Neurons glow green against a black background in a section of a mouse brain. A few red specks can be seen. An inset magnifies one of these cells that has red and green staining.
April 28, 2025
Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten
A 2 by 2 array of panels that each show a hairpin-like shape of blue stained cells. The left column is laberled "Ambient light/sound." The right column is labeled "40Hz Stimulation." The panels in the 40Hz column show more yellow arrows pointing white blotches than the panels in the ambient column.
April 24, 2025
In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity
Emery Brown sits behind his desk in his MIT office. A teddy bear rests nestled among some books on a shelf behind him, just over his right shoulder.
April 21, 2025
In kids, EEG monitoring of consciousness safely reduces anesthetic use
In a grayscale image a wiggly worm is seen in a vertical orientation above a lumpy background of bacteria
April 8, 2025
A simple animal’s response to sickness highlights the nervous system’s surprising degrees of flexibility
A black brain shown in a side view glows blue. The amygdala, a small almond-shaped structure toward the bottome center stands out especially. In the background there are theater masks signifying emotions.
April 7, 2025
Molecules that fight infection also act on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability

Sparse, small, but diverse neural connections help make perception reliable, efficient

February 2, 2023
Research Findings
First detailed mapping and modeling of thalamus inputs onto visual cortex neurons show brain leverages “wisdom of the crowd” to process sensory information

Researchers map brain cell changes in Alzheimer’s disease

February 2, 2023
Study reveals key cell structures and gene expression changes near amyloid plaques and tau tangles in mouse brain tissue

How Huntington’s disease affects different neurons

January 20, 2023
Research Findings
A new study identifies cells that are the most vulnerable within a brain structure involved in mood and movement

Self-assembling proteins can store cellular “memories”

January 10, 2023
Research Findings
Using these engineered proteins, researchers can record histories that reveal when certain genes are activated or how cells respond to a drug.

New technologies revealing cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease

January 2, 2023
Research Findings
‘Single-cell profiling’ is helping neuroscientists see how disease affects major brain cell types and identify common, potentially targetable pathways

Holding information in mind may mean storing it among synapses

December 29, 2022
Research Findings
Comparing models of working memory with real-world data, MIT researchers found that information resides not in persistent neural activity, but in the pattern of their connections

Small studies of 40Hz sensory stimulation confirm safety, suggest Alzheimer’s benefits

December 1, 2022
Research Findings
MIT researchers report early stage clinical study results of tests with non-invasive 40Hz light and sound treatment

Research offers insights into mechanisms underlying bipolar mania, sleep homeostasis

November 23, 2022
Recent Events
At a press conference at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, young Picower scientist Takato Honda presented findings of key neurons involved in the neuropsychiatric disorder and sleep homeostasis

Alzheimer’s risk gene undermines insulation of brain’s “wiring”

November 16, 2022
Research Findings
In people carrying the APOE4 risk variant, a key brain cell type mismanages cholesterol needed to insulate neurons properly—another sign that APOE4 contributes to disease by disrupting lipids in the brain

Analyzing brain waves demystifies general anesthesia

November 14, 2022
Recent Events
At Neuroscience 2022, Emery N. Brown relayed how statistical analysis of brain rhythms in patients and animals under anesthetics has revealed important information about how the drugs work.

Are covid ‘comas’ signs of a protective hibernation state?

November 7, 2022
Research Findings
Scientists hypothesize that, as in a hibernating turtle, the brain under sedation and deprived of oxygen may assume a protective state

Bear elected member of National Academy of Medicine

October 17, 2022
Picower People
Academy recognizes Mark Bear’s influential fundamental research on how experience shapes the brain and its relevance to neurodevelopmental diseases.