The way sensory prediction changes under anesthesia tells us how conscious cognition works
A new study adds evidence that consciousness requires communication between sensory and cognitive regions of the brain’s cortex.
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
Mixing joy and resolve, event celebrates women in science and addresses persistent inequalities
The Kuggie Vallee Distinguished Lectures and Workshops presented inspiring examples of success, even as the event evoked frank discussions of the barriers that still hinder many women in science.
Fifteen Lincoln Laboratory technologies receive 2024 R&D 100 Awards
The innovations map the ocean floor and the brain, prevent heat stroke and cognitive injury, expand AI processing and quantum system capabilities, and introduce new fabrication approaches.
Research quantifying “nociception” could help improve management of surgical pain
New statistical models based on physiological data from more than 100 surgeries provide objective, accurate measures of the body’s subconscious perception of pain.
Study assesses seizure risk from stimulating the thalamus
In animal models, even low stimulation currents can sometimes still cause electrographic seizures, researchers found.
Study reveals ways in which 40Hz sensory stimulation may preserve brain’s “white matter”
Gamma frequency light and sound stimulation preserves myelination in mouse models and reveals molecular mechanisms that may underlie the benefit.
New method enables fast, accurate estimates of cardiovascular state to inform blood pressure management
A mathematical method, validated with experimental data, provides a fast, reliable, and minimally invasive way of determining how to treat critical blood pressure changes during surgery or intensive care.
Study across multiple brain regions discerns Alzheimer’s vulnerability and resilience factors
Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous findings, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition.
MIT affiliates named 2024 HHMI Investigators
Four faculty members and four others with MIT ties are recognized for pushing the boundaries of science and for creating highly inclusive and collaborative research environments.
Study reveals how an anesthesia drug induces unconsciousness
Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, derails the brain’s normal balance between stability and excitability.
“UnrulyArt” creates joy and engagement, regardless of ability
Researchers and staff from MIT, including from the Simons Center for the Social Brain, collaborated with schoolchildren with special needs to create art, have fun, and learn from each other.
Professor Emerita Mary-Lou Pardue, pioneering cellular and molecular biologist, dies at 90
Known for her rigorous approach to science and her influential research, Pardue paved the way for women in science at MIT and beyond.
Microscope system sharpens scientists’ view of neural circuit connections
A newly described technology improves the clarity and speed of using two-photon microscopy to image synapses in the living brain.
Technologies enable 3D imaging of whole human brain hemispheres at subcellular resolution
Three innovations by an MIT-based team enable high-resolution, high-throughput imaging of human brain tissue at a full range of scales, and mapping connectivity of neurons at single-cell resolution.
With programmable pixels, novel sensor improves imaging of neural activity
New camera chip design allows for optimizing each pixel’s timing to maximize signal-to-noise ratio when tracking real-time visual indicator of neural voltage.