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.

December 7, 2021

Research Findings

Moms infected during pregnancy who produce elevated levels of the cytokine IL-17a may have microbiome alterations that prime offspring for aberrant immune responses later in life, mouse study suggests

November 3, 2021

Research Findings

The findings may help explain why some people who lead enriching lives are less prone to Alzheimer’s and age-related dementia

September 29, 2021

Research Findings

While the brain acquires resistance to continuous treatment with mGluR5 inhibitor drugs, lasting effects may still arise if dosing occurs intermittently and during a developmental critical period

July 23, 2021

New Research

Long thought of as a generic alarm system, the locus coeruleus may actually be a sophisticated regulator of learning and behavior, an MIT team posits

July 6, 2021

Research Findings

To quickly express genes needed for learning and memory, brain cells snap both strands of DNA in many more places and cell types than previously realized, a new study shows

June 3, 2021

Picower People

Selective global honor supports researchers in new scientific pursuits

May 17, 2021

Recent Events

At symposium, science and stories converge on harms of early exposure to trauma, racism but also restorative power of understanding, nurturing, and extending opportunity

April 22, 2021

Picower People

AAAS honors professor whose lab focuses on understanding Alzheimer's disease and developing innovative treatment strategies

March 3, 2021

Research Findings

The gene variant disrupts lipid metabolism, but in cell experiments the effects were reversed by choline supplements

February 23, 2021

Research Findings

A new computational approach for analyzing complex datasets shows that as disease progresses, neurons and astrocytes lose the ability to maintain homeostasis

December 14, 2020

Research Feature

Picower scientists are making the dauntingly long but highly motivating climb between associating a gene with disease and developing potential treatments.

November 23, 2020

Research Findings

The brain uses different frequency rhythms and cortical layers to suppress expected stimulation and increase activity for what’s novel

Research finds potential mechanism linking autism, intestinal inflammation

Study links gene to cognitive resilience in the elderly

Study shows fragile X treatment can incur resistance, suggests ways around it

Grant to help scientists test whether brain region is a key locus of learning

Memory making involves extensive DNA breaking

Postdocs earn interdisciplinary Schmidt Science Fellowships

Speakers describe systemic sources of, prescribe empathic responses to, early life stress

Li-Huei Tsai elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Study offers an explanation for why the APOE4 gene enhances Alzheimer’s risk

Basic cell health systems wear down in Huntington’s disease, novel analysis shows

Genes & Disease

Brain waves guide us in spotlighting surprises