynch. “We’re trying to find problems that can benefit from this distributed-computing perspective, focusing on algorithms for which we can prove mathematical properties.”

Model sheds light on purpose of inhibitory neurons

Study suggests computational role for neurons that prevent other neurons from firing.

January 9, 2017

A team of neuroscientists has found that people are biased toward hearing and producing rhythms composed of simple integer ratios — for example, a series of four beats separated by equal time intervals.

How the brain perceives rhythm

Study finds the brain is biased toward rhythms based on simple integer ratios.

January 5, 2017

“…[I]f humans behave similarly to mice in response to this treatment, I would say the potential is just enormous, because it’s so noninvasive, and it’s so accessible,” says Li-Huei Tsai, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience, when describing a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Unique visual stimulation may be new treatment for Alzheimer’s

Noninvasive technique reduces beta amyloid plaques in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

December 7, 2016

MIT neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai (left) receives the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award from Society for Neuroscience President Hollis Cline.

Li-Huei Tsai receives Society for Neuroscience Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award

Picower Institute director awarded for her research on brain development, neurological disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease.

December 2, 2016

MIT researchers have designed protein-based sensors that can dilate blood vessels in the brain. This dilation can be imaged with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as seen on the left side of this scan.

A radiation-free approach to imaging molecules in the brain

New probe induces blood flow changes that can be seen by MRI.

December 2, 2016

Tomaso Poggio, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and director of the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, has long thought that the brain must produce “invariant” representations of faces and other objects, meaning representations that are indifferent to objects’ orientation in space, their distance from the viewer, or their location in the visual field.

How the brain recognizes faces

Machine-learning system spontaneously reproduces aspects of human neurology.

December 1, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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