MIT scientists learn how to control muscles with light
A new study suggests optogenetics can drive muscle contraction with greater control and less fatigue than electrical stimulation.
A new wave of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
Professor Li-Huei Tsai studies how brain waves can be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Light-activated muscle grafts show promise in aiding muscle recovery post-trauma
Actuating grafts appears to turn on cell signals related to the growth of new blood vessels and nerves, a promising finding for restoring mobility in muscle lost through disease or trauma.
Soft optical fibers block pain while moving and stretching with the body
The fibers could help with testing treatments for nerve-related pain.
How a single neuron’s parallel outputs can coordinate many aspects of behavior
Study finds that in worms, the HSN neuron uses multiple chemicals and connections to orchestrate egg-laying and locomotion over the course of several minutes.
Unraveling connections between the brain and gut
MIT engineers’ new technology can probe the neural circuits that influence hunger, mood, and a variety of diseases.
Using light to manipulate neuron excitability
A new optogenetics-based tool allows researchers to control how neurons respond to electrical input.
When Alzheimer’s degrades cells that cross hemispheres, visual memory suffers
Research reveals cells that span brain hemispheres to coordinate activity in visual processing centers, shows Alzheimer’s degrades their structure and function.
When a task adds more steps, this brain circuit helps you notice
By tracking feedback during tasks, the anterior cingulate cortex notices when a new step has become necessary and signals the motor cortex to adjust.
Is it neuroscience? Chemistry? Art? Wulff Lecture shows versatility, diversity in materials science
Professor Polina Anikeeva’s innovation in the treatment of neurological disorders highlights the interdisciplinary nature of her field.
A single memory is stored across many connected brain regions
Innovative brain-wide mapping study shows that an “engram,” the ensemble of neurons encoding a memory, is widely distributed and includes regions not previously realized.
Feast or forage? Study finds circuit that helps a brain decide
By integrating multiple sensory inputs, a loop of mutual inhibition among a small set of neurons allows worms to switch between long-lasting behavioral states.
Six with MIT ties elected to the National Academy of Medicine for 2021
Professors Linda Griffith and Feng Zhang along with Guillermo Ameer ScD ’99, Darrell Gaskin SM ’87, William Hahn, and Vamsi Mootha recognized for contributions to medicine, health care, and public health.
Behind the scenes, brain circuit ensures vision remains reliable
A study of mice watching movies shows our brain cells rely on a circuit of inhibitory neurons to help ensure that the same images are represented consistently.
As novel sights become familiar, different brain rhythms and neurons take over
As “visual recognition memory” emerges in the visual cortex, one circuit of inhibitory neurons supplants another, and slower neural oscillations prevail.