A cross section of a mouse brain glows with a magenta hue. Many individual speckles across the whole brain are lit up brighter.
January 14, 2026
How a unique class of neurons may set the table for brain development
A realistic rendering shows a wide field of neurons densely bunched together
December 29, 2025
Biology-based brain model matches animals in learning, enables new discovery
On a black background there is a profile of a head with a light colored line-art brain in the middle. The brain has bright spots in various areas. From front and back, waves made of vertical lines emanate from the head.
December 22, 2025
To flexibly organize thought, the brain makes use of space
A 4 by 2 array of panels shows neurons in a brain section. Green "Myc" labeling indicates the presence of a receptor. Magenta "fos" labeling indicates neural activity. There is more magenta on the bottom row, which is labeled "IL-1B"
November 25, 2025
Too sick to socialize: How the brain and immune system promote staying in bed
A view of the upper right quadrant of a cross section of a mouse brain. An arc of tissue extends from the top left to the bottom right. Along the arc there are stripes of neurons glowing in eithe red or green in distinct layers of the tissue
November 25, 2025
Prefrontal cortex reaches back into the brain to shape how other regions function

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.

Fellowship enables study of how the brain makes memories of places

July 1, 2024
Picower People
With a new Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience, Assistant Professor Linlin Fan will seek to strengthen understanding of how neural connections change to encode memories of specific locations.

Pew award will fund study of neural role in respiratory disease

June 18, 2024
Picower People
As a newly named Pew Biomedical Scholar, Assistant Professor Sara Prescott and her lab plan to test whether and how neurons have a role in airway remodeling, which goes awry in many diseases.

Technologies enable 3D imaging of whole human brain hemispheres at subcellular resolution

June 13, 2024
Research Findings
A suite of three innovations by an MIT-based team enables high-throughput imaging of human brain tissue at a full range of scales and mapping connectivity of neurons at single cell resolution.

Consciousness

June 12, 2024
Research Feature
Emerging evidence shows how brain waves help to knit our internal thoughts and external awareness together into an organized, unified whole

With programmable pixels, novel sensor improves imaging of neural activity

June 7, 2024
Research Findings
New camera chip design allows for optimizing each pixel’s timing to maximize signal to noise ratio when tracking real-time visual indicator of neural voltage

Microscope system sharpens scientists’ view of neural circuit connections

June 4, 2024
Research Findings
A newly described technology improves the clarity and speed of using two-photon microscopy to image synapses in the live brain

Study models how ketamine’s molecular action leads to its effects on the brain

May 20, 2024
Research Findings
New research addresses a gap in understanding how ketamine’s impact on individual neurons leads to pervasive and profound changes in brain network function.