Movement disorder ALS and cognitive disorder FTLD show strong molecular overlaps

Gene expression patterns in the brain’s motor and frontal cortex, and other experimental evidence, reveal many shared cellular and molecular similarities that could be targeted for potential treatment of both conditions.

On the surface, the movement disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the cognitive disorder frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which underlies frontotemporal dementia, manifest in very different ways. In addition, they are known to primarily affect very different regions of the brain. However, doctors and scientists have noted several similarities over the years, and a new study in Cell reveals that the diseases have remarkable overlaps at the cellular and molecular levels, revealing potential targets that could yield therapies applicable to both disorders. Story continues>>

In the brain, bursts of beta rhythms implement cognitive control

Bursts of brain rhythms with “beta” frequencies control where and when neurons in the cortex process sensory information and plan responses. Studying these bursts would improve understanding of cognition and clinical disorders, researchers argue in a new review.

The brain processes information on many scales. Individual cells electrochemically transmit signals in circuits but at the large scale required to produce cognition, millions of cells act in concert, driven by rhythmic signals at varying frequencies. Studying one frequency range in particular, beta rhythms between about 14-30 Hz, holds the key to understanding how the brain controls cognitive processes—or loses control in some disorders—a team of neuroscientists argues in a new review article. Story continues>>

To understand cognition—and its dysfunction—neuroscientists must learn its rhythms

Thought emerges and is controlled in the brain via the rhythmically and spatially coordinated activity of millions of neurons, scientists argue in a new article. Understanding cognition and its disorders requires studying it at that level.

It could be very informative to observe the pixels on your phone under a microscope, but not if your goal is to understand what a whole video on the screen shows. Cognition is much the same kind of emergent property in the brain. It can only be understood by observing how millions of cells act in coordination, argues a trio of MIT neuroscientists. In a new article, they lay out a framework for understanding how thought arises from the coordination of neural activity driven by oscillating electric fields—also known as brain “waves” or “rhythms.” Story continues>>

Plasticity and place: Study shows a key neural mechanism of remembering locations

Scientists have now observed how the brain’s 'place cells' stave off inhibitory input in the process of establishing their tuning to specific locations. The study shows that signaling by endocannabinoids is required.

Knowing where you are is so important, the brain has special cells that dedicate themselves to the purpose. In a recent study in Science, a team of neuroscientists has demonstrated in live behaving animals a long-hypothesized mechanism that such “place cells” employ to refine that sense of location. Story Continues>>

Autism symptoms sometimes improve amid fever, so a research team will study how to make that a therapy

Scientists are catching up to what parents and other caregivers have been reporting for many years: When some people with autism spectrum disorders experience an infection that sparks a fever, their autism-related symptoms seem to improve. With a new grant from The Marcus Foundation, scientists at MIT and Harvard Medical School hope to explain how this happens in an effort to eventually develop therapies that mimic the “fever effect” to similarly improve symptoms. Story continues>>

Tsai presents non-invasive stimulation study at Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress

Alana Down Syndrome Center team recruiting volunteers to test whether 40Hz light and sound stimulation produces cognitive benefits.

With early studies indicating that non-invasive sensory stimulation of a gamma frequency brain rhythm may improve cognition in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers in the Alana Down Syndrome Center and The Picower Institute at MIT are beginning to also test it with volunteers from the Down syndrome community. Story continues>>

Faculty honored as “Committed to Caring”

The Committed to Caring (C2C) program at MIT is a student-driven initiative that celebrates faculty members who have served as exceptional mentors to graduate students. Twenty-three MIT professors, including Picower Investigators Myriam Heiman and Emery N. Brown (above), have been selected as recipients of the C2C award for 2023-25. Story continues>>

BCS department recognizes Picower Institute members

Kudos to three Picower Institute members who earned Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department awards this spring.

• Professor Steve Flavell, who received an award for Excellence in Graduate Mentorship.
• Research Scientist David Stoppel of the Bear Lab, who was honored with the Angus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
• Laboratory Administrator Rhonda Valenti of the Brown Lab, who was recognized as a “Go-to Person”

Earl Miller spoke with reporter Susan Spencer for an episode of CBS News Sunday Morning  that questioned why people try so hard to look busy when, in fact, we benefit cognitively when we give the mind space for contemplation and concentration. As Miller noted in the broadcast, people simply cannot multitask, even if they think they can. Meanwhile, Scientific American covered Miller's recent research on how brain wave frequencies systemically vary in the brain's cortex. And Anesthesiology News wrote about a study Miller co-authored with Emery N. Brown, indicating that propofol induces unconsciousness by cutting off the propagation of signals across the cortex.

Nature quoted Li-Huei Tsai after new research furthered her findings that neurons break open their DNA during memory formation. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News covered research on ALS and FTLD co-led by Myriam Heiman.

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Sept. 24-25: The Kuggie Vallee Distinguished Lecture

In honor of the Vallee Foundation’s co-founder, Kuggie Vallee, and in order to inspire young women to continue a career in science, the foundation has established a prestigious annual series of Kuggie Vallee Distinguished Lectures. These lectures are designed to highlight major successes made by women in the biomedical sciences and are given at institutions around the world where Vallee Visiting Professors and Young Investigator Awardees are affiliated. The Kuggie Vallee Distinguished Lecturer gives a public lecture about her own science and then meets more informally or in workshops with other faculty at the host institute to talk about women in science and career building. More>>