a cartoon of a brain with cogs and gears
August 17, 2026
Flexible brain circuits can switch between different tasks
Over a tangle of dark blue neurons, bright orange spots appear along the lengths of some of the axons, highlighting their paths through the tangle
August 13, 2026
Brain circuit keeps tabs on what just happened to aid judgement of what’s happening now
Shanshan Zhang and Rosie Firenze stand before a Massachusetts Life Sciences Center backdrop holding and award certificate
July 29, 2026
With Mass. Women’s Health Award, team will study how Alzheimer’s risk varies with hormone replacement
Emery Brown sits behind his desk in his MIT office. A teddy bear rests nestled among some books on a shelf behind him, just over his right shoulder.
July 20, 2026
MIT names Emery N. Brown an "Institute Professor," its highest faculty honor
A portrait of Susumu Tonegawa in front of a gray background
July 15, 2026
Picower Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86

Cracking the code that relates brain and behavior in a simple animal

August 21, 2023
Research Findings
MIT researchers model and map how neurons across the tiny brain of a C. elegans worm encode its behaviors, revealing many new insights about the robustness and flexibility of its nervous system

Summer research opportunity can be a springboard to advanced studies

August 3, 2023
Picower People
The paths three graduate students forged to the same Picower Institute lab illustrate the value of participating in the MIT Summer Research Program in Biology and Neuroscience.

Study finds tracking brain waves could reduce post-op complications

July 17, 2023
Research Findings
Distinctive EEG patterns indicate when a patient’s state of unconsciousness under general anesthesia is more profound than necessary.

Brain networks encoding memory come together via electric fields, study finds

July 10, 2023
Research Findings
New research provides evidence that electric fields shared among neurons via “ephaptic coupling” provide the coordination necessary to assemble the multi-region neural ensembles (“engrams”) that represent remembered information.

New award funds study of a remarkable example of neural regeneration

July 1, 2023
New Research
A three-year fellowship will support Brady Weissbourd’s research on how the C. hemisphaerica jellyfish survives and thrives by constantly making new neurons.

Petite & Profound

June 22, 2023
Research Feature
Why studying simple organisms—none larger than the palm of your hand—is so integral to understanding nervous system health, disease and evolution.

Picower postdoc earns Burroughs Wellcome Fund award

June 13, 2023
Picower People
‘Career Award at the Scientific Interface’ recognizes Rebecca Pinals’ research to create a nanosensor-integrated brain-on-a-chip model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Without key extracellular protein, neuronal axons break and synaptic connections fall apart

June 12, 2023
Research Findings
MIT scientists find evidence that a protein common to flies and people is essential for supporting the structure of axons that neurons project to make circuit connections. When those break down, the connections follow suit.

Mind to molecules: Does brain’s electrical encoding of information ‘tune’ sub-cellular structure?

May 22, 2023
Research Findings
Brain waves carry information. A new “Cytoelectric Coupling” hypothesis posits that fluctuating electric fields optimize brain network efficiency and stability by shaping the brain’s molecular infrastructure.

40 Hz vibrations reduce Alzheimer’s pathology, symptoms in mouse models

May 18, 2023
Research Findings
Tactile stimulation improved motor performance, reduced phosphorylated tau, preserved neurons and synapses and reduced DNA damage, a new study shows

From labs to the streets, experts work to defuse childhood threats to mental health

May 18, 2023
Picower Events
Symposium speakers describe numerous ways to promote prevention, resilience, healing and wellness after early life stresses

From molecular to whole-brain scale in a simple animal, study reveals serotonin’s effects

May 15, 2023
Research Findings
With full genetic control and visibility into neural activity and behavior, MIT scientists map out chemical’s role in behavior