The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT

📰This just in! The FINGERPRINT team has now advanced to the finals at the ADPD Conference in Copenhague, Denmark in March 2026.

Interested in a grad or PhD program in molecular, cellular, or systems neuroscience, cognitive science, computational neuroscience, or neuroengineering? MIT's Research Scholars postbac could be right for you. Applications open today! bcs.mit.edu/postbac1

Thanks! And check out our new review on mixed selectivity, please and thanks.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

Research by the lab of Mriganka Sur in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...

Prefrontal cortex reaches back into the brain to shape how other regions function A new MIT study illustrates how areas within the brain’s executive control center tailor their messages in specific circuits with other brain regions to influence them with information about behavior ...

A new MIT study illustrates how the brain’s executive control center tailors messages via specific circuits with other brain regions to influence them with information about behavior and internal feelings picower.mit.edu/news/prefron... @mitbcs.bsky.social #neuroscience

MIT researchers have discovered how an immune system molecule triggers neurons in a specific brain circuit to shut down social behavior amid infection. picower.mit.edu/news/too-sic... @mitbcs.bsky.social #Neuroscience #behavior

A stochastic RNA editing process targets a select number of sites in individual Drosophila glutamatergic motoneurons Patch-seq RNA profiling defines the overall RNA editing landscape and single neuron editing rules for individual genetically defined Drosophila larval motoneurons.

Full study in @elife.bsky.social from the lab of @jtroylittleton.bsky.social: elifesciences.org/articles/108...

RNA editing study finds many ways for neurons to diversify When MIT neurobiologists tracked how more than 200 motor neurons in fruit flies each edited their RNA, they cataloged hundreds of target sites and widely varying editing rates. Scores of edits altered...

MIT neurobiologists tracked how >200 motor neurons in fruit flies each edited their RNA, cataloging 100s of target sites and varying editing rates. Scores of edits altered proteins involved in neural communication and function. picower.mit.edu/news/rna-edi...

Temporary retinal inactivation reverses effects of long-term monocular deprivation in visual cortex by induction of burst mode firing in the thalamus Deprivation amblyopia can be reversed by the temporary inactivation of one eye after the critical period. Here, Echevarri-Leet et al. show that this is caused by increased burst firing in the neurons ...

Full study in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...

MIT study shows how vision can be rebooted in adults with amblyopia Temporarily anesthetizing the retina briefly reverts the activity of the visual system to that observed in early development and enables growth of responses to the amblyopic eye, new research shows

A new study in mice shows that if the retina of an amblyopic eye is temporarily anesthetized, the brain’s visual response to the eye can be restored even in adulthood. picower.mit.edu/news/mit-stu... #neuroscience #vision #amblyopia @mitbcs.bsky.social

The science of consciousness The MIT Consciousness Club, led by professors Matthias Michel and Earl Miller, explores how neurological activity gives rise to human experience.

The science of consciousness
Through the MIT Consciousness Club, professors Matthias Michel and Earl Miller are exploring how neurological activity gives rise to human experience.
news.mit.edu/2025/science...
#neuroscience

Brain waves’ analog organization of cortex enables cognition and consciousness, MIT professor proposes at SfN On neuroscience’s big stage Nov. 15, MIT Professor Earl K. Miller proposed that thought and consciousness emerge from the fast and flexible organization of the cortex produced by the analog computatio...

Heard at #SfN25 from @earlkmiller.bsky.social: Cognition and consciousness emerge from the dynamic organization of the cortex produced by traveling brain waves performing analog computations. picower.mit.edu/news/brain-w... #neuroscience #consciousness #cognition @mitbcs.bsky.social

The buzziest neuroscience papers of 2023, 2024 The field took note of work on brain-computer interfaces for speech, the mechanism of psychedelics, defining hippocampal representations, and more.

In 2023 the lab of Steve Flavell modeled and mapped how neurons across the brain of a C. elegans worm encode its behaviors. Excited to see that paper now featured here: www.thetransmitter.org/community/th... by @thetransmitter.bsky.social #neuroscience

Neuronal and vascular phenotypes enabled by the miBrain. (A) Characterization of neurons integrated into miBrain immunohistochemistry

One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “Engineered 3D immuno-glial-neurovascular human miBrain model.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/q1U350XmIwf

For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/sweo50XmIw6.

We’re proud to be part of this new @broadinstitute.org effort! In this Q&A Picower researchers Sara Prescott and Ravi Raju describe the project, how they’re involved, and the research they’re doing: picower.mit.edu/news/qa-pico...

State–Space Trajectories and Traveling Waves Following Distraction Abstract. Cortical activity shows the ability to recover from distractions. We analyzed neural activity from the pFC of monkeys performing working memory tasks with mid-memory delay distractions (a cu...

Full study in @mitpress.bsky.social direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...

After distractions, rotating brain waves may help thought circle back to the task To get back on track after a distraction, the cortex appears to employ a rotating traveling wave, a new study by MIT neuroscientists finds.

To get back on track after a distraction, the brain appears to employ a rotating traveling wave, a new study by the lab of @earlkmiller.bsky.social finds. picower.mit.edu/news/after-d... @mitbcs.bsky.social #neuroscience #cognition

This is your brain without sleep An MIT study reveals what happens in the brain as lapses of attention occur following sleep deprivation. During these lapses, a wave of cerebrospinal fluid flows out of the brain — a process that typi...

New research shows attention lapses due to sleep deprivation coincide with a flushing of fluid from the brain — a process that normally occurs during sleep. news.mit.edu/2025/your-br...

Symposium examines the neural circuits that keep us alive and well Seven speakers from around the country convened at MIT to describe some of the latest research on the neural mechanisms that we need to survive.

At our Fall Symposium, "Circuits of Survival and Homeostasis," seven speakers from around the country convened to describe some of the latest research on the neural mechanisms that we need to survive and thrive. picower.mit.edu/news/symposi... #neuroscience
@mitbcs.bsky.social

Gamma sensory stimulation in mild Alzheimer's dementia: An open‐label extension study INTRODUCTION We evaluated the long-term effects of daily 40 Hz (gamma frequency) audiovisual stimulation on cognition and biomarkers in five patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS Ov...

Two late-onset patients who donated plasma each showed significant reductions in p-Tau 217. Two early onset patients did not show benefits. Full study: alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Small study suggests 40Hz sensory stimulation may benefit some Alzheimer’s patients for years Five volunteers continued receiving 40Hz stimulation for around two years after an early-stage MIT clinical study. Those with late-onset Alzheimer’s performed significantly better on assessments than ...

📃Three late-onset #Alzheimers patients who received 40Hz sensory stimulation for ~2 years performed significantly better on several assessments than comparable AD patients outside MIT's clinical study of the potential therapy. picower.mit.edu/news/small-s... #neuroscience @mitbcs.bsky.social

MIT-based team advances to semi-finals of Gates-funded competition to apply ’agentic’ AI to studying Alzheimer’s “FINGERPRINT,” proposes to use AI to link discovery, prevention, therapy by reasoning across multiple biological and clinical data sets.

Excited that an MIT-based team is one of 10 (out of ~200) to advance to the semi-finals! Learn about our project, FINGERPRINT: An agentic AI that will link discovery, prevention and therapy by reasoning across multiple biological and clinical data sets. picower.mit.edu/news/mit-bas...

Working memory readout varies with frontal theta rhythms Han et al. show that frontal theta oscillations rhythmically control access to working memory. The theta rhythm sweeps across the mental image, shaping behavior by coordinating spikes and beta oscilla...

New paper: Working memory readout varies with frontal theta rhythms. A theta traveling wave swept across the frontal cortex like radar, modulating performance of a working memory task. Because cognition is rhythmic.
www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
#neuroscience @picowerinstitute.bsky.social

Working memory readout varies with frontal theta rhythms Han et al. show that frontal theta oscillations rhythmically control access to working memory. The theta rhythm sweeps across the mental image, shaping behavior by coordinating spikes and beta oscilla...

Full study from the lab of @earlkmiller.bsky.social: www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...

Like radar, a brain wave sweeps a cortical region to read out information held in working memory When spotting what’s changed from one scene to the next, performance will depend on a low-frequency “theta” brain wave that scans the mental image, a new MIT study shows.

When spotting what’s changed from one scene to the next, performance will depend on a low-frequency “theta” brain wave that scans the mental image, a new MIT study in @cp-neuron.bsky.social shows. picower.mit.edu/news/radar-b... #neuroscience #cognition

Engineered 3D immuno-glial-neurovascular human miBrain model | PNAS Patient-specific, human-based cellular models integrating a biomimetic blood–brain barrier, immune, and myelinated neuron components are critically...

Full study in @pnas.org: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

MIT invents human brain model with six major cell types to enable personalized disease research, drug discovery Cultured from induced pluripotent stem cells, ‘miBrains’ integrate all major brain cell types and model brain structures, cellular interactions, activity, and pathological features.

Cultured from induced pluripotent stem cells, ‘miBrains’ integrate all major brain cell types and model brain structures, cellular interactions, activity, and pathological features. picower.mit.edu/news/mit-inv... #neuroscience

The noncoding circular RNA circHomer1 regulates synaptic development and experience-dependent plasticity in the mouse visual cortex Genetics; Molecular biology; Neuroscience; Developmental biology

Full study in @cp-iscience.bsky.social : www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Study finds circular RNA helps drive brain development MIT neuroscientists show in a new study that loops of RNA can strongly influence how neurons build circuit connections, or synapses, during the development of the visual system in young mice.

MIT neuroscientists show in a new study that loops of RNA can strongly influence how neurons build circuit connections, or synapses, during the development of the visual system in young mice. picower.mit.edu/news/study-f... #neuroscience @mitbcs.bsky.social

Active zone maturation controls presynaptic output and release mode and is regulated by neuronal activity Synapse formation requires the accumulation of cytomatrix proteins and voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs) at presynaptic active zones (AZs). At Drosophila melanogaster larval neuromuscular junctions,...

Study by @jtroylittleton.bsky.social in @sfnjournals.bsky.social: www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...