Linlin Fan stands in her lab with microscope equipment in the foreground.
February 17, 2026
Sloan Fellowship will help Fan advance technology to study how brain circuits change amid learning
Wearing white lab coats in the lab, Mark Bear stands behind Sara Kornfeld-Sylla as she sits in a stool at a lab bench
February 11, 2026
Fragile X study uncovers brainwave biomarker bridging humans and mice
A 3 by 2 array shows three different cross sections of the brainstem in two rows. The top row shows the new tool which highlights in different colors distinct shapes within the brainstem. The bottom row shows finer tracings of fibers, colored the same way, through the brainstem.
February 6, 2026
Opening a new window on the brainstem, AI algorithm enables tracking of its vital white matter pathways
A cross section of a mouse brain glows with a magenta hue. Many individual speckles across the whole brain are lit up brighter.
January 14, 2026
How a unique class of neurons may set the table for brain development
A realistic rendering shows a wide field of neurons densely bunched together
December 29, 2025
Biology-based brain model matches animals in learning, enables new discovery

Neuroscientists identify cells especially vulnerable to Alzheimer’s

April 19, 2023
Research Findings
Neurons that form part of a memory circuit are among the first brain cells to show signs of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment

April 12, 2023
Research Findings
The peptide blocks a hyperactive brain enzyme that contributes to the neurodegeneration seen in Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

Fluid flow in the brain can be manipulated by sensory stimulation

April 10, 2023
Research Findings
Blood flow induced by visual stimulation drives the flow of cerebrospinal fluid

Studying consciousness without affecting it

April 6, 2023
Research Findings
A new study tests an alternative to external stimulation for measuring when subjects lose and regain responsiveness during sedation and anesthesia.

Spring break tours give high schoolers a chance to see science up close

March 31, 2023
Picower Events
Teens from area high schools got the chance to learn about advanced biology and brain research on field trips to MIT

‘Spatial Computing’ enables flexible working memory

March 15, 2023
Research Findings
Brain applies rhythms to physical patches of the cortex to selectively control just the right neurons at the right times to do the right things.

Astrocyte cells critical for learning skilled movements

March 10, 2023
Research Findings
When astrocyte function is disrupted, neurons in the brain’s motor cortex struggle to execute and refine motion, a new study in mice shows.

3 questions for Mriganka Sur: The basic research origin of the first approved drug to treat Rett syndrome

March 10, 2023
On March 10 the FDA approved Trofinetide, a drug based on the protein IGF-1, as the first drug available to treat Rett syndrome. The original research showing that IGF-1 could treat Rett syndrome was published by MIT in 2009.

Immune & Inflamed

March 1, 2023
Research Feature
Neuroscientists are finding that immune system activity within the brain and the body has important impacts on mental health and behavior

Picower Fellows discuss the social context of their science

February 14, 2023
Picower People
Young neuroscientists contributed their perspectives as the MIT Museum works to create a potential ‘Center for Neuroscience & Society’

Sparse, small, but diverse neural connections help make perception reliable, efficient

February 2, 2023
Research Findings
First detailed mapping and modeling of thalamus inputs onto visual cortex neurons show brain leverages “wisdom of the crowd” to process sensory information

Researchers map brain cell changes in Alzheimer’s disease

February 2, 2023
Study reveals key cell structures and gene expression changes near amyloid plaques and tau tangles in mouse brain tissue