Dr. Okihide Hikosaka: 2012 Sharp Lecture in Neural Circuits
The inaugural Sharp Lecture was given on March 1, 2012 by Okihide Hikosaka of the NIH, a leading expert on brain mechanisms of motivation and learning.
Video Profile: Michale Fee
Michale Fee, an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, studies birdsong in order to understand how the brain learns and generates complex sequences of behavior.
Detecting the brain’s magnetic signals with MEG
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a noninvasive technique for measuring neuronal activity in the human brain. Electrical currents flowing through neurons generate weak magnetic fields that can be recorded at the surface of the head using very sensitive magnetic detectors known as superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). MEG is a purely passive method that relies on detection […]
Video Profile: Yingxi Lin
Yingxi Lin, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses molecular, genetic, and electrophysiological methods to understand how inhibitory circuits form within the brain, and how they are shaped by activity and experience.
Understanding Parkinson’s Disease
Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease
2011 Scolnick Prize Lecture: Bruce S. McEwen
The 2011 Scolnick Prize in Neurosciece was awarded to Dr. Bruce McEwen for his contributions to understanding how hormones affect the brain. Dr. McEwen gave his prize lecture, entitled, “Sex, Stress, and the Brain: Hormone actions above the hypothalamus via novel mechanisms” at the McGovern Institute on September 26, 2011.
Video Profile: Nancy Kanwisher
Nancy Kanwisher, a founding member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses brain imaging to learn about the organization of the mind.
Re-creating autism, in mice
By mutating a single gene, researchers at MIT and Duke have produced mice with two of the most common traits of autism — compulsive, repetitive behavior and avoidance of social interaction. They further showed that this gene, which is also implicated in many cases of human autism, appears to produce autistic behavior by interfering with […]