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In a study published on April 19, 2011 in the journal Molecular Therapy, researchers at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and the University of Southern California used optogenetic technology to restore vision in blind mice. This video illustrates how it was done.

Learn more about the study and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.

[Images and footage:  McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Ed Boyden, Alan Horsager, University of Southern California, Eos Neuroscience, and pond5.com]

Ed Boyden, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, develops new strategies for manipulating brain activity. He uses a wide variety of technologies to find new and more potent ways to alter brain function, for both research and therapeutic purposes. A major goal of his current work is to manipulate individual nerve cells using light – a powerful new technology, called optogenetics, that could open the door to new treatments for brain disorders. [Stock footage and animations: Sputnik Animation, Elekta Instrument AB, pond5, and istockphoto]

Read more about Ed Boyden here.

 

Emilio Bizzi examines how the brain translates our general intentions into the detailed commands needed to control muscle movements. One of his key discoveries is that groups of muscles are activated synergistically by circuits of neurons in the spinal cord. He believes that these synergies represent the fundamental building blocks for assembling a repertoire of complex movements. Stock footage courtesy of pond5, istockphoto, Emilio Bizzi, Darin W. Trees DPT, CWS / Mōveo technology, The Chattanooga Group, Jeff Powe

Read more about Emilio Bizzi here.

 

 

Learn more about Bob Desimone >>

Saxe is featured in the December 2012 issue of Scientific American.

“Knowledge of how the brain intuits what someone else is thinking helps Rebecca Saxe devise possible solutions to seemingly intractable political and social conflict.” — Gareth Cook, Scientific American

Read the story here.

 

The McGovern Institute faculty comprises one of the most distinguished groups of brain researchers anywhere in the world. Its members include one Nobel laureate, five members of the National Academy of Sciences, and leading experts in many areas of neuroscience.

The Institute currently has 18 principal investigators. Along with its 16 full members, these include two associate faculty members, who collaborate closely with the full investigators and participate in all the Institute’s activities. All McGovern faculty hold appointments in one or more academic departments at MIT.

 

The November 2012 issue of Wired UK features McGovern neuroscientist, Ed Boyden.

“Ed Boyden, an engineer turned neuroscientist, makes tools for brain hackers. In his lab at MIT, he’s built a robot that can capture individual neurons and uses light potentially to control major diseases — all in his quest to ‘solve the brain’.” — Ed Yong, Wired UK

Read the full profile here.

 

 

This 2-minute video, narrated by McGovern Institute Director Robert Desimone, provides an overview of the Institute including our goals, our research interests, and our accomplishments.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides researchers with a non-invasive method for viewing the human brain in high resolution. This video shows a structural MRI produced at the Martinos Imaging Center at MIT, a state-of-the-art brain imaging facility that serves the biomedical research community at MIT and throughout the Boston area. Video: Christina Triantafyllou