McGovern Institute for Brain Research

08/18/2022

08/11/2022

Researchers at the McGovern Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have discovered a new microbial🦠defense system - the findings highlight the universality of pattern recognition as a powerful defense mechanism. Summary below:

Bacteria use a variety of defense strategies to fight off viral infection, and some of these systems have led to groundbreaking technologies, such as CRISPR-based gene-editing. Scientists predict there are many more antiviral weapons yet to be found in the microbial world. A team led by researchers....

08/11/2022

We're hiring! Come join a vibrant and well-established lab that explores the neural mechanisms of decision-making, motivation, and learning in relation to mood-related disorders, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Learn more about the position here: mcgovern.science/3PbHBwV

07/18/2022

In a foundational Nature Neuroscience study, the Fedorenko lab
found that the brain responds in similar ways to 45 different languages - suggesting that there may be a universal language network in the brain.

Over several decades, neuroscientists have created a well-defined map of the brain’s “language network,” or the regions of the brain that are specialized for processing language. Found primarily in the left hemisphere, this network includes regions within Broca’s area, as well as in other pa...

06/24/2022

We are delighted to announce that McGovern Fellows Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg are the inaugural recipients of the 2022 Termeer Scholars Awards! https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2022/06/24/mcgovern-fellows-recognized-with-life-sciences-innovation-award/

06/08/2022

In a study of a small region of the thalamus, the Feng lab has identified three distinct circuits that influence the development of both motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s. Furthermore, they found that by manipulating these circuits, they could reverse Parkinson’s symptoms in mice.

Parkinson’s disease is best-known as a disorder of movement. Patients often experience tremors, loss of balance, and difficulty initiating movement. The disease also has lesser-known symptoms that are nonmotor, including depression. In a study of a small region of the thalamus, MIT neuroscientists...

05/25/2022

📢 We are thrilled to announce the launch of the K. Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center at MIT. Made possible by a generous gift from philanthropist K. Lisa Yang and led by McGovern Associate Investigator Polina Anikeeva, center researchers will work to untangle the complex relationship between the brain + body. Read more 👇

The inextricable link between our brains and our bodies has been gaining increasing recognition among researchers and clinicians over recent years. Studies have shown that the brain-body pathway is bidirectional — meaning that our mental state can influence our physical health and vice versa. But ...

05/12/2022

Guoping Feng has identified a thalamic brain circuit that is crucial for working memory + may be a promising target for reversing memory loss in older people. Dheeraj Roy and Ying Zhang are the lead authors of the study, which is published in the journal PNAS. A summary of their findings is below👇🏽

As people age, their working memory often declines, making it more difficult to perform everyday tasks. One key brain region linked to this type of memory is the anterior thalamus, which is primarily involved in spatial memory — memory of our surroundings and how to navigate them. In a study of mi...

04/27/2022

Siri and Alexa are getting better and better at understanding us — and that's because their language processing programs use statistics to make sense of a staggering number of words, according to a new study by McGovern Investigator Ev Fedorenko:

From search engines to voice assistants, computers are getting better at understanding what we mean. That’s thanks to language processing programs that make sense of a staggering number of words, without ever being told explicitly what those words mean. Such programs infer meaning instead through ...

04/22/2022

📢 The Desimone lab is hiring! Interested in investigating the neural mechanisms of attention, working memory and executive control? Learn more here 👉 https://mcgovern.science/3rL9LFT

03/31/2022

McGovern neuroscientists have found that cannabinoid receptors help the brain’s dopamine system establish key connections after birth. Findings reported today in - summary below 👇🏽

Doctors warn that ma*****na use during pregnancy may have harmful effects on the development of a fetus, in part because the cannabinoid receptors activated by the drug are known be critical for enabling a developing brain to wire up properly. Now, scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute have learn...

03/24/2022

A new study from the Graybiel lab has found a group of neurons in the brain’s striatum that encodes information about the potential outcomes of different decisions. Paper in and summary below 👇🏽

When we make complex decisions, we have to take many factors into account. Some choices have a high payoff but carry potential risks; others are lower risk but may have a lower reward associated with them. A new study from MIT sheds light on the part of the brain that helps us make these types […]