McGovern Institute

Michale Fee receives Fundamental Science Investigator Award

Award will support studies into how the brain learns and generates complex sequential behaviors, with a focus on the songbird as a model system.

May 19, 2017

By expanding brain tissue twice, researchers were able to obtain high-resolution images of neurons in the hippocampus.

High-resolution imaging with conventional microscopes

Tissue-expansion technique could allow scientists to map brain circuits.

April 17, 2017

Most applications of deep learning use “convolutional” neural networks, in which the nodes of each layer are clustered, the clusters overlap, and each cluster feeds data to multiple nodes (orange and green) of the next layer.

Explained: Neural networks

Ballyhooed artificial-intelligence technique known as “deep learning” revives 70-year-old idea.

April 14, 2017

Mobileye co-founder Amnon Shashua PhD '93 delivered a lecture on autonomous driving at MIT on March 27.

Looking ahead to the future of computer-driven cars

Amnon Shashua PhD ’93, co-founder of Mobileye, discusses challenges associated with autonomous vehicles in MIT visit.

April 13, 2017

MIT professors James Collins (left) and Feng Zhang are co-authors of a new paper reporting that an RNA-targeting CRISPR enzyme can be harnessed as a highly sensitive detector able to indicate the presence of as little as a single molecule of a target RNA or DNA.

Scientists unveil CRISPR-based diagnostic platform

New system adapts tool known for gene editing; to be used in rapid, inexpensive disease diagnosis.

April 13, 2017

Eleven from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2017

Prestigious honor society announces 228 new members this year.

April 12, 2017

A new MIT transmitter that measures dopamine overcomes limitations of earlier transmitters, providing accurate readings for longer periods of time and covering more of the brain.

Precise technique tracks dopamine in the brain

New sensor could reveal the neurotransmitter’s role in learning and habit formation.

March 3, 2017

Charles Jennings, director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research Neurotechnology program.

3Q: US patent office’s ruling on CRISPR

Charles Jennings of MIT’s McGovern Institute discusses the intellectual property dispute over the gene-editing technique.

February 22, 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

Hock Tan '75 SM '75 (left) and Lisa Yang have made a commitment of $20 million to establish the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research at MIT's McGovern Institute.

New Center for Autism Research established at MIT’s McGovern Institute

A $20 million gift from Lisa Yang and Hock Tan ’75 SM ’75 will catalyze multidisciplinary autism research.

February 9, 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

Researchers have discovered that in people with dyslexia the brain has a diminished ability to acclimate to a repeated input — a trait known as neural adaptation.

Distinctive brain pattern may underlie dyslexia

Study suggests reduced plasticity could account for reading difficulties.

December 21, 2016

Feng Zhang of MIT and the Broad Institute was named a runner-up for TIME's 2016 Person of the Year for his work on CRISPR gene editing. Zhang shared the honor with Emmanuelle Charpentier at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin; Jennifer Doudna at the University of California at Berkeley; Carl June at the University of Pennsylvania; and Kathy Niakan at the Francis Crick Institute in London.

Feng Zhang named a runner-up for TIME’s 2016 Person of the Year

MIT and Broad Institute scientist shares recognition with four other scientists for developing CRISPR gene-editing systems.

December 7, 2016

“…[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.