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Research quantifying “nociception” could help improve management of surgical pain

September 23, 2024
Research Findings
New statistical models based on rigorous physiological data from more than 100 surgeries provide objective, accurate measures of “nociception,” the body’s subconscious perception of pain.

Better living through brain chemistry

September 6, 2024
Research Feature
Studying neuromodulators such as serotonin and norepinephrine could help make them better targets for psychiatric or psychedelic drugs

Picower retreats advance science by giving researchers a chance to step back from the lab

September 2, 2024
Picower People
Every year members of The Picower Institute find they can explore new ideas and interactions by experiencing the change of scenery afforded by the Dana and Betty Fisher retreat

Study assesses seizure risk from stimulating thalamus

August 21, 2024
Research Findings
In awake mice, researchers found that even low stimulation currents could sometimes still cause electrographic seizures

Talented high schoolers excel while they explore the brain

August 14, 2024
Picower People
Two teens who spent their summer in Picower Institute labs via MIT outreach programs gained exposure to neuroscience they can carry with them to college

Study reveals ways in which 40Hz sensory stimulation may preserve brain’s ‘white matter’

August 8, 2024
Research Findings
MIT scientists report that gamma frequency light and sound stimulation preserves myelination in mouse models and reveal molecular mechanisms that may underlie the benefit.

Method enables fast, accurate estimates of cardiovascular state to inform blood pressure management

July 25, 2024
Research Findings
A new mathematical method, validated with experimental animal data, provides a fast, reliable and minimally invasive way of determining how to treat critical blood pressure changes during surgery or intensive care.

Study across multiple brain regions discerns Alzheimer’s vulnerability and resilience factors

July 24, 2024
Research Findings
Genomics and lab studies reveal numerous findings, including a key role for Reelin amid neuronal vulnerability, and for choline and antioxidants in sustaining cognition.

HHMI honor will advance Flavell’s studies of how internal brain states arise and affect behavior

July 23, 2024
Picower People
In animals from worms to humans, feelings and drives such as hunger or sleepiness influence behavior. With flexible, long-term support as a newly named HHMI Investigator, Steve Flavell will advance his lab’s studies of exactly how that happens.

Study reveals how an anesthesia drug induces unconsciousness

July 15, 2024
Research Findings
Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, derails the brain’s normal balance between stability and excitability.

Fellowship supports student’s work to advance Alzheimer’s research and equity

July 9, 2024
Picower People
With strong personal motivation and up to three years of support from the HHMI Gilliam Fellows Program, graduate student Mingus Rae Zoller will probe mysteries of Alzheimer’s and its possible treatment.

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.