To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language

Neuroscientists find that interpreting code activates a general-purpose brain network, but not language-processing centers.

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neuroscience linguistics learning research school-of-science computer-science-and-technology technology-and-society brain-and-cognitive-sciences computer-science-and-artificial-intelligence-laboratory-csail national-science-foundation-nsf stem-education mcgovern-institute mit-schwarzman-college-of-computing

One more clue to brain changes in Huntington’s disease

Opioid receptor MOR1 changes discovered in neurodegenerative disease model.

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disease research school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences mcgovern-institute huntingtons

Neuroscientists find a way to make object-recognition models perform better

Adding a module that mimics part of the brain can prevent common errors made by computer vision models.

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machine-learning artificial-intelligence research school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences center-for-brains-minds-and-machines quest-for-intelligence mcgovern-institute defense-advanced-research-projects-agency-darpa mit-schwarzman-college-of-computing mit-ibm-watson-ai-lab

How humans use objects in novel ways to solve problems

What's SSUP? The Sample, Simulate, Update cognitive model developed by MIT researchers learns to use tools like humans do.

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machine-learning artificial-intelligence learning research school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences center-for-brains-minds-and-machines mcgovern-institute

Imaging method reveals a “symphony of cellular activities”

Fluorescent imaging technique simultaneously captures different signal types from multiple locations in a live cell.

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neuroscience research media-lab school-of-architecture-and-planning school-of-engineering school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences national-science-foundation-nsf national-institutes-of-health-nih biological-engineering koch-institute mcgovern-institute

A hunger for social contact

Neuroscientists find that isolation provokes brain activity similar to that seen during hunger cravings.

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neuroscience mental-health covid-19 pandemic research school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences national-institutes-of-health-nih mcgovern-institute

Using machine learning to track the pandemic’s impact on mental health

Textual analysis of social media posts finds users’ anxiety and suicide-risk levels are rising, among other negative trends.

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machine-learning social-media artificial-intelligence mental-health covid-19 pandemic research school-of-science electrical-engineering-computer-science-eecs brain-and-cognitive-sciences health-sciences-and-technology mcgovern-institute national-institutes-of-nih

Study helps explain why motivation to learn declines with age

Research on mice suggests aging affects a brain circuit critical for learning to make some types of decisions.

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neuroscience aging research behavior school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences mcgovern-institute

Neural pathway crucial to successful rapid object recognition in primates

Recurrent processing via prefrontal cortex, necessary for quick visual object processing in primates, provides a key insight for developing brain-like artificial intelligence.

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neuroscience artificial-intelligence vision research school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences center-for-brains-minds-and-machines mcgovern-institute

Scientists uncover new clues about Parkinson’s disease

Tool developed at MIT simultaneously measures chemical and electrical brain signals, revealing unexpectedly complex relationship between brain signals.

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neuroscience disease research school-of-science brain-and-cognitive-sciences mcgovern-institute parkinsons