MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences

🧩If you get a break today, take a spin with our science-themed puzzle: Cortex-Vortex. picower.mit.edu/cortex-vortex. We send a new one out with each free bi-monthly newsletter. Consider subscribing at picower.mit.edu/news/subscribe to also keep up with all our news and events.

Study: Babies' poor vision early in life may contribute to the development of key pathways in the brain’s visual system: bcs.mit.edu/news/study-bab…

Congrats to molecular biologist Feng Zhang @zhangf for being elected to @EMBO membership! He is among 69 new members recognized for their outstanding contributions to life sciences. 🍾 @mitbrainandcog @ScienceMIT mcgovern.mit.edu/2025/07/01/fen…

How the brain solves complicated problems: bcs.mit.edu/news/how-brain…

As we navigate, neural activity patterns can encode competing hypotheses about which landmark will lead to the correct destination, according to a paper by Mark Harnett and @jvoigts published today @NatureNeuro. @mitbrainandcog mcgovern.mit.edu/2025/06/06/how…

#Alzheimers. Grants from @AgingBrainMIT will spark research to develop assistive technology, enhance interventions, decipher brain biochemistry, advance big data analysis, and assess the public’s understanding of risk and protective factors. picower.mit.edu/news/aging-bra… @ScienceMIT

A compact new tool for gene therapy: bcs.mit.edu/news/rationale…

A new endowed chair within IDSS has been made possible by the generosity of IDSS professor and “MIT lifer” Richard ‘Dick’ Larson. IDSS and @mitbrainandcog professor Sasha Rakhlin has been named the inaugural holder of the new professorship. idss.mit.edu/news/gift-from…

Overlooked cells might explain the human brain’s huge storage capacity: bcs.mit.edu/news/overlooke…

Talk Tuesday: Earlier this month, @FieteGroup described @MITboston how her lab is decoding the mystery of memory using advanced computational methods. Watch the full talk, including how "memory palaces" help us to remember: 🗣️🧠 youtu.be/yOCr0h2MP7k?si…

Just 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness practice a day can lead to reduced stress and anxiety for autistic adults, according to a new study: bcs.mit.edu/news/daily-min…

Our new discovery reveals how anesthesia causes unconsciousness. This advances our understanding of consciousness and can help make anesthesia safer.

A new study by @MillerLabMIT finds that an easily measurable shift of brainwave phase may be a universal marker of unconsciousness under anesthesia picower.mit.edu/news/different… #neuroscience #anesthesia #consciousness @mitbrainandcog @ScienceMIT

Scientists in Feng Zhang's lab have re-engineered a compact RNA-guided enzyme they found in bacteria into an efficient, programmable editor of human DNA. @NatureBiotech @zhangf @broadinstitute @mitbrainandcog @ScienceMIT mcgovern.mit.edu/2025/05/08/rat…

What's it like to be a baby? Scanning their brains can help us find out: salon.com/2025/05/07/wha…

The MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences celebrated faculty, staff, teaching, mentorship, and academic excellence in several recent ceremonies. Congratulations to all the honorees! bcs.mit.edu/news/bcs-celeb…

In a story posted today @QuantaMagazine, McGovern researchers (past and present) weigh in on the similarities and differences between the brain and AI. @ev_fedorenko @jenellefeather @neurostrow quantamagazine.org/ai-is-nothing-…

New research on a cytokine called IL-17 adds to growing evidence that immune molecules can influence behavior during illness news.mit.edu/2025/molecules…

Congratulations to @LinlinZFan on being named a Searle Scholar! Fan plans to study how serotonin might influence plasticity in memory, and whether psychedelics affect that. picower.mit.edu/news/searle-sc… #neuroscience #serotonin #memory @mitscience @mitbrainandcog

A surprising new study suggests a visual pathway in the brain that is critical for recognizing objects may not be exclusively optimized for that task. It could be more versatile than previously thought, the researchers say. news.mit.edu/2025/visual-pa…