The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT

Single-cell multiregion epigenomic rewiring in Alzheimer’s disease progression and cognitive resilience A single-cell epigenomic and transcriptomic atlas across six brain regions in Alzheimer’s disease reveals widespread epigenomic relaxation and information loss, associated with the selective depletion...

Single-cell multiregion epigenomic rewiring in Alzheimer’s disease progression and cognitive resilience: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A new study by Mriganka Sur's lab shows benefits, but also limits, of environmental enrichment for Rett syndrome mice: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #rettsyndrome #neuroscience #neurology #research
@mitbcs.bsky.social

In @elife.bsky.social from the lab of Mriganka Sur: doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

Study finds key role for non-neural brain cells in processing vision MIT researchers employed a novel application of tools and analysis to show that astrocytes ensure neural information processing by maintaining ambient levels of the neurotransmitter chemical GABA.

🧠 New research finding: Astrocytes ensure neural information processing by maintaining ambient levels of the neurotransmitter chemical GABA picower.mit.edu/news/study-f... #neuroscience #brain @mitbcs.bsky.social

When life supplies motivation to do research, a summer at Picower can provide the experience For undergraduates around the country who are interested in studying neuroscience but don't have enough opportunities at their home institutions, Picower Institute labs can provide a way to do cutting...

For undergrads who don't have enough opportunities at their home institutions to study #neuroscience, the MSRP-Bio program provides a summer opportunity to do research in our labs. Meet two current students: picower.mit.edu/news/when-li... @mitbcs.bsky.social @sciencemita.bsky.social

"In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity." MIT News: news.mit.edu/2025/in-down... Paper: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Emerging connections between myelin and Alzheimer’s disease Nature Cell Biology - Recent literature has explored the contributions of oligodendrocytes and myelin dysfunction to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we discuss emerging evidence that...

A new comment in Nature Cell Biology reviews emerging evidence that oligodendrocytes, the cells that wrap the axons of neurons with myelin to improve electric signal transmission, may be critical players in Alzheimer's disease rdcu.be/eugVu

Connect or reject: Extensive rewiring builds binocular vision in the brain A first-of-its-kind study in mice reveals that neurons add and shed synapses at a frenzied pace during development to integrate visual signals from the two eyes.

👀 Neurons add and shed synapses at a frenzied pace during development to integrate visual signals from the two eyes. picower.mit.edu/news/connect... #neuroscience #vision #research #development @mitbcs.bsky.social

Research paper in Nature Communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Autism advances
Rooted in fundamental curiosity about how the brain works, Picower scientists continue to break new ground in understanding autism and devising treatment strategies
picower.mit.edu/news/autism-...
#neuroscience

Basic research yields applicable results. Learn how Picower scientists' fundamental curiosity about how the brain works has enabled them to break new ground in understanding #autism and related disorders and devise treatment strategies picower.mit.edu/news/autism-... #neuroscience

My first time writing for a high school alum mag--a profile of the illustrious Mark Bear of @mit.edu @picowerinstitute.bsky.social for St. Stephen's St. Agnes School. It was a pleasure to hear him reminisce about his early years & connect the dots of his career. sssasmagazine.org/wired-for-di...

🧩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. #neuroscience #brain

As textbook’s 5th edition hits shelves, Bear reflects on introducing 1,000s of students to neuroscience With an emphasis on approachability, “Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain” enters its fourth decade as the text of undergraduate neuroscience classes worldwide

“We strive to present the hard science without making the science hard." Looking back and ahead as a leading #neuroscience textbook reaches 30 years and a fifth edition. picower.mit.edu/news/textboo... @mitbcs.bsky.social

🧠Decades of research on the genetic and molecular basis of neural plasticity has enabled Picower Institute Investigator Elly Nedivi to devise potential biomarkers for bipolar disorder. Read more: ilp.mit.edu/read/Nedivi #Neuroscience #bipolar @mitbcs.bsky.social

What is scrolling doing to our brains? Why? with Emma Kennedy · Episode

Spoiler alert: multitasking is bad
What is scrolling doing to our brain? Emma Kennedy talks to world leading cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Earl K. Miller, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, to find out what scrolling is doing to our brains. open.spotify.com/episode/46qo...

Neuromodulation by the immune system: implications for brain-directed immunotherapy Once believed to be limited in its impact on the brain, the immune system is now recognized as a potent modulator of the brain and behavior. This revi…

The immune system is a potent modulator of the brain and behavior. A deeper understanding of the brain-immune system relationship could unlock the therapeutic potential of immunomodulation for brain disorders, argues a new review co-authored by Gloria Choi. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Aging Brain Initiative seed grants fund five new projects to address neurodegenerative disease Campuswide collaboration sparks new research to develop assistive technology, enhance interventions, decipher brain biochemistry, advance big data analysis, and assess the public’s understanding of de...

#Alzheimers news: A campuswide collaboration at MIT will spark new 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-b...

Noradrenaline Regulation of Brain-Body Communication Norepinephrine (NE) and its methylated form, epinephrine (Epi), are catecholamines that serve as both neurotransmitters and hormones, regulating a wide array of physiological functions. In the central...

To what extent, and how, do the brain and body's adrenaline systems communicate and collaborate? A new book chapter by members of the lab of Mriganka Sur maps it out. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
#neuroscience #brain

Brain region- and age-specific regulation of cannabinoid type 1 receptor in astrocytes critically links THC and unique adolescent amygdala vulnerability www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

It's MIT commencement week! Shout-out to students who've earned their PHDs in our labs this year including Audrey Effenberger, Max Heinrich, Talya Kramer, Madison Leet, Alex Lenail, Sebastian Pineda, Francis Reilly-Andjuar, and Bee Sathitloetsakun! @mitbcs.bsky.social

Congratulations to this new community of fellows including Brady Weissbourd of MIT Biology and the Picower Instititute! They'll work to understand how nervous systems respond and adapt to rapid and extensive environmental changes such as pollution.

Scientists discover potential new targets for Alzheimer’s drugs Using a computational strategy that allows them to combine information from many large datasets, MIT researchers have identified several new potential targets for Alzheimer’s disease.

By combining information from many large datasets, MIT researchers have identified several new potential targets for treating or preventing Alzheimer’s disease. news.mit.edu/2025/scienti...

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.

Why use EEG measurements of consciousness to guide dosing of anesthesia? On average the little patients in a recent clinical trial experienced significant improvements in several post-operative outcomes, including quicker recovery and reduced incidence of delirium. picower.mit.edu/news/kids-ee...

The how and why of the brain’s division across hemispheres Why does the brain split visual spatial perception between its hemispheres? A new review examines the advantages and trade-offs, and how the brain ultimately makes vision feel seamless.

The brain not only splits up visual spatial perception—processing what’s on our left in the right hemisphere and what’s on our right in the left hemisphere—it takes cognitive advantage of that. picower.mit.edu/news/how-and...

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity Study provides new evidence that sensory stimulation of gamma-frequency brain rhythm may promote broad-based restorative neurological health response.

A new study provides preclinical evidence in a mouse model that sensory stimulation of 40Hz "gamma" brain rhythms might be beneficial in Down syndrome.
picower.mit.edu/news/down-sy...

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.

A new study in mice by MIT neuroscientists shows that the release of dopamine along a specific interregional brain circuit gives the brain the "all-clear" signal to extinguish a fear memory. picower.mit.edu/news/dopamin...

Different anesthetics, same result: unconsciousness by shifting brainwave phase MIT study finds that an easily measurable brain wave shift may be a universal marker of unconsciousness under anesthesia

By demonstrating how two very different anesthesia drugs each achieve the same result, a new study by @earlkmiller.bsky.social at The Picower Institute identifies a potential signature of unconsciousness that is readily measurable to improve anesthesiology care. picower.mit.edu/news/differe...

Breaking brain news that won't break your brain, that is. 😁