Disorders

Picower Institute scientists investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying complex disorders of the brain that affect emotion and cognition. To learn more about research in these or other areas, select them under "Research Topics" and you'll find relevant Picower people, discoveries and events.

August 19, 2022

Research Findings

New research reveals cells that span brain hemispheres to coordinate activity in visual processing centers and shows that Alzheimer’s degrades their structure and therefore their function

August 4, 2022

Research Findings

A breakdown of lipid metabolism in these brain cells promotes inflammation and interferes with neuron activity, a new study finds

July 29, 2022

Research Findings

Using organoids to model early development, researchers used an emerging microscopy technology to see that new neurons struggled to reach their developmental destination

June 23, 2022

Picower People

Just before school was out for summer, high school students from Everett and Lawrence toured life sciences research labs at MIT to get information and inspiration

May 26, 2022

New Research

Research Program Award will fund studies to find early triggers of disease progression

April 20, 2022

New Research

Competitive seed grants launch yearlong investigations of novel hypotheses about potential causes, biomarkers, treatments of Alzheimer’s and ALS.

January 6, 2022

Research Findings

Extra chromosome alters chromosomal conformation and DNA accessibility across the whole genome in neural progenitor cells, disrupting gene transcription and cell functions much like in cellular aging.

December 20, 2021

Research Feature

How bold new neuroscience research projects get off the ground

December 7, 2021

Research Findings

Moms infected during pregnancy who produce elevated levels of the cytokine IL-17a may have microbiome alterations that prime offspring for aberrant immune responses later in life, mouse study suggests

November 3, 2021

Research Findings

The findings may help explain why some people who lead enriching lives are less prone to Alzheimer’s and age-related dementia

September 29, 2021

Research Findings

While the brain acquires resistance to continuous treatment with mGluR5 inhibitor drugs, lasting effects may still arise if dosing occurs intermittently and during a developmental critical period

July 23, 2021

New Research

Long thought of as a generic alarm system, the locus coeruleus may actually be a sophisticated regulator of learning and behavior, an MIT team posits

When Alzheimer’s degrades cells that cross hemispheres, visual memory suffers

How microglia contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

Advanced imaging reveals mired migration of neurons in Rett syndrome lab models

For high schoolers, summer starts with extra exposure to biomedical science

NIH award to help Heiman unearth roots of Huntington’s pathology

Aging Brain Initiative awards fund 5 new ideas to study, fight neurodegeneration

In Down syndrome cells, genome-wide disruptions mimic a senescence-like state

'Risky' Research

Research finds potential mechanism linking autism, intestinal inflammation

Study links gene to cognitive resilience in the elderly

Study shows fragile X treatment can incur resistance, suggests ways around it

Grant to help scientists test whether brain region is a key locus of learning