Clik here to view.
Study finds neurons that encode the outcomes of actions
When we make complex decisions, we have to take many factors into account. Some choices have a high payoff but carry potential risks; others are lower risk but may have a lower reward associated with...
View ArticleWhat lies beneath
Why do people wear Rolex watches or drive Bentleys, when less expensive goods can perform better? Why does anyone fight the crowds at the Louvre to see the “Mona Lisa” for 30 seconds, when they could...
View ArticleApproaching human cognition from many angles
In January, as the Charles River was starting to freeze over, Keith Murray and the other members of MIT’s men’s heavyweight crew team took to erging on the indoor rowing machine. For 80 minutes at a...
View ArticleSprint then stop? The brain is wired for the math to make it happen
Your new apartment is just a couple of blocks down the street from the bus stop, but today you are late and you see the bus roll past you. You break into a full sprint. Your goal is to get to the bus...
View ArticleWhen a task adds more steps, this brain circuit helps you notice
Life is full of processes to learn and then relearn when they become more elaborate. One day you log in to an app with just a password, then the next day you also need a code texted to you. One day you...
View ArticleThese neurons have food on the brain
A gooey slice of pizza. A pile of crispy French fries. Ice cream dripping down a cone on a hot summer day. When you look at any of these foods, a specialized part of your visual cortex lights up,...
View ArticleAnalysis of email traffic suggests remote work may stifle innovation
The debate over what is lost when remote work replaces an in-person workplace just got an infusion of much-needed data. According to a study conducted at MIT, when workers go remote, the types of work...
View ArticleModeling the social mind
Typically, it would take two graduate students to do the research that Setayesh Radkani is doing.Driven by an insatiable curiosity about the human mind, she is working on two PhD thesis projects in two...
View ArticleDivorce is more common in albatross couples with shy males, study finds
The wandering albatross is the poster bird for avian monogamy. The graceful glider is known to mate for life, partnering up with the same bird to breed, season after season, between long flights at...
View ArticleStudy reveals how environment and state are integrated to control behavior
Say you live across from a bakery. Sometimes you are hungry, and therefore tempted when odors waft through your window, but other times satiety makes you indifferent. Sometimes popping over for a...
View ArticleThe power of weak ties in gaining new employment
If you have a LinkedIn account, your connections probably consist of a core group of people you know well, and a larger set of people you know less well. The latter are what experts call “weak ties.”...
View ArticleMaking each vote count
Graduate student Jacob Jaffe wants to improve the administration of American elections. To do that, he is posing “questions in political science that we haven’t been asking enough,” he says, “and...
View ArticleDoes mask-wearing affect behavior?
Since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a global increase in the number of people wearing masks to limit the spread of illness. Now, new research co-authored by MIT scholars suggests that, in...
View ArticleScientists chart how exercise affects the body
Exercise is well-known to help people lose weight and avoid gaining it. However, identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie this process has proven difficult because so many cells and tissues...
View ArticleBuilding a bridge between neuroscience and immunology
When Gloria Choi was making plans to launch her research lab at MIT, nearly 10 years ago, she thought it would be nice to find a side project where she could collaborate with her husband, an...
View ArticleCelebrating 20 years of discovery, Picower Institute looks ahead to...
If ever there was an event that would seem designed for dwelling on the past, it would be the anniversary celebration of an institute centered on the study of memory, but the first of many insights...
View ArticleFacing reality, however painful it may be
Let’s acknowledge it: Life is tough. Most people struggle to make a secure living, stay healthy, and care for family members. On a larger scale, climate change keeps unfolding, Ukraine is under attack,...
View ArticlePhysician, heal thyself?
Following established guidelines about prescription drugs would seem to be an obvious course of action, especially for the professionals that do the prescribing. Yet doctors and their family members...
View ArticleBringing movement into the classroom and academics into the gym
It’s highly unusual for MIT students to be encouraged to throw one another to the floor, but that’s exactly what was happening during a lab that met in the Wrestling Room at the duPont Athletic Center...
View ArticleStudy: Extreme heat is changing habits of daily life
Extreme temperatures make people less likely to pursue outdoor activities they would otherwise make part of their daily routine, a new study led by MIT researchers has confirmed.The data-rich study,...
View Article
