Disorders

Picower Institute scientists investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying complex disorders of the brain that affect emotion and cognition. To learn more about research in these or other areas, select them under "Research Topics" and you'll find relevant Picower people, discoveries and events.

October 27, 2025

Research Findngs

Five volunteers continued receiving 40Hz stimulation for around two years after an early-stage MIT clinical study. Those with late-onset Alzheimer’s performed significantly better on assessments than comparable Alzheimer’s patients outside the trial

October 21, 2025

New Research

“FINGERPRINT,” proposes to use AI to link discovery, prevention, therapy by reasoning across multiple biological and clinical data sets.

October 17, 2025

Research Findngs

Cultured from induced pluripotent stem cells, ‘miBrains’ integrate all major brain cell types and model brain structures, cellular interactions, activity, and pathological features.

October 14, 2025

Research Findngs

By carefully tracking the formation and maturation of synaptic active zones in fruit flies, MIT scientists have discovered how neural activity helps circuit connections become tuned to the right size and degree of signal transmission

September 29, 2025

Picower Events

Before a packed house, speakers at MIT’s Aging Brain Initiative symposium described how immune system factors during aging contribute to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other conditions. The field is leveraging that knowledge to develop new therapies

September 29, 2025

Research Feature

Picower Institute studies reveal a number of ways moods emerge in the brain and therefore many potential paths to address depression, PTSD, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

September 10, 2025

Research Findngs

Lipid metabolism and cell membrane function can be disrupted in the neurons of people who carry rare variants of ABCA7.

September 2, 2025

Research Findngs

Study of 3.5 million cells from more than 100 human brains finds that Alzheimer’s progression—but also resilience to disease—depends on preserving epigenomic stability.

July 21, 2025

Picower People

For undergraduates around the country who are interested in studying neuroscience but don't have enough opportunities at their home institutions, Picower Institute labs can provide a way to do cutting edge research and gain exposure to a possible future i

June 16, 2025

Research Feature

Rooted in fundamental curiosity about how the brain works, Picower scientists continue to break new ground in understanding autism and devising treatment strategies

June 9, 2025

New Research

Campuswide collaboration sparks new research to develop assistive technology, enhance interventions, decipher brain biochemistry, advance big data analysis, and assess the public’s understanding of dementia risk and protective factors.

April 28, 2025

Research Findings

Study shows how a dopamine circuit between two brain regions enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has passed.

Small study suggests 40Hz sensory stimulation may benefit some Alzheimer’s patients for years

MIT-based team advances to semi-finals of Gates-funded competition to apply ’agentic’ AI to studying Alzheimer’s

MIT invents human brain model with six major cell types to enable personalized disease research, drug discovery

Neural activity helps circuit connections mature into optimal signal transmitters

Immune-informed brain aging research offers new treatment possibilities, speakers say

Many Mechanisms of Mood

Study explains how a rare gene variant contributes to Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s erodes brain cells’ control of gene expression, undermining function, cognition

When life supplies motivation to do research, a summer at Picower can provide the experience

Autism advances

Aging Brain Initiative seed grants fund five new projects to address neurodegenerative disease

Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten