A microscope view of several worms wriggling through a red-hued gel
April 20, 2026
How neurons sense bacteria in the gut
Three views of an organoid cell culture show the constiuent cells of the vaguely round, tangled mass of cells.  In the different views the cells are highlighted in different colors such as magenta and green.
April 14, 2026
Rett syndrome study highlights potential for personalized treatments
A video screenshot shows a grayscale worm twisting its body around in a loop to change direction
April 10, 2026
With navigating nematodes, scientists map out how brains implement behaviors
A member of a surgical staff holds a mask on the face of an unconscious patient in an operating room
March 17, 2026
Three anesthesia drugs all have the same effect in the brain, MIT researchers find
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

MIT Down syndrome researchers work on ways to ensure a healthy lifespan

April 24, 2025
Picower Events
An Alana Down Syndrome Center webinar, co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress, presented numerous MIT studies that all share the goal of improving health throughout life for people with trisomy 21.

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

April 24, 2025
Research Findngs
Study provides new evidence that sensory stimulation of gamma-frequency brain rhythm may promote broad-based restorative neurological health response.

With Searle Scholar award, Fan will study serotonin role in memory

April 22, 2025
Picower People
Assistant Professor Linlin Fan will apply her lab’s precise “all-optical” techniques to study how serotonin might influence plasticity in memory, and whether psychedelics affect that.

In kids, EEG monitoring of consciousness safely reduces anesthetic use

April 21, 2025
Research Findings
Clinical trial finds several outcomes improved for young children when an anesthesiologist observed their brain waves to guide dosing of sevoflurane during surgery.

A simple animal’s response to sickness highlights the nervous system’s surprising degrees of flexibility

April 8, 2025
Research Findings
Upon infection, the C. elegans worm reshuffles the roles of brain cells and flips the functions of some of the chemicals it uses to regulate behavior.

Molecules that fight infection also act on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability

April 7, 2025
Research Findings
New research on a cytokine called IL-17 adds to growing evidence that immune molecules can influence behavior during illness.

Gloria Choi earns Samsung Ho-Am Prize for Medicine

April 2, 2025
Picower People
Honor recognizes Choi’s research on connections between the immune and central nervous systems and their relevance to autism and other disorders

A neuron’s neighbors

March 14, 2025
Research Feature
The field is called neuroscience, but neurons alone can’t operate your brain. Research is revealing how non-neural cells indispensably contribute to function, and why their roles can make them promising treatment targets in disease.

Review: Evidence expanding that 40Hz gamma stimulation promotes brain health

March 3, 2025
A decade of studies from labs around the world provide a growing evidence base that increasing the power of the brain’s gamma rhythms could help fight Alzheimer’s, and perhaps other, neurological diseases.

Study suggests new molecular strategy for treating fragile X syndrome

February 20, 2025
Research Findings
Enhancing activity of a specific component of ‘NMDA’ receptors normalized protein synthesis, neural activity and seizure susceptibility in hippocampus of fragile X lab mice

Even after learning the right idea, humans and animals still seem to test other approaches, study suggests

February 18, 2025
Research Findings
New research adds evidence that learning a successful strategy for approaching a task doesn’t prevent further exploration, even if it reduces performance.

MIT method enables ultrafast protein labeling of tens of millions of densely packed cells in organ-scale tissues

January 24, 2025
Research Findings
Tissue processing advance can label proteins at the level of individual cells across whole, intact rodent brains and other large samples just as fast and uniformly as in dissociated single cells.