An illustration depicts a head in profile with a speak bubble containing a check symbol next to an x symbol. The background is pink
September 9, 2026
How the brain keeps its options straight at decision time
September 1, 2026
Atlas of the brain’s striatum could guide researchers to new drug treatments
Three brain-shaped speak bubbles are black but full of white concentric lines that appear as ripples or waves in complex patterns
August 19, 2026
Cognition and consciousness arise from analog computations, says new theory
a cartoon of a brain with cogs and gears
August 17, 2026
Flexible brain circuits can switch between different tasks
Over a tangle of dark blue neurons, bright orange spots appear along the lengths of some of the axons, highlighting their paths through the tangle
August 13, 2026
Brain circuit keeps tabs on what just happened to aid judgement of what’s happening now

Research highlights immune molecule’s complex role in Huntington’s disease

May 26, 2020
Research Findings
Knocking out the immune cytokine IL-6 exacerbates symptoms in HD model mice, affects neural connection genes

Grant fuels effort to develop new Alzheimer’s drug

May 22, 2020
New Research
Collaboration will develop compound to correct gene expression in brain’s immune cells

Scientists find a new way to reverse symptoms of Fragile X

May 20, 2020
Research Findings
Drug compound, tested in mice, could be effective in treating the leading heritable cause of intellectual disability and autism

Technology makes tissues elastic and lasting for easier imaging

May 18, 2020
Research Findings
By making brain and other tissues reversibly stretchable or compressible, ELAST allows labeling probes to infuse more quickly

Study finds that aging neurons accumulate DNA damage

May 18, 2020
Research Findings
Reactivating an enzyme that promotes DNA repair can help to reverse age-related cognitive decline in mice.

Study finds ‘volume dial’ for turning neural communication up or down

May 6, 2020
Research Findings
The protein Synaptotagmin 7 limits supply of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles for release at synapses

How could Covid-19 and the body’s immune response affect the brain?

April 21, 2020
Research Feature
Picower Institute researchers are embarking on experiments to learn the mechanisms by which coronavirus might affect mental health

Covid-19 calls Picower physician-scientist to assume another role: Front-line respiratory care

April 16, 2020
News Feature
A neurologist and researcher pitches in to help New England get through tough times

Neuroscientists find memory cells that help us interpret new situations

April 6, 2020
Research Findings
Neurons that store abstract representations of past experiences are activated when a new, similar event takes place

‘Researching from Home’: Picower science stays strong even at a distance

April 1, 2020
News Feature
Institute researchers are advancing their work in many ways despite time away from the lab required to corral Covid-19

Look and Learn: Studying the visual system

March 13, 2020
Research Feature
Research on how the brain processes sight has told neuroscientists much about how the brain works more broadly

With sophisticated tools in a simple model, scientists aim to learn how serotonin modulates behavior

February 20, 2020
New Research
New NIH grant funds study that will span receptors, cells, the whole brain and behavior