Brain and cognitive sciences

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

William Souillard-Mandar ’12, MEng ’15 (left); Professor Randall Davis; and their team have created a fast, inexpensive way to improve cognitive testing.

New AI tool improves cognitive testing

Digital pen plus speedy data analysis developed at MIT and tested at Lahey Hospital improves a classic test that helps detect cognitive impairment.

March 10, 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

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

Graduate student Seongjun Park holds an example of a new flexible fiber, which is no bigger than a human hair and has successfully delivered a combination of optical, electrical, and chemical signals back and forth into the brain.

Tiny fibers open new windows into the brain

Three-in-one design allows genetic, chemical, optical, and electrical inputs and outputs.

February 21, 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

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

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences launches post-baccalaureate program

Research Scholars Program in Brain and Cognitive Sciences brings talented students to the department.

January 31, 2017

A new technique can better extract correct answers from large groups of people. For a given question, people are asked two things: What they think the right answer is, and what they think popular opinion will be. The variation between the two aggregate responses indicates the correct answer.

Better wisdom from crowds

MIT scholars produce new method of harvesting correct answers from groups.

January 25, 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.