There are 86 billion neurons in the human brain, each with thousands of connections, giving rise to hundreds of trillions of synapses. Synapses—the connection points between neurons—store memories. The overwhelming number of neurons and synapses in our brains makes finding the precise location of a specific memory a formidable scientific challenge.

The Metaverse is creating a new context for users to enmesh with. Reinforcement learning models have successfully bridged the brain and behavior for 2D media. However, mimicking brain functions that create contextual space will be pivotal in guiding future AI to match the symbiotic complexity between humans and machines in a 3D space.

Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain tumor and with a five-year survival rate of less than 6% new treatments are sorely needed. Although the development of immunotherapies have been successful in treating malignant cancers, glioblastomas are resistant to such therapies, due, in part, to poor viral infection. However, recent advances have shown that poliovirus can enter and kill glioblastoma cells.

The brain connects sensory information from the environment to our subjective experiences, resulting in our perceptions, emotions, and memories. However, our brains need to disconnect — i.e., sleep — from the noisy sensory world that we’re steeped in. Sleep helps us maintain brain health, makes our memories stronger, and aids in problem solving.

Two art projects, The Poetry of Science and The Peoples’ heART (Health Equity x Art), have come together to confront health equity and under-representation through the combination of science and art.

Mass General Neuroscience, part of Massachusetts General Hospital, recently held the 3rd Annual Neuroscience Day. Experts from the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine gathered to present on their advances in neuroscience and medical breakthroughs.

Neurologic symptoms such as headache, confusion, altered alertness, prolonged unconsciousness and loss of smell have been identified as symptoms of COVID-19. Although researchers are starting to understand the symptoms behind neurological sequelae from SARS-CoV-2 infection, the direct and indirect effects of SARS-CoV-2 on the brain remain unclear.

Recovery from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not yet possible, and current approaches have not yielded any effective therapies to halt the disease's development or progression. This isn’t someone else’s problem. Faculty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are concerned with the lack of progress, lack of funding, and lack of essential investment into innovative solutions. By pursuing radically different approaches, we have discovered compelling data to suggest we can slow or halt the disease and may be able to reactivate memories and boost cognitive capacity.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve around the globe, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital are evaluating assays to determine the development of immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

As the number of COVID-19 cases has increased, there has been a decrease in the number of patients seeking medical care due, in part, to fears of infection. Neurologists cite concerns surrounding the dip in stroke patients seeking care, fearing they may deliberately be putting off the critical care they need in an effort to avoid COVID-19 exposure.

Zeina Chemali, MD, MPH, director of the Neuropsychiatry Clinics and Training in the Department of Psychiatry, and unit chief at the McCance Center for Brain Health in the Department of Neurology, and team provide neuropsychiatry education and training in low resource settings and develops resilience training programs for health care professionals to address burnout in under-resourced areas.

Clinicians and researchers from Mass General Neuroscience presented at a recently held virtual lecture showcasing the breadth of cross-disciplinary research at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Nicte Mejia, MD, MPH, is the director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Neurology Community Health and specializes in movement disorders. Dr. Mejia's clinical practice and research focus on advancing health equity, access to quality neurologic care and disparities in neurology, along with gaps in the care of racial and linguistic minority populations. Her work advances the education of trainees and engagement in national efforts including at the American Academy of Neurology.

Picower Institute director awarded for her research on brain development, neurological disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Neuroscientist recognized by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation for project on neural circuits for anxiety control.

Description goes here"I always have at least one camera with me at all times, and now that I have a toddler most of my images are made between work and home. Because I work across the street from the Stata Center — which contains the Computer Science and Artificial Laboratory (CSAIL) and Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, among other things — I come across the building several times a day. It’s an easy building to shoot in that it lends itself to photography, and I’m constantly bumping into people taking a photo of it. However, it’s difficult to make a unique image of the building that stands out from the plethora of photos online.

The impact of COVID-19 treatment on the brain and related cognitive dysfunction (such as problems with memory and attention) is an area of concern for physicians. This has prompted physicians and researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital to study the effects of sedation on neurological outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

Neuroscience Day at Mass General celebrates our rich community, providing the opportunity to convene and to display the scientific accomplishments of clinical and research teams from across the hospital," said Dr. Curry during his welcome address. "More than a celebration, Neuroscience Day is an immediate opportunity for us to network with each other, in keeping with our motto, the ‘Power of Connectivity.

Synaptopathy refers to diseases of the nervous system that result in dysfunctional synapses -- the structures through which neurons communicate with each other. Evidence suggests that ASD is a disorder of altered synaptic connections, resulting from genetic mutations. However, several hundred genes are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD.

Adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress are linked to the development of mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Some examples of toxic environments include living in poverty, abuse, neglect, witnessing drug use, domestic violence, and having parents with mental illness. More than 16 million children live in abject poverty in the United States and nearly two-in-three people in the U.S. have been exposed to traumatic childhood experiences.

During the 1950s the first genera- tion of psychopharmacological medications transformed the treat- ment of psychiatric disorders with the development of mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anxiolytics. At the time, scientists assumed that chemical imbalance was the culprit to psychiatric illness. Over the past 60 years, neuroscientists now know that the chemical imbalance theory of mental illness is too simplistic.

Technology is the science of craftsmanship, and there are few places on Earth where crafting new tools to investigate the complexities of nature is as ambitious as The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Explored here are some of the exciting and powerful tools being created by faculty members, which are turning science fiction into science fact. These include genetic engineering tools to help understand the way neural circuits compute behavior, new programming code that utilizes artificial intelligence to analyze the dreaming brain, and a technique to hack the brain, enabling it to potentially cure itself from Alzheimer’s disease.

The economic and social impact of drug use regularly makes headlines around the world. In contrast, the long-term impact of compulsive drug use on brain function receives little media attention.

Activation of prefrontal cortical (PFC), striatal, and hippocampal dopamine 1-class receptors (D1R and D5R) is necessary for normal spatial information processing. Yet the precise role of the D1R versus the D5R in the aforementioned structures, and their specific contribution to the water-maze spatial learning task remains unknown.

Activation of the hippocampal dopamine 1-class receptors (D1R and D5R) are implicated in contextual fear conditioning (CFC). However, the specific role of the D1R versus D5R in hippocampal dependent CFC has not been investigated.

The hippocampus (HPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) play key roles in the acquisition of both short-term (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). These regions form a circuit, with the PFC receiving direct input from the HPC, the HPC receiving indirect input from the PFC and each structure receiving direct projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA).