Dopamine signals when a fear can be forgotten
Study shows how a dopamine circuit between two brain regions enables mice to extinguish fear after a peril has passed.
Novel AI model inspired by neural dynamics from the brain
New type of “state-space model” leverages principles of harmonic oscillators.
In kids, EEG monitoring of consciousness safely reduces anesthetic use
Clinical trial finds several outcomes improved for young children when an anesthesiologist observed their brain waves to guide dosing of sevoflurane during surgery.
Response to infection highlights the nervous system’s surprising degrees of flexibility
Upon infection, the C. elegans worm reshuffles the roles of brain cells and flips the functions of some of the chemicals it uses to regulate behavior.
A brief history of expansion microscopy
Since an MIT team introduced expansion microscopy in 2015, the technique has powered the science behind kidney disease, plant seeds, the microbiome, Alzheimer’s, viruses, and more.
MIT’s McGovern Institute is shaping brain science and improving human lives on a global scale
A quarter century after its founding, the McGovern Institute reflects on its discoveries in the areas of neuroscience, neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, brain-body connections, and therapeutics.
Molecules that fight infection also act on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability
New research on a cytokine called IL-17 adds to growing evidence that immune molecules can influence behavior during illness.
Evidence that 40Hz gamma stimulation promotes brain health is expanding
A decade of studies provide a growing evidence base that increasing the power of the brain’s gamma rhythms could help fight Alzheimer’s, and perhaps other neurological diseases.
MIT engineers turn skin cells directly into neurons for cell therapy
A new, highly efficient process for performing this conversion could make it easier to develop therapies for spinal cord injuries or diseases like ALS.
How nature organizes itself, from brain cells to ecosystems
McGovern Institute researchers develop a mathematical model to help define how modularity occurs in the brain — and across nature.
Study suggests new molecular strategy for treating fragile X syndrome
Enhancing activity of a specific component of neurons’ “NMDA” receptors normalized protein synthesis, neural activity, and seizure susceptibility in the hippocampus of fragile X lab mice.
Designing better ways to deliver drugs
Graduate student and MathWorks Fellow Louis DeRidder is developing a device to make chemotherapy dosing more accurate for individual patients.
Seeing more in expansion microscopy
New methods light up lipid membranes and let researchers see sets of proteins inside cells with high resolution.
Study: Even after learning the right idea, humans and animals still seem to test other approaches
New research adds evidence that learning a successful strategy for approaching a task doesn’t prevent further exploration, even if doing so reduces performance.
Mapping mRNA through its life cycle within a cell
Xiao Wang’s studies of how and where RNA is translated could lead to the development of better RNA therapeutics and vaccines.