Ultrasound offers a new way to perform deep brain stimulation
MIT engineers’ implantable ImPULS device could become an alternative to the electrodes now used to treat Parkinson’s and other diseases.
Understanding why autism symptoms sometimes improve amid fever
With support from The Marcus Foundation, an MIT neuroscientist and a Harvard Medical School immunologist will study the “fever effect” in an effort to devise therapies that mimic its beneficial effects.
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.
Epigenomic analysis sheds light on risk factors for ALS
In a study of cells from nearly 400 ALS patients, researchers identified genomic regions with chemical modifications linked to disease progression.
To understand cognition — and its dysfunction — neuroscientists must learn its rhythms
A new framework describes how thought arises from the coordination of neural activity driven by oscillating electric fields — a.k.a. brain “waves” or “rhythms.”
Three from MIT awarded 2024 Guggenheim Fellowships
MIT professors Roger Levy, Tracy Slatyer, and Martin Wainwright appointed to the 2024 class of “trail-blazing fellows.”
Mapping the brain pathways of visual memorability
For the first time, researchers use a combination of MEG and fMRI to map the spatio-temporal human brain dynamics of a visual image being recognized.
From neurons to learning and memory
Mark Harnett investigates how electrical activity in mammalian cortical cells helps to produce neural computations that give rise to behavior.
Reevaluating an approach to functional brain imaging
An MRI method purported to detect neurons’ rapid impulses produces its own misleading signals instead, an MIT study finds.
Study: Movement disorder ALS and cognitive disorder FTLD show strong molecular overlaps
Single-cell gene expression patterns in the brain, and evidence from follow-up experiments, reveal many shared cellular and molecular similarities that could be targeted for potential treatment.
For people who speak many languages, there’s something special about their native tongue
An MIT study finds the brains of polyglots expend comparatively little effort when processing their native language.
How sensory gamma rhythm stimulation clears amyloid in Alzheimer’s mice
Study finds stimulating a key brain rhythm with light and sound increases peptide release from interneurons, driving clearance of an Alzheimer’s protein.
Deciphering the cellular mechanisms behind ALS
Professor Ernest Fraenkel has decoded fundamental aspects of Huntington’s disease and glioblastoma, and is now using computation to better understand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
How cognition changes before dementia hits
Study finds language-processing difficulties are an indicator — in addition to memory loss — of amnestic mild cognitive impairment.
Simons Center’s collaborative approach propels autism research, at MIT and beyond
Team-based targeted projects, multi-mentor fellowships ensure that scientists studying social cognition, behavior, and autism integrate multiple perspectives and approaches to pressing questions.