Research Topics

As this gallery of featured people and projects illustrates, Picower Institute scientists study brain structure and function at scales from genes and molecules to cells, circuits and regions. They also study the behaviors and cognitive processes that result, and seek to uncover how disruptions at different scales can result in developmental, psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders. They employ—and often invent—the newest technologies in their work. To learn more about any of these specific areas, click "Research Topics" above, select areas of interest, and you'll find relevant Picower people, discoveries and events.

March 10, 2023

Research Findings

When astrocyte function is disrupted, neurons in the brain’s motor cortex struggle to execute and refine motion, a new study in mice shows.

March 10, 2023

On March 10 the FDA approved Trofinetide, a drug based on the protein IGF-1, as the first drug available to treat Rett syndrome. The original research showing that IGF-1 could treat Rett syndrome was published by MIT in 2009.

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 1, 2022

Research Findings

MIT researchers report early stage clinical study results of tests with non-invasive 40Hz light and sound treatment

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

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

September 28, 2022

Research Findings

Study indicates that ailing neurons may instigate an inflammatory response from the brain’s microglia immune cells

September 6, 2022

Research Findings

A new study shows how stimuli and states such as smells, stressors and satiety converge in an olfactory neuron to guide food-seeking behavior

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 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

August 4, 2022

Research Findings

A breakdown of lipid metabolism in these brain cells promotes inflammation and interferes with neuron activity, a new study finds

July 29, 2022

Research Findings

Using organoids to model early development, researchers used an emerging microscopy technology to see that new neurons struggled to reach their developmental destination

Astrocyte cells critical for learning skilled movements

3 questions for Mriganka Sur: The basic research origin of the first approved drug to treat Rett syndrome

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

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

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

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

With fractured genomes, Alzheimer’s neurons call for help

Simple animal model reveals how environment and state are integrated to control behavior

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

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

How microglia contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

Advanced imaging reveals mired migration of neurons in Rett syndrome lab models