McGovern Institute

Key brain region was “recycled” as humans developed the ability to read

Part of the visual cortex dedicated to recognizing objects appears predisposed to identifying words and letters, a study finds.

August 4, 2020

Ila Fiete, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, uses computational and mathematical techniques to study how the brain encodes information in ways that enable cognitive tasks such as learning, memory, and neural representation of our surroundings.

Ila Fiete studies how the brain performs complex computations

The MIT professor takes a mathematical approach to exploring memory, navigation, and other neural functions.

July 28, 2020

Looking into the black box

Recent advances give theoretical insight into why deep learning networks are successful.

July 27, 2020

These cross-sections of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) show two distinct populations of neurons, labeled in purple and green. A team of researchers from MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has now mapped the TRN in unprecedented detail.

Mapping the brain’s sensory gatekeeper

New analysis could help uncover potential drug targets for attention deficits and sensory hypersensitivity.

July 22, 2020

A scanning electron microscope image of cultured neural cells shows the team’s newly developed nanodiscs (colored area) arrayed along the cell surface, where they can exert enough force to trigger a response.

A mechanical way to stimulate neurons

Magnetic nanodiscs can be activated by an external magnetic field, providing a research tool for studying neural responses.

July 19, 2020

LEAH Knox program instructor Vanessa Cheung teaches lab techniques remotely.

LEAH Knox Scholars Program kicks off fourth summer

The science program for local high school students is remote this year, as MIT instructors create at-home lab experiences.

July 14, 2020

3D renderings of simulated multi-bolus delivery to various brain structures (striatum, amygdala, substantia nigra, and hippocampus) show one to four boluses.

COMMANDing drug delivery

A new computational method fine-tunes delivery of therapeutics to specific brain regions.

July 10, 2020

MIT Lincoln Laboratory staff are looking for vocal biomarkers of Covid-19 by analyzing speech signals of asymptomatic people.

Signs of Covid-19 may be hidden in speech signals

Processing vocal recordings of infected but asymptomatic people reveals potential indicators of Covid-19.

July 8, 2020

Newly tenured MIT science professors include: (top row, l-r) Ibrahim Cissé, Mehrdad Jazayeri, Lindley Winslow; (middle row, l-r) Adam Willard, Yogesh Surendranath, Mark Vogelsberger; (bottom row, l-r) Joshua McDermott, Jörn Dunkel, Yen-Jie Lee.

Nine MIT School of Science professors receive tenure for 2020

Professors earn tenure in the departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics.

July 7, 2020

Through research trips to the remote Bolivian rainforest, researchers in the McDermott lab at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research has found that aspects of the perception of note combinations may be universal.

Universal musical harmony

Acoustic and biological constraints shape how we hear harmony across cultures.

July 1, 2020

Photo shows the device the team developed. The tube at top is connected to a supply of the precursor material, sodium nitrite, which then passes through a channel in the fiber at the bottom and into the body, which also contains the electrodes to stimulate the release of nitric oxide. The electrodes are connected through the four-pin connector on the left.

Producing a gaseous messenger molecule inside the body, on demand

Method could shed light on nitric oxide’s role in the neural, circulatory, and immune systems.

June 29, 2020

Using a new calcium indicator that accumulates in the cell bodies of neurons (boxes at right), MIT neuroscientists are able to more accurately image neuron activity. Traditional calcium indicators (boxes at left) can generate crosstalk that blurs the images.

A focused approach to imaging neural activity in the brain

New molecule for imaging calcium in neurons reduces crosstalk from neighboring neurons.

June 26, 2020

Optogenetics is a technique in which genes for light-sensitive proteins are introduced into specific types of brain cells in order to monitor and control their activity precisely using light signals.

Optogenetics with SOUL

The Feng lab has developed a next-generation optogenetic system for non-invasive stimulation of neurons.

May 7, 2020

McGovern scientists are studying the toll of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examining the social impact of Covid-19

Survey from the Saxe Lab aims to measure the toll of social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

April 21, 2020

2020 John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellows include (left to right) Sabine Iatridou, professor of linguistics; Jonathan Gruber, professor of economics; and Rebecca Saxe, professor of cognitive neuroscience.

Three from MIT awarded 2020 Guggenheim Fellowships

MIT professors Sabine Iatridou, Jonathan Gruber, and Rebecca Saxe have been selected to pursue their work “under the freest possible conditions.”

April 14, 2020

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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