Reevaluating an approach to functional brain imaging
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by Julie Pryor
16h ago
A new way of imaging the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not directly detect neural activity as originally reported, according to scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute. The method, first described in 2022, generated excitement within the neuroscience community as a potentially transformative approach. But a study from the lab of McGovern Associate Investigator Alan Jasanoff, reported March 27, 2024, in the journal Science Advances, demonstrates that MRI signals produced by the new method are generated in large part by the imaging process itself, not neuronal activity. Alan Ja ..read more
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Beyond the brain
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by Julie Pryor
16h ago
Like many people, graduate student Guillermo Herrera-Arcos found himself working from home in the spring of 2020. Surrounded by equipment he’d hastily borrowed from the lab, he began testing electrical components he would need to control muscles in a new way. If it worked, he and colleagues in Hugh Herr’s lab might have found a promising strategy for restoring movement when signals from the brain fail to reach the muscles, such as after a spinal cord injury or stroke. Guillermo Herrera-Arcos, a graduate student in Hugh Herr’s lab, is developing an optical technology with the potential to resto ..read more
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Honoring a visionary
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by Julie Pryor
1w ago
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Pat McGovern, an extraordinary visionary and philanthropist whose legacy continues to inspire and impact the world. As the founder of International Data Group (IDG)—a premier information technology organization—McGovern was not just a pioneering figure in the technology media world, but also a passionate advocate for using technology for the greater good. Under McGovern’s leadership, IDG became a global powerhouse, launching iconic publications such as Computerworld, Macworld, and PCWorld. His foresight also led to the creation of IDG Ventures ..read more
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School of Science announces 2024 Infinite Expansion Awards
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by MIT News
1w ago
The MIT School of Science has announced nine postdocs and research scientists as recipients of the 2024 Infinite Expansion Award, which highlights extraordinary members of the MIT community. The following are the 2024 School of Science Infinite Expansion winners: Sarthak Chandra, a research scientist in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, was nominated by Professor Ila Fiete, who wrote, “He has expanded the research abilities of my group by being a versatile and brilliant scientist, by drawing connections with a different area that he was an expert in from his PhD training, and by ..read more
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For people who speak many languages, there’s something special about their native tongue
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by MIT News
2w ago
A new study of people who speak many languages has found that there is something special about how the brain processes their native language. In the brains of these polyglots — people who speak five or more languages — the same language regions light up when they listen to any of the languages that they speak. In general, this network responds more strongly to languages in which the speaker is more proficient, with one notable exception: the speaker’s native language. When listening to one’s native language, language network activity drops off significantly. McGovern Investivator Ev Fedorenko ..read more
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How the brain coordinates speaking and breathing
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by MIT News
2w ago
MIT researchers have discovered a brain circuit that drives vocalization and ensures that you talk only when you breathe out, and stop talking when you breathe in. McGovern Investigator Fan Wang. Photo: Caitliin Cunningham The newly discovered circuit controls two actions that are required for vocalization: narrowing of the larynx and exhaling air from the lungs. The researchers also found that this vocalization circuit is under the command of a brainstem region that regulates the breathing rhythm, which ensures that breathing remains dominant over speech. “When you need to breathe in, you hav ..read more
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Imaging method reveals new cells and structures in human brain tissue
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by MIT News
2M ago
Using a novel microscopy technique, MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School researchers have imaged human brain tissue in greater detail than ever before, revealing cells and structures that were not previously visible. McGovern Institute Investigator Edward Boyden. Photo: Justin Knight Among their findings, the researchers discovered that some “low-grade” brain tumors contain more putative aggressive tumor cells than expected, suggesting that some of these tumors may be more aggressive than previously thought. The researchers hope that this technique could eventually be de ..read more
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Simons Center’s collaborative approach propels autism research, at MIT and beyond
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by MIT News
2M ago
The secret to the success of MIT’s Simons Center for the Social Brain is in the name. With a founding philosophy of “collaboration and community” that has supported scores of scientists across more than a dozen Boston-area research institutions, the SCSB advances research by being inherently social. SCSB’s mission is “to understand the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition and behavior and to translate this knowledge into better diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders.” When Director Mriganka Sur founded the center in 2012 in partnership with the Simons Foundation Autism R ..read more
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Do we only use 10 percent of our brain?
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by Julie Pryor
2M ago
Movies like “Limitless” and “Lucy” play on the notion that humans use only 10 percent of their brains—and those who unlock a higher percentage wield powers like infinite memory or telekinesis. It’s enticing to think that so much of the brain remains untapped and is ripe for boosting human potential. But the idea that we use 10 percent of our brain is 100 percent a myth. In fact, scientists believe that we use our entire brain every day. Mila Halgren is a graduate student in the lab of Mark Harnett, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences and an investigator at the McGovern Ins ..read more
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How the brain keeps time
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
by Julie Pryor
2M ago
Clocks, computers, and metronomes can keep time with exquisite precision. But even in the absence of an external time keeper, we can track time on our own. We know when minutes or hours have elapsed, and we can maintain a rhythm when we dance, sing, or play music. Now, neuroscientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and MIT’s McGovern Institute and have discovered one way the brain keeps a beat: It runs an internal simulation, mentally recreating the perception of an external rhythm and preparing an appropriately timed response. The discovery, reported January 10, 2024, in the ..read more
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