Holistic Imagery The most widely used imaging method, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides precise information about where in the brain activity occurs, but it cannot detect with the same degree of precision when these events occur in the brain. This kind of temporal precision can be accomplished with magnetoencephalography (MEG), a tool developed at […]
Song Circuits Michale Fee studies how the brain learns and generates complex sequential behaviors, focusing on the songbird as a model system. Birdsong is a complex behavior that young birds learn from their fathers and it provides an ideal system to study the neural basis of learned behavior. Because the parts of the bird’s brain […]
Listening to Synapses Guoping Feng studies the development and function of synapses – the interconnections between neurons – and their disruption in brain disorders. He uses molecular genetics combined with behavioral and electrophysiological methods to study the molecular components of the synapse and to understand how disruptions in these components can lead to neurodevelopmental and […]
Elements of Perception Nancy Kanwisher’s group studies the functional organization of the human brain as a window into the architecture of the mind. Over the last 20 years her lab has played a central role in the identification of several dozen regions of the cortex in humans that are engaged in particular components of perception […]
Probing the Deep Brain Ann Graybiel studies the basal ganglia, forebrain structures that are profoundly important for normal brain function. Dysfunction in these regions is implicated in neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders ranging from Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease to obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression, and addiction. Graybiel’s laboratory is uncovering circuits underlying both the neural […]
Engineering Intelligence Tomaso Poggio is one of the founders of computational neuroscience. He pioneered a model of the fly’s visual system as well as of human stereovision. His research has always been interdisciplinary, bridging brains and computers. It is now focused on the mathematics of deep learning and on the computational neuroscience of the visual […]
Images of Mind John Gabrieli’s goal is to understand the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the human brain, and to use that understanding to help people live happier, more productive lives. By combining brain imaging with behavioral tests, he studies the neural basis of these abilities in human subjects. One important research theme […]
Listening to Neurons Mark Harnett studies how the biophysical features of individual neurons, including ion channels, receptors, and membrane electrical properties, endow neural circuits with the ability to process information and perform the complex computations that underlie behavior. As part of this work, the Harnett lab was the first to describe the physiological properties of […]
We use model systems to examine circuits underlying core processes in the brain that produce representations of the mind. We examine patterns of neuronal connections that underlie activity, and unpick how those neural activity patterns in turn give rise to behavioral and internal states. Using such approaches, we can start to answer questions about how […]
Our researchers develop cutting-edge research tools for neuroscience. Optogenetics, for example, allows researchers to manipulate the activity of individual neurons, shedding light on brain function and potential avenues for treatment. We use a broad range of approaches – from protein engineering and chemistry to materials science and robotics – to develop new sensors and modes […]
