Li-Huei Tsai stands at a podium embossed with an MIT logo. In the foreground is an attentive audience. In the background is the Picower Institute logo
March 11, 2026
After 16+ years leading Picower Institute, Li-Huei Tsai will sharpen focus on research, teaching
Two panels show blue cells surrounded by thin green outlines. The outlines are much more consistent and prevalent in the image on the left, which is labeled as the wild type, than on the right which is labeled Rett syndrome.
February 25, 2026
In Rett syndrome, leaky brain blood vessels traced to microRNA
a series of small blocky spots of color appear in the aggregate to make up the shape of a worm as it stretches horizonally across a black background
February 24, 2026
As worms and jellyfish wriggle, new AI tools track their neurons
Linlin Fan stands in her lab with microscope equipment in the foreground.
February 17, 2026
Sloan Fellowship will help Fan advance technology to study how brain circuits change amid learning
Wearing white lab coats in the lab, Mark Bear stands behind Sara Kornfeld-Sylla as she sits in a stool at a lab bench
February 11, 2026
Fragile X study uncovers brainwave biomarker bridging humans and mice

'Risky' Research

December 20, 2021
Research Feature
How bold new neuroscience research projects get off the ground

Research finds potential mechanism linking autism, intestinal inflammation

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

Study reveals a protein’s key contribution to heterogeneity of neurons

November 29, 2021
Research Findings
Tomosyn’s tight regulation of neurotransmitter release distinguishes functions of two neuron classes at the fly neuromuscular junction

Feast or forage: Study finds circuit that helps a brain decide

November 22, 2021
Research Findings
By integrating multiple sensory inputs, a loop of mutual inhibition among a small set of neurons allows worms to switch between long-lasting behavioral states

Young Picower scientists present projects at ‘SfN’

November 12, 2021
Picower People
Picower scientists shared research on brain waves, new technologies, brain plasticity and psychiatric illness and, of course, learning and memory.

Study links gene to cognitive resilience in the elderly

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

Symposium spotlights crucial roles of dendrites

October 18, 2021
Recent Events
Scholars from around the world gathered online to share new research on how intricately structured neural processes enable plasticity of circuit connections and help integrate incoming information to enable brain function

NIH award funds innovative investigation of neurodegenerative motor diseases

October 5, 2021
New Research
Large-scale, integrated application of advanced computational, biological techniques aims to discover mechanisms underlying ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with motor neuron disease

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

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

'What Were you Thinking?'

September 20, 2021
Research Feature
How brain circuits integrate many sources of context to flexibly guide behavior

From Brazil to Fenway Park, researcher strives to save lives with science

September 10, 2021
Picower People
As a researcher studying Huntington’s disease, and as a science communicator working tirelessly to keep Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking communities informed about Covid-19, Izabella Pena is focused on keeping people safe.

Behind the scenes, brain circuit ensures vision remains reliable

September 8, 2021
As mice watched movies, scientists watched their brains to see how vision could be represented reliably. The answer is that consistency in representation is governed by a circuit of inhibitory neurons