In C. elegans worms, a single neuron named HSN uses multiple chemicals and connections to orchestrate egg-laying and locomotion over the course of several minutes

Neurons stochastically generated up to eight different versions of a protein regulating neurotransmitter release, which could vary how they communicate with other cells

Neurotypical humans readily optimize performance in ‘reversal learning’ games, but while mice learn the winning strategy, they refuse to commit to it, a new study shows. The research provides a mathematical way to track the rodents’ more mixed tactics

Neural activity during sleep has a signature structure that the brain uses to make profound improvements in our thinking and wellness

A potential new Alzheimer’s drug represses the harmful inflammatory response of the brain’s immune cells, reducing disease pathology, preserving neurons and improving cognition in preclinical tests

Researchers compared a pair of superficially similar motor neurons in fruit flies to examine how their differing use of the same genome produced distinctions in form and function

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

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.

Distinctive EEG patterns indicate when a patient’s state of unconsciousness under general anesthesia is more profound than necessary.

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.

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

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