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

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

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:32:03 -0500

The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT is led by a team of world-renowned neuroscientists committed to meeting two great challenges of modern science: understanding how the brain works and discovering new ways to prevent and treat brain disorders.

This twenty-minute video provides viewers with an intimate tour of the McGovern Institute -- from our lab benches to our brain imaging center -- and it explores the tools and technologies our scientists are using to unlock the mystery of the human brain.

For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://mcgovern.mit.edu

Click here to learn more about how our research is contributing to the understanding of different brain diseases.

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:20:06 -0500

John Gabrieli, associate member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses brain imaging and behavioral tests to understand the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the human brain.

For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://web.mit.edu/mcgovern

[Stock footage courtesy pond5, Elekta Instrument AB]

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:48:01 -0500

The National Science Foundation interviewed Ed Boyden about his study published in the January 7 2010 issue of Nature. Results: Boyden's team developed a powerful new class of tools to reversibly shut down brain activity using different colors of light. When targeted to specific neurons, these tools could potentially lead to new treatments for the abnormal brain activity associated with disorders such as chronic pain, epilepsy, brain injury, and Parkinson’s disease.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:38:23 -0500

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revolutionized our understanding of the human brain, but the method is now approaching the limit of its capabilities. Alan Jasanoff hopes to break through this limit and to develop new technologies for imaging the molecular and cellular phenomena that underlie brain function.

For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://web.mit.edu/mcgovern

[Stock footage courtesy pond5]

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:56:41 -0500

The McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT is led by a team of world-renowned neuroscientists committed to meeting two great challenges of modern science: understanding how the brain works and discovering new ways to prevent and treat brain disorders.

This 2 1/2 minute video trailer, narrated by Director Robert Desimone, provides an overview of the Institute including our goals, our research interests, and our accomplishments. Key interviews include McGovern Investigators Ann Graybiel, James DiCarlo, Ki Goosens, and Nancy Kanwisher as well as Founders Patrick J. McGovern and Lore Harp McGovern.

For a more intimate tour of the Institute, watch our feature video.

For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://mcgovern.mit.edu

Click here to learn more about how our research is contributing to the understanding of different brain diseases.

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:24:01 -0500

Alan Jasanoff is developing a new generation of brain imaging technologies to study the neural mechanisms of behavior. In this video press release, Jasanoff discusses his latest findings published in Nature Biotechnology on February 28, 2010. In this study, Jasanoff's team designed a new MRI sensor that responds to the neurotransmitter dopamine, an achievement that may significantly improve the specificity and resolution of future brain imaging procedures.

For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://mcgovern.mit.edu

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:06:01 -0500

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.

For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://mcgovern.mit.edu

[Stock footage courtesy pond5, istockphoto, Emilio Bizzi, Darin W. Trees DPT, CWS / Mōveo technology, The Chattanooga Group, Jeff Powe]