Systems Neuroscience

Picower Institute scientists seek to understand the complex circuits and processes that the brain constructs and employs so that we can perceive, learn, think, plan, and feel. To learn more about these or other areas of inquiry, select them under Research Topics and you'll find relevant Picower people, discoveries and events.

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

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

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

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.

October 14, 2022

Picower People

Gloria Choi’s studies of how the immune system and nervous system influence each other could yield new approaches to treating neurological disorders.

October 4, 2022

Research Feature

When fundamental research yields discoveries with medical potential, Picower Institute professors find ways to test whether they’ll help patients.

September 28, 2022

Recent Events

At an exhibition marking two decades since a transformative gift from The Picower Foundation, current and alumni members described research at the forefront of neuroscience and beyond

September 5, 2022

Research Findings

When holding information in mind, neural activity is more focused when and where there are bursts of gamma frequency rhythms

August 19, 2022

Research Findings

New research reveals cells that span brain hemispheres to coordinate activity in visual processing centers and shows that Alzheimer’s degrades their structure and therefore their function

August 15, 2022

Picower People

As he works to solve an advanced problem at the intersection of computing and neurobiology, Picower Institute post-baccalaureate scholar Eric Bueno is also thinking of how he could pay his experience forward

August 5, 2022

Research Findings

By tracking feedback during tasks, the anterior cingulate cortex notices when a new step has become necessary and signals the motor cortex to adjust

July 28, 2022

Research Findings

To ensure a quick halt, brain circuit architecture avoids a slow process of integration in favor of quicker differentiation, study finds

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

Holding information in mind may mean storing it among synapses

Research offers insights into mechanisms underlying bipolar mania, sleep homeostasis

Bear elected member of National Academy of Medicine

Building a bridge between neuroscience and immunology

To the clinic!

Celebrating 20 years of discovery, Picower Institute looks ahead to continuing impact

How the brain focuses on what’s in mind

When Alzheimer’s degrades cells that cross hemispheres, visual memory suffers

At a research forefront, young scholar looks ahead to graduate school, chance to mentor others

When a task adds more steps, this circuit helps you notice

Sprint then stop? Brain is wired for the math to make it happen