Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:29:09 -0500

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) animation, courtesy of Elekta Instrument AB.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:53:46 -0500

(04:10) James DiCarlo, an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, examines the complex network of brain regions that allow us to recognize vast numbers of objects rapidly and effortlessly.

Learn more about James DiCarlo >>

[stock footage courtesy of pond5, Elekta Instrument AB]

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:53:23 -0500

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.

Learn more about Michale Fee

[images courtesy of pond5]

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:59:43 -0500

(4:12) Feng Zhang, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, is designing new molecular tools for manipulating the living brain. As a student, he played a major role in the development of optogenetics, a technology by which the brain’s electrical activity can be controlled with light-sensitive proteins. He is now working to extend this molecular engineering approach to other aspects of brain function such as gene expression, and to develop new approaches to understanding and eventually treating brain diseases.

Learn more about Feng Zhang >>

[Stock footage and images courtesy of istockphoto, pond5, and Junying Yu, University of Wisconsin-Madison]

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:23:35 -0500

(4:27) 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.

Learn more about Ed Boyden >>

[Stock footage and animations courtesy of Sputnik Animation, Elekta Instrument AB, pond5, and istockphoto]

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:11:58 -0500

(3:42) 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.

Learn more about Yingxi Lin >>

[Stock footage courtesy of pond5 and Elekta Instrument AB]

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:38:23 -0400

The Magnetoencephalography Lab at Athinoula Martinos Imaging Center at MIT hosted a lecture discussing MEG imaging in neuroscience:

Title: Experimenting with MEG: present and future prospects
Speaker: Lauri Parkkonen, Ph.D., Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Time: 11am-12:00pm
Date: Monday, 24 October 2011
Place: MIBR Seminar Room, 46-3189

In this lecture, Lauri Parkkonen of Elekta� presents a range of studies that illustrate the current possibilities of MEG. He also discusses the nature of MEG responses and how that relates to optimal experimental design. In addition, he elucidates some future prospects of MEG, both in methodological development and addressable neuroscience questions.

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:32:39 -0400

(01:21:48) On Thursday, October 20th, leading experts from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and the American Parkinson Disease Association discussed cutting edge advances in Parkinson's disease research and provided perspective on what the future holds for Parkinson's patients and their families.

Speakers:

Roberta Sydney SM '88: Chair, Friends of the McGovern Institute
Ann Graybiel, PhD: Investigator, McGovern Institute
Marie Saint-Hilaire, MD, FRCPC: Director, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center and the APDA Center for Advanced Research at Boston University Medical Center

Following the formal presentations, guests participated in an open floor discussion with the speakers.

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:15:12 -0400

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.

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:57:05 -0400

(54:10) On September 14, 2011, The McGovern Institute partnered with the Alzheimer's Association as part of an evening seminar series called, “Understanding Brain Disorders.” The seminar series is designed to encourage an open dialogue among scientific researchers, patients, their families, and others affected by diseases of the brain.

In this video, McGovern investigators John Gabrieli and Feng Zhang joined Reisa Sperling on behalf of the Alzheimer's Association in a panel discussion about Alzheimer's disease.

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:19:37 -0400

(4:42) Nancy Kanwisher, a founding member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses brain imaging to learn about the organization of the mind.

Learn more about Nancy Kanwisher

[Images/video courtesy of pond5, Joshua Julian]

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:01:04 -0400

Following injection of a nucleus accumbens slice with HSV-GCaMP3, glutamate was applied to stimulate calcium signaling. This movie shows a cell body and a spine in a time-lapse series.

Movie courtesy of Daniel Christoffel in the laboratory of Scott Russo.

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:14:41 -0400

(4:37) Robert Desimone is director of the McGovern Institute and formerly the head of intramural research at the National Institute of Mental Health. Desimone also runs his own lab at the McGovern Institute, where he studies the brain mechanisms underlying attention.

Learn more about Bob Desimone >>

[Stock footage courtesy of pond5, CriticalPast]

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:52:56 -0400

(02:19) Ki Goosens, an Assistant Professor in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and an Investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, studies the relationship between fear, anxiety, and stress.

Learn more about Ki Goosens >>

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:56:06 -0400

This animation illustrates optogenetics -- a radical new technology for controlling brain activity with light. Ed Boyden, the co-inventor of this technology, is a professor at the MIT Media Lab and at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, where he continues to develop new technologies for controlling brain activity.

Animations courtesy of Sputnik Animation.

Thu, 19 May 2011 13:19:10 -0400

(04:50) This animation illustrates optogenetics -- a radical new technology for controlling brain activity with light. Ed Boyden, the co-inventor of this technology, is a professor at the MIT Media Lab and at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, where he continues to develop new technologies for controlling brain activity.

Mon, 16 May 2011 12:38:49 -0400

(18:39) In this talk presented at the 2011 TED conference, Ed Boyden describes a radical new technology for controlling brain activity with light. Ed Boyden is a professor at the MIT Media Lab and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.
TED Conference: Long Beach, California
March 3, 2011
http://www.ted.com/talks/ed_boyden.html

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:10:36 -0400

The 2011 McGovern Institute Symposium: Inhibition and Neural Circuit Function. This video features Gordon Fishell of New York University School of Medicine. His talk is entitled, "Neuronal activity is required for the development of specific cortical interneuron subtypes."

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:10:08 -0400

McGovern Institute 2010 Symposium: Inhibition & Neural Circuit Function. This video features Chris McBain of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His talk is entitled, "Development and maturation of inhibition/excitation ratio in vivo disrupts information processing and behavior."

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:09:53 -0400

2011 McGovern Symposium: Inhibition & Neural Circuit Function. This video features Josh Huang of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. His talk is entitled, "Toward a genetic dissection of GABAergic circuits in cerebral cortex: chandeliers light up the path."

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:09:06 -0400

2011 McGovern Institute symposium: Inhibition & Neural Circuit Function. This video features Ed Callaway of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. His talk is entitled, "Rabies-based tools for elucidating neural circuits and linking connectivity to function."

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:08:32 -0400

2011 McGovern Institute Symposium: Inhibition & Neural Circuit Function. This video features Andreas Luthi of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research. His talk is entitled, "Defining the neuronal circuitry of fear."

Thu, 12 May 2011 10:07:57 -0400

2011 McGovern Institute symposium: Inhibition and Neural Circuit Function. This video features David Lewis of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His talk is entitled, "Cortical excitatory/inhibitory balance and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia."

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:36:33 -0400

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.

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

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

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:22:48 -0400

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 visual behavior in blind mice.

Learn more about the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT >>

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

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:01:40 -0400

(01:17:03) On March 23, 2011, The McGovern Institute partnered with Families for Depression Awareness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people recognize and cope with depression, as part of an evening seminar series called, “Understanding Brain Disorders.” The seminar series is designed to encourage an open dialogue among scientific researchers, patients, their families, and others affected by diseases of the brain.

In this one-hour video, McGovern investigators John Gabrieli and Ki Goosens joined Julie Totten, President and Founder of Families for Depression Awareness, in a panel discussion about depression.� Following the formal presentation, the speakers opened the floor to discussion, taking questions and comments from the audience.

Learn more about the McGovern Institute >>

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:32:02 -0400

The McGovern Institute for Brain Research has acquired a magnetoencephalography (MEG) scanner for human brain imaging. In this 2-part lecture, Ronald Gordon of Elekta introduces MEG imaging to the MIT community. The first hour provides an overview of MEG, including: historical development, basic MEG physics, noise cancellation, basic source modeling, and experimental and clinical applications. After a break, the second hour concentrates on operational details of the Elekta Triux MEG System and is targeted to individuals who may be interested in using the imaging facility.

The new instrument is installed in the Martinos Imaging Center under the direction of Professor John Gabrieli and will complement the center’s existing capabilities based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography.

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:01:24 -0500

The Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research was established in 2007 through a generous gift by Patricia and James Poitras ‘63 to the McGovern Institute for Brain Research to support research into the causes of depression, bipolar disorder, and other major psychiatric disorders. In this video, Pat and Jim describe the motivation for their gift and their ultimate decision to support the McGovern Institute. "I look at it as an investor," says Jim. "I'd love to see another two, three, four people step forward and make an equal commitment."

Learn more about the Poitras Center for Affective Disorders Research.

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:51:52 -0500

3D rotation showing neurons transduced with HSV-GFP in P14-15 mouse visual cortex.

This movie was created using viral vectors from the viral gene transfer core, a facility established in 2008 by the Picower Institute and the McGovern Institute to make viral vectors accessible to the MIT neuroscience community.

Movie courtesy of Sam Clark, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:51:33 -0500

3d rotation of apical dendrites transduced with HSV-GFP in P14-15 mouse visual cortex.

This movie was created using viral vectors from the viral gene transfer core, a facility established in 2008 by the Picower Institute and the McGovern Institute to make viral vectors accessible to the MIT neuroscience community.

Movie courtesy of Sam Clark, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:27:44 -0500

Astrocytes transduced with BacMam-GFP in mouse visual cortex. Notice the astrocytes are wrapped around the blood vessels.

This in vivo 2-photon image was created using viral vectors from the viral gene transfer core, a facility established in 2008 by the Picower Institute and the McGovern Institute to make viral vectors accessible to the MIT neuroscience community.

Image courtesy of Sam Clark, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:49:18 -0400

(00:38) The Gertler lab at the Koch Institute is studying migration of neurons and their growth cones, actin-rich structures that guide developing axons and dendrites to their targets. In this video, lab members visualized dorsal root ganglia growth cones by infecting neurons with HSV-tdTomato from the McGovern/Picower viral core facility.

Video courtesy of Ed Van Veen / Frank Gertler, Koch Institute

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:56:01 -0400

(00:01)The song of the zebra finch lasts about 1 second, and consists of multiple syllables whose timing is almost precisely the same from one performance to the next. By studying the brain circuits that control bird song, Michale Fee's lab has identified a “chain reaction” of brain activity that appears to control the timing of song.

Credit: Dan Rubin / MIT

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:01:01 -0400

(00:15) In a paper published in the Oct 25 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of neuroscientists led by Institute Professor Ann Graybiel found that untrained monkeys performing a simple visual scanning task gradually developed efficient patterns that allowed them to minimize the time it took to receive their reward. The study shows that habit formation appears to be an innate ability that is fine-tuned by experience — specifically, the costs and rewards of certain choices.

Video courtesy of Theresa Desrochers and Daniel Gibson / MIT

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:03:56 -0400

(29:56) Robert Desimone, director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, gives a keynote address at the Institute's 10th anniversary celebration on October 14, 2010.

Learn more about the McGovern Institute >>

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:03:52 -0400

(42:43) Dr. Gerald Fischbach, scientific director of the Simons Foundation, gives a keynote address at the 10th anniversary celebration of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. Dr. Fischbach, who oversees the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, gives a talk entitled, "Autism Research: Progress and Promises."

Learn more about the McGovern Institute >>

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:47:44 -0400

(20:34) At the 10th anniversary celebration of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Jane Pauley, broadcast journalist and member of the McGovern Institute Leadership Board, speaks candidly about being diagnosed with bipolar depression and about the need to "normalize" mental illness.

Learn more about the McGovern Institute >>

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:46:49 -0400

(39:56) Robert Desimone introduces keynote speaker Alan Alda at the 10th anniversary celebration of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. As the former host of the long-running PBS series, "Scientific American Frontiers," Alda shares some advice on how scientists can communicate more effectively with the general public.

Learn more about the McGovern Institute >>

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:02:57 -0400

(4:35) The mission of the McGovern Institute is to understand the brain in health and disease. In this video, McGovern Investigator, Nancy Kanwisher discusses her role in an ambitious research project to understand the brain basis of autism.

Learn more about the McGovern Institute >>

[Video courtesy of John Rubin Productions. Special thanks to the Martinos Imaging Center, the Kanwisher lab, and the Clyde family.]

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:32:36 -0400

(42:38) The McGovern Institute awarded the 2010 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience to Lily and Yuh-Nung Jan of the University of California, San Francisco. In this video, Lily Jan delivers the second part of a joint prize lecture entitled, "Dendrite morphogenesis and channel regulation: implications for mental health and neurological disorders.”

The first half of the lecture was delivered by Lily Jan's husband and colleague, Yuh-Nung Jan.

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:01:46 -0400

(39:36) The McGovern Institute awarded the 2010 Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience to Lily and Yuh-Nung Jan of the University of California, San Francisco. In this video, Yuh-Nung Jan delivers the first part of a joint prize lecture entitled, "Dendrite morphogenesis and channel regulation: implications for mental health and neurological disorders.” McGovern Institute director, Bob Desimone, greets the crowd and the Jans lecture is introduced by Nobel laureate, H. Robert Horvitz.

The second half of the lecture is delivered by Yuh-Nung's wife and colleague, Lily Jan.

Wed, 19 May 2010 16:40:36 -0400

(41:20) McGovern Institute 2010 Symposium: Cells, Circuits, and Behavior. This video features a talk by Samuel Wang of Princeton University. His talk is entitled, "Optical approaches to spying on sensory-motor processing in behaving rodents."

Tue, 11 May 2010 11:44:07 -0400

(00:18) 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 the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, a state-of-the-art brain imaging facility that serves the biomedical research community at MIT and throughout the Boston area.

Learn more about the Martinos Imaging Center at MIT.

Want to see a picture of your own brain? Participate in one of our studies!

Video courtesy of Christina Triantafyllou, Associate Director of the Martinos Imaging Center at MIT

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:04:23 -0500

The second episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, sponsored by the Simons Foundation. The topic is the Perceiving Brain: Sight and Visual Perception. With co-host Eric Kandel of Columbia University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Tony Movshon of New York University, Pawan Sinha of MIT, Nancy Kanwisher of the McGovern Institute at MIT, and Ted Adelson of MIT. The program premiered on 24 November 2009. For local listings visit the Charlie Rose website: www.charlierose.com Copyright © 2009 Charlie Rose LLC

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:41:49 -0400

As you scan this visual scene (indicated with green circle), you spot a beaver out of the corner of your eye. As you glance towards it, the image is swapped for a monkey. Using analogous stimuli to produce swaps at specific locations in the visual field, MIT graduate student Nuo Li and professor James DiCarlo show that the brain starts to confuse different objects after a few hours exposure to this altered visual world. The confusion is exactly that which is expected if the brain uses temporal contiguity to teach it how to recognize objects.

Movie courtesy of Nuo Li, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT