Harvard Brain Science Initiative

Please join us today at 4pm! At the Roxbury Branch of @bpl.boston.gov!
@bostonchildrens.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social

Meet Dianna Hidalgo on #HumansofHBI @bostonchildrens.bsky.social

"I study how the brain makes sense of what we see, using artificial neural network and animal models."
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_humans/d...
@harvardmed.bsky.social

An exercise drug? — Harvard Gazette Researchers hope to harness the cognitive benefits of a workout for Alzheimer’s patients with mobility issues.

For years, researchers have seen a connection between exercise and the progression of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s — but ramping up movement isn’t possible for many patients. A new study looks at how to mimic those benefits without having to hit the gym.

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Eight Arms to Taste Your Microbiome

Eight Arms to Taste Your Microbiome
New research discovers that octopuses use their limbs to sample the microbiomes on the surfaces they touch.

From @nbellono.bsky.social and colleagues, first author Rebecka Sepela
@cellpress.bsky.social
@mblscience.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/s...

In a new study, @victoriazhanqi.bsky.social and the Ponce Lab reveal that neurons across the primate visual cortex are tuned not just to objects, but to animal features—highlighting a surprising bias in how the brain encodes natural scenes. brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/whe...

Reading skills — and struggles — manifest earlier than thought — Harvard Gazette New findings underscore the need for interventions before children start school, said Harvard researchers.

Reading Skills — and Struggles — Manifest Earlier Than Thought

From @gaablab.bsky.social and colleagues, first author Ted K. Turesky.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Highly sensitive science — Harvard Gazette Harvard neurobiologist David Ginty probes pleasure and pain to shed light on autism and other conditions.

This research has widespread implications for treatments of chronic pain, autistic hypersensitivity, sexual dysfunction, and other ailments.
@harvardmed.bsky.social

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Got emotional wellness app? It may be doing more harm than good. — Harvard Gazette Study sees mental health risks, suggests regulators take closer look as popularity rises amid national epidemic of loneliness, isolation.

The Harvard Gazette interviews Julian De Freitas about a new study he co-authored on the mental health risks of wellness apps.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

The Neuroscience of Cancer

Scientists are making surprising discoveries about the connections between cancer and the nervous system. Harvard Medicine Magazine profiles the research of William Hwang, Richard Wong, and @venkatesh-lab.bsky.social.
@harvardmed.bsky.social
magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/neu...

What the Nose Knows | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University Climate change is altering the Earth’s smells and how we perceive them. Experts gathered at Radcliffe to explore—and try to remedy—this sensory deficit.

What the Nose Knows
Climate change is altering the Earth’s smells and how we perceive them. Experts gathered at Radcliffe to explore—and try to remedy—this sensory deficit.

www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ide...

@rad-institute.bsky.social

Brittany Walsh Receives 2025 FAS Dean’s Distinction Award - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Brittany Walsh, Research Assistant for the Bellono Lab, has been named a 2025 recipient of the FAS Dean’s Distinction Award, one of Harvard’s highest staff honors. The award […]

Brittany Walsh, Research Assistant in the @nbellono.bsky.social lab in Harvard's MCB Department, Received 2025 FAS Dean’s Distinction Award.
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...

Meet Natalie Shulstad on #HumansofHBI
“I study perception. Specifically, I study input from the auditory and visual systems and how the brain uses its memories to influence what we see and hear.“

brain.harvard.edu/hbi_humans/n...

Out of sight but not out of mind — Harvard Gazette By 15 months, children can learn the names of objects they’ve never seen, finds new research out of the Department of Psychology.

Harvard Gazette interview with Elena Luchkina, Research Scientist in the Spelke lab in the Harvard Dept. of Psychology, discussing her recent paper which found that infants develop the ability to guess the meanings of nouns without first seeing them by 12-15 months.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Hope for sufferers of ‘invisible’ tinnitus disorder — Harvard Gazette Researchers develop way to objectively measure common malady, which may improve diagnosis, help in developing therapies

Harvard Gazette interview with Daniel Polley, professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at @harvardmed.bsky.social, on his recent publication describing a new way to objectively measure tinnitus which may improve diagnosis and help in developing therapies. news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

More Than a Relay: How the Visual Thalamus Adapts to Sensory Experience
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/mor...

Young researcher’s ALS attack plan is now a no-go — Harvard Gazette Career award among the casualties of "terrifying" cuts affecting lab of David Sinclair, which studies aging and disease.

Article profiling Kelly Rich, a postdoc in the lab of @davidsinclairphd.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social who studies ALS and other neuromuscular diseases, and how the recent termination of grants by the federal government has affected her research and career.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Octopuses Use Microbial Signals to Guide Complex Behaviors - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new study published in Cell from the lab of MCB faculty member Nick Bellono reveals that octopuses detect microbial cues on surfaces to distinguish prey and eggs […]

Octopuses Use Microbial Signals to Guide Complex Behaviors
🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social

How Did Language Evolve? Comparing Human & Chimpanzee Brains
Erin Hecht shares new data from chimpanzee research supporting a model where both modalities together contributed.

brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/how...

Understanding Dopamine Neurons on Multiple Timescales - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new paper in Nature (PDF) presents intriguing science on how dopamine neurons operate across multiple timescales to guide learning and decision-making. The study provides compelling experimental evi...

Understanding Dopamine Neurons on Multiple Timescales
#AcademicSky #higherEd 🧠
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @paulmasset.bsky.social ‪‪@hyunggoo-kim.bsky.social‬ @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social

New Stars in Neural Circuits: Astrocytes Guide Brain State Changes - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Astrocytes, the most abundant non-neuronal cell type in the brain, have traditionally been thought of as passive supporters of neuronal circuits. However, in recent years, work from many […]

New Stars in Neural Circuits: Astrocytes Guide Brain State Changes

From Florian Engert (Harvard), Misha Ahrens (@hhmijanelia.bsky.social) and colleagues, first author Alex B Chen.
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...

Do ultra-processed foods increase Parkinson’s risk? — Harvard Gazette A new study finds that people who consume higher servings of UPFs are more likely to show early signs of the neurodegenerative disease.

A new study from Xiang Gao (Fudan University), Alberto Ascherio (Harvard School of Public Health), and colleagues. First author Peilu Wang (Fudan University).
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Symptoms aren't sole predictors of brain injury from moyamoya A Boston Children’s study finds that advanced imaging reveals hidden white matter damage in asymptomatic children with moyamoya disease.

Unveiling the Hidden Impact of Moyamoya Disease: Brain Injury Without Symptoms

From Laura L. Lehman (BCH) and colleagues, first author Banu Ahtam. answers.childrenshospital.org/moyamoya-wit...

David Kang (Neuroscience ‘25) Awarded the 2025 John E. Dowling Thesis Prize - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology David Kang, neuroscience concentrator, has been selected as the recipient of this year’s John E. Dowling Thesis Prize for his outstanding senior thesis, “Pannexin-1 activity regulates neurogenesis and...

David Kang (neuroscience concentrator, Walsh Lab, Boston Children's Hospital) has been selected as the recipient of this year’s John E. Dowling Thesis Prize. www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...

Excerpt from ‘The Ideological Brain’ by Leor Zmigrod — Harvard Gazette In new book, neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod traces connections between brain biology, political beliefs.

How Do Extremists Get That Way? Probably Quite Naturally
The Harvard Gazette shares an excerpt from
@leorzmigrod.bsky.social's new book.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Choroid plexus apocrine secretion shapes CSF proteome during mouse brain development Nature Neuroscience - The choroid plexus (ChP) provides molecular cues for brain development. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This study identifies an apocrine secretion mechanism...

Led by @scienceyael.bsky.social & out today in @natneuro.nature.com: the brain's fluid-secreting organ — the choroid plexus — can reshape neural development through a powerful, little-known process. & it can be hijacked by serotonergic drugs like LSD. 🧠👇 A thread
rdcu.be/eoaSY

Cagri Yuksel describes new research revealing that REM sleep and vagal nerve activity may play a crucial role in how the brain recovers from fear. These findings could open the door to innovative therapies for PTSD and related conditions. brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/sle...
@harvardmed.bsky.social

How young is too young? No such thing, apparently— Harvard Gazette Specialist outlines impact of screen time on developing brains, from toddlerhood to teen years

The Harvard Gazette profiles Michael Rich, whose research outlines the impact of screen time on developing brains from toddlerhood through the teen years.
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Joshua Sanes Elected Fellow of the British Royal Society - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Joshua Sanes, the John C. Tarr Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, has been named a Fellow of the British Royal Society, one of the highest honors in […]

Joshua Sanes Elected Fellow of the British Royal Society #AcademicSky 🧪🧠 🧬🔬
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @rivaselenarivas.bsky.social @mameister4.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social

Tracking precisely how learning, memories are formed — Harvard Gazette Groundbreaking new technique may offer insights for new therapies to treat disorders like dementia.

A team of Harvard researchers have unveiled a way to map the molecular underpinnings of how learning & memories are formed, a groundbreaking new technique expected to offer insights that may pave the way for new treatments for neurological disorders such as dementia news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Touch, Our Most Complex Sense, Is a Landscape of Cellular Sensors | Quanta Magazine Every soft caress of wind, searing burn and seismic rumble is detected by our skin’s tangle of touch sensors. David Ginty has spent his career cataloging the neurons beneath everyday sensations.

Touch, Our Most Complex Sense, Is a Landscape of Cellular Sensors
@quantamagazine.bsky.social profiles the work of HBI Co-Director David Ginty, who has spent his career cataloging the neurons beneath everyday sensations.

www.quantamagazine.org/touch-our-mo...