Picower Institute

Brighter fluorescence (at right) represents greater expression of the protein neurogranin in the hippocampus of mice exposed to new contexts (versus mice not exposed to new contexts, at left). The quick production of neurogranin is believed to help in the creation of new memories.

Protein pair quickly makes memories of new places

MIT researchers find that encountering novel contexts cues the brain to churn out neurogranin.

June 6, 2018

Newly tenured professors in the School of Science (clockwise from top left): Daniel Cziczo, Matthew Evans, Anna Frebel, Aram Harrow, Adam Martin, and Kay Tye.

Meet the School of Science’s tenured professors for 2018

Six faculty members are granted tenure in four departments.

June 4, 2018

Ravi Raju, a Picower Clinical Research Fellow, explains how gene expression differs as mice respond to circumstances modeling poverty.

Fighting toxic stress in children is tough but possible

Taking time to understand underlying causes of stress can help children escape debilitating health effects, symposium speakers argue.

May 31, 2018

MIT neuroscientists have performed a comprehensive study of the APOE4 gene, which increases risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and the more common form of the gene, APOE3.

Neuroscientists discover roles of gene linked to Alzheimer’s

Study reveals why people with the APOE4 gene have higher risk of the disease.

May 31, 2018

It’s often said that experience is the best teacher, but the experiences of other people may be even better.

Brain circuit helps us learn by watching others

Scientists pinpoint neural interactions that are necessary for observational learning.

May 3, 2018

MIT researchers have designed MRI sensors that form clusters in the presence of calcium, allowing them to monitor neuron activity in the living brain.

Calcium-based MRI sensor enables more sensitive brain imaging

System detects direct signals of neural activity; could reveal patterns underlying behavior.

April 30, 2018

Three brain regions collaborate to produce working memory, but when it reaches capacity, their synchrony breaks down.

A heavy working memory load may sink brainwave 'synch'

Picower Institute study explains what happens when working memory reaches its full capacity.

April 6, 2018

School of Science announces Infinite Mile Awards for 2018

Seven staff members honored for their outstanding contributions to the MIT community.

April 3, 2018

The MVP protein appears green in these stained neurons (red denotes neuronal marker SATB2).

Researchers identify important role for gene in 16p11.2 deletion autism

Study finds that major vault protein is needed for homeostatic plasticity.

March 21, 2018

Fluorescently-tagged IAPP oligomers can be seen trafficking through yeast cells.

Toxic proteins and type 2 diabetes

Whitehead Institute study in yeast illuminates the role of a molecular de-clogger in disease biology.

March 8, 2018

As both a neuroscientist and an anesthesiologist, Emery Brown wants to make the brain the center of field.

Putting the brain at the center of anesthesiology

Emery N. Brown explains how statistics and neuroscience improve anesthesiology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting.

February 16, 2018

In this image of a mouse visual cortex, astrocytes (stained red) appear about as abundant as neurons (green).

MIT neuroscientists give "invisible" cells a new look

With a new grant, a Picower Institute team is studying the role of astrocytes, which may partner with neurons to process information in the brain.

February 12, 2018

At a time of rapid advances in intelligence research across many disciplines, the MIT Intelligence Quest will encourage researchers to investigate the societal implications of their work as they pursue hard problems lying beyond the current horizon of what is known.

Institute launches the MIT Intelligence Quest

New Institute-wide initiative will advance human and machine intelligence research.

February 1, 2018

MIT neuroscientists have found evidence that the brain’s ability to control what it’s thinking about relies on low-frequency brain waves known as beta rhythms.

New study reveals how brain waves control working memory

Brain rhythms act as a gate for information entering and leaving the mind.

January 26, 2018

Sometimes items can easily be grouped by their appearance, such as these apples, but sometimes the brain must use a different mode of thought to find a more abstract similarity, such as that between a drill and screwdriver.

Study: Distinct brain rhythms and regions help us reason about categories

High-frequency gamma oscillations sort similar-looking objects; lower-frequency beta oscillations kick in when connections are more abstract.

January 25, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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