A 4 by 2 array of panels shows neurons in a brain section. Green "Myc" labeling indicates the presence of a receptor. Magenta "fos" labeling indicates neural activity. There is more magenta on the bottom row, which is labeled "IL-1B"
November 25, 2025
Too sick to socialize: How the brain and immune system promote staying in bed
A view of the upper right quadrant of a cross section of a mouse brain. An arc of tissue extends from the top left to the bottom right. Along the arc there are stripes of neurons glowing in eithe red or green in distinct layers of the tissue
November 25, 2025
Prefrontal cortex reaches back into the brain to shape how other regions function
Andres Crane sits at a lab computer while Troy Littleton stands behind him looking over his shoulder at the screen.
November 20, 2025
RNA editing study finds many ways for neurons to diversify
A closeup of a woman's bright green eye
November 19, 2025
MIT study shows how vision can be rebooted in adults with amblyopia
Earl Miller gestures walks across a large stage decorated with the words "Neuroscience 2025"
November 15, 2025
Brain waves’ analog organization of cortex enables cognition and consciousness, MIT professor proposes at SfN

Award will enable detailed study of an organism that constantly adds new neurons

July 8, 2024
Picower People
With an eye on implications for regenerative medicine, Assistant Professor Brady Weissbourd will use the support of being named a Searle Scholar to study how jellyfish excel at building and regenerating their neural networks.

Fellowship enables study of how the brain makes memories of places

July 1, 2024
Picower People
With a new Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience, Assistant Professor Linlin Fan will seek to strengthen understanding of how neural connections change to encode memories of specific locations.

Pew award will fund study of neural role in respiratory disease

June 18, 2024
Picower People
As a newly named Pew Biomedical Scholar, Assistant Professor Sara Prescott and her lab plan to test whether and how neurons have a role in airway remodeling, which goes awry in many diseases.

Technologies enable 3D imaging of whole human brain hemispheres at subcellular resolution

June 13, 2024
Research Findings
A suite of three innovations by an MIT-based team enables high-throughput imaging of human brain tissue at a full range of scales and mapping connectivity of neurons at single cell resolution.

Consciousness

June 12, 2024
Research Feature
Emerging evidence shows how brain waves help to knit our internal thoughts and external awareness together into an organized, unified whole

With programmable pixels, novel sensor improves imaging of neural activity

June 7, 2024
Research Findings
New camera chip design allows for optimizing each pixel’s timing to maximize signal to noise ratio when tracking real-time visual indicator of neural voltage

Microscope system sharpens scientists’ view of neural circuit connections

June 4, 2024
Research Findings
A newly described technology improves the clarity and speed of using two-photon microscopy to image synapses in the live brain

Study models how ketamine’s molecular action leads to its effects on the brain

May 20, 2024
Research Findings
New research addresses a gap in understanding how ketamine’s impact on individual neurons leads to pervasive and profound changes in brain network function.

How the brain is flexible enough for a complex world (without being thrown into chaos)

May 13, 2024
Research Findings
Many neurons exhibit “mixed selectivity.” They can integrate multiple inputs and participate in multiple computations. Mechanisms such as oscillations and neuromodulators recruit their participation and tune them to focus on the relevant information.

Autism symptoms sometimes improve amid fever, so a research team will study how to make that a therapy

May 8, 2024
New Research
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.

In the brain, bursts of beta rhythms implement cognitive control

April 23, 2024
Research Findings
Bursts of brain rhythms with “beta” frequencies control where and when neurons in the cortex process sensory information and plan responses. Studying these bursts would improve understanding of cognition and clinical disorders, researchers write.

Paper: To understand cognition—and its dysfunction—neuroscientists must learn its rhythms

April 17, 2024
Research Findings
Thought emerges and is controlled in the brain via the rhythmically and spatially coordinated activity of millions of neurons, scientists argue in a new article. Understanding cognition and its disorders requires studying it at that level.