Alana Down Syndrome Center symposium highlights studies from brain to heart
Seven researchers from MIT, Rutgers University and the University of São Paulo shared the research they are doing to help people with trisomy 21 throughout their lifespan.
Rett syndrome study highlights potential for personalized treatments
Using advanced human cell cultures to model Rett syndrome, MIT researchers tracked how two different mutations alter neural circuit development and how each could be addressed with distinct potential therapeutics
A complete rethinking of how our brains use categories to make sense of the world
Challenging the classic view, two cognitive scientists argue in a new review that categorization is not a late, specialized stage of sensory processing. Instead, it is a core function operating at every level, anticipating bodily needs and motor plans.
With navigating nematodes, scientists map out how brains implement behaviors
How do nervous systems produce behaviors? A new MIT study provides a detailed mechanistic mapping of exactly what happens in the brains of C. elegans worms when they “follow their nose” to savor attractive odors or avoid unappealing ones
Picower Institute researchers and collaborators are inventing versatile new models of the brain to accelerate neuroscience discoveries and biomedical advances.
In Rett syndrome, leaky brain blood vessels traced to microRNA
MIT neuroscientists have found that either of two genetic mutations that cause Rett syndrome undermine the structural integrity of developing blood vessels. By showing that the problem derives from overexpression of a microRNA, the new study points to a p
As worms and jellyfish wriggle, new AI tools track their neurons
Three new neural network-based tools enable fast, accurate alignment and annotation of images even in very wiggly subjects. The tools might offer a way to automate cell tracking in other imaging datasets, too.
Sloan Fellowship will help Fan advance technology to study how brain circuits change amid learning
Linlin Fan uses innovative optical tools to precisely investigate how connections change among neurons during memory formation. With Sloan Foundation support, she plans to give the technology a significant upgrade
Fragile X study uncovers brainwave biomarker bridging humans and mice
A collaboration centered at MIT discovered that mice modeling the autism spectrum disorder fragile X syndrome exhibit the same pattern of differences in low-frequency waves as human patients, identifying a new biomarker for treatment studies