Select Topics
Disorders
Cognition and Motivation
Systems Neuroscience
Molecular and Cellular
Neurotechnology

Brain Imaging

In many ways, Picower Institute neuroscientists are explorers for whom new ways to see inside the brain are essential for finding answers to their questions about how the brain works at scales ranging from synapses to whole networks. Researchers at the institute doesn’t just apply the latest imaging techniques, it often creates new technologies to make imaging better.

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism refers to a group of developmental disorders typically affecting behaviors including social interaction. Picower researchers study the neurobiology underlying a variety of forms of autism, including genetic anomalies and other ways that synapses and neural circuits may develop differently. Their studies extend to the level of cognitive functions and associated systems.

Huntington's Disease

Huntington’s disease is an inherited, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder associated with mutation of the Huntingtin protein results in wide-ranging motor, cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Work at the Picower Institute involves advancing the understanding of how the mutation gives rise to these consequences.

Schizophrenia

A developmental disorder with typical onset in young adulthood, schizophrenia affects cognition and behavior, sometimes affecting a person’s understanding of reality. Research in the Picower Institute spans synapses and systems to help better understand the condition and how treatments might be improved.

With Mass. Women’s Health Award, team will study how Alzheimer’s risk varies with hormone replacement

July 29, 2026
New Research
Observations conflict about whether hormone replacement therapy increases or decreases Alzheimer’s likelihood for women. With a new award from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, MIT researchers will investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms aff

A new director

July 27, 2026
Picower People
Myriam Heiman becomes the fourth director of The Picower Institute. She shares her outlook in a new Q&A

MIT names Emery N. Brown an "Institute Professor," its highest faculty honor

July 20, 2026
Picower People
Brown, a renowned neuroscientist, anesthesiologist and statistician, has made numerous seminal contributions to basic science and clinical care alike. He joins two other professors in earning the honor this year

Picower Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86

July 15, 2026
Picower People
Tonegawa made landmark discoveries about how the immune system generates antibody diversity and how the brain forms memories.

Electric fields help guide neural activity, even from moment to moment

July 7, 2026
Research Findings
A new study adds evidence that electric fields in the brain help to organize and shape underlying neural activity via “ephaptic coupling.”

Symposium speakers examine how understanding the brain could improve the functioning of democracy

June 2, 2026
Picower Events
Combining insights from the debates of American civics to the discoveries of neuroscience labs, experts honed in on ways that brain science research could inform efforts to improve political participation and dialogue in a polarized age

Myriam Heiman named the director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory

May 26, 2026
Picower People
Heiman, who studies neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, will lead the institute beginning July 1.

Takato Honda receives MIT Infinite Expansion Award

May 22, 2026
Picower People
Picower Institute Research Scientist honored for studies, mentoring and recently discovering a new marine species