Brain and cognitive sciences

Picower Institute researchers identify brain cell aberration tied to autism

Dresselhaus, Graybiel, Luu receive 2012 Kavli PrizesBiennial prizes in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience include a $1 million cash award in each field.

Robots that reveal the inner workings of brain cellsNew method offers automated way to record electrical activity inside neurons in the living brain.

Institute faculty share prestigious neuroscience prizeEd Boyden and Feng Zhang awarded the Perl/UNC Neuroscience Prize

Inhibitory and excitatory synapse dynamics in the brain

McGovern investigator Feng Zhang named Searle Scholar

Two MIT juniors named Truman ScholarsMcCord, Okuneye awarded $30,000 for graduate study toward careers in government, non-profits.

Researchers show that memories reside in specific brain cellsSimply activating a tiny number of neurons can conjure an entire memory.

New tools to answer timeless questionsAlan Jasanoff is designing imaging sensors that could help reveal the brain’s inner workings.

The power of being heardWhen it comes to intergroup conflict, the group with less power benefits more from sharing its perspective.

Rebecca Saxe named Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum

Reversing Alzheimer’s gene ‘blockade’ can restore memory, other cognitive functionsNeuroscientists show that HDAC2 enzyme could be a good target for new drugs.

Neuroscientists link brain-wave pattern to energy consumptionNew model of neuro-electric activity could help scientists better understand quiescent brain states such as coma.

My connectome, myselfNeuroscientist Sebastian Seung is on a quest to map brain connections that reveal how our memories and personalities take root.

James DiCarlo to head Department of Brain and Cognitive SciencesNew department head succeeds Mriganka Sur, who will lead the new Simons Center for the Social Brain at MIT.

MIT faculty speak at the World Economic Forum in DavosTalks explore the mind/machine interface and the science of predicting the economy, among other topics.

Seeking the neurological roots of conflictMIT neuroscientists explore how longstanding conflict influences empathy for others.

The advantage of ambiguityCognitive scientists develop a new take on an old problem: why human language has so many words with multiple meanings.

How does our brain know what is a face and what’s not?New research from MIT neuroscientists helps explain how the brain makes this decision.

Patterns of connections reveal brain functionsNeuroscientists identify face-recognition areas based on what parts of the brain they link to.

Neuroscientists identify a master controller of memoryOne gene appears to regulate the brain’s ability to form new memories.

$26.5 million Simons gift to catalyze autism research at MITCreates the Simons Center for the Social Brain

A new piece to the autism puzzleNeuroscientists find that two rare autism-related disorders are caused by opposing malfunctions in the brain.

Unraveling how a mutation can lead to psychiatric illnessMIT neuroscientists show that a gene linked with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder impairs early brain development.

Mimicking the brain, in siliconNew computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses.

Oliva explores new ground in computational perception at CSAILNeuroscientist looks forward to collaborative studies of visual perception in the brain and its computational applications.

Charging toward better neural implantsResearchers improve the efficiency of devices that stimulate damaged nerves, reducing potential side effects.