Picower Institute Pioneers in Research and Innovation

Started with a $50 million gift from the Picower Foundation in 2002, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created a community of expert researchers dedicated to investigating multiple aspects of the science behind mind and memory. Hundreds of scientists working today have trained at the institute, and its team is responsible for the publication of some 1,000 research papers.

The 2002 Picower Foundation donation was the largest ever presented to MIT from a single private foundation. In 2011, the foundation made a $25 million bequest to the institute, focused on the long-term growth of the Picower Neurological Disorder Research Fund, the Clinical Fellowships in Neuroscience Program, and the institute’s funds sustaining symposia and junior faculty support.

In September 2022, the institute marked its 20th anniversary. The work of each of its constituent labs was represented in a hybrid in-person and online event attended by 1,700 people.

The Picower Foundation’s ongoing support has enabled the formerly named MIT Center for Learning and Memory to expand the scope and depth of its work across several fields of neuroscience and brain research. In its current form, the Picower Institute has hosted conferences and scholars of international reputation, funded four endowed professorships, built an innovative new learning complex, and enhanced research in related core disciplines.

The focal point of the Picower Institute is the Brain and Cognitive Sciences complex, which spans more than 400,000 square feet and was the largest facility in the world dedicated entirely to neuroscience at the time of its construction. Opened in 2005, the design of this complex benefits from the vision of renowned architect and civic planner Charles Correa, who worked in collaboration with the Boston-based firm of Goody, Clancy & Associates.

Expanding understanding of aging and injured brains

In 2014, the institute was able to further deepen its commitment to brain research through added support from the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiatives. Through these awards, the NIH has supported deeper and more complex investigations into human brain function that can bring new understanding of autism, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and other complex conditions. Five Picower Institute researchers received grants to further their work on cortical circuitry and methods for tracing synaptic activity in connection with these conditions.

As scientists continued to fill in pieces of the neurodegenerative disease puzzle associated with the aging brain, the Picower Institute launched its Aging Brain Initiative in 2015. This collaborative, multidisciplinary project brings in the MIT School of Science and faculty throughout the university. The project is dedicated to building our understanding of healthy and unhealthy patterns of neuro-aging, with the central goal of enhancing the quality of life for all people.

Discoveries with life-saving implications

The groundbreaking discoveries to emerge from the Picower Institute over its lifetime are too numerous to describe in a brief summary.

Among the most notable is an investigation into Alzheimer’s that showed improvements in mice with neurodegeneration after researchers artificially boosted the animals’ gamma-frequency brain wave rhythms for one hour daily over the course of a week.

After this LED-based visual stimulation at 40Hz — the frequency of gamma waves — or other light-based neuronal stimulation, the researchers found that the mice displayed fewer of the amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that characterize Alzheimer’s. After a few years of research, the team produced evidence showing the long-term benefits of this methodology: The visual stimulation tended to halt brain atrophy, and the animals’ scores on tests of learning and memory improved with the cessation of cell death and neural circuit connection losses. Coupling light with sound further enhanced these results.

These discoveries represent the first direct connection to be established between changes in brain wave frequency and changes in neuronal activity at the molecular and cellular levels.

In the field of emotion and memory, researchers at the institute have demonstrated that memories are often intimately linked to feelings, and that the emotional components — the “valence” — of memories are subject to change over time. This work holds promise in investigating potential treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other long-term, complex conditions.

In work relevant to autism spectrum disorders, Picower Institute researchers have refined our understanding of the potential for remediating defects in the neuronal protein synthesis process that weaken the connections between neurons, or synapses. Applying this knowledge, they have discovered new ways to lessen many of the cognitive issues associated with autism and other conditions caused by Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder.

Inventing a better neurological future

The many inventions that have emerged from the work of institute team members — often in collaboration with students — include GENUS. This treatment (Gamma ENtrainment Using Sensory stimuli) is anchored in research that demonstrated the positive effects of gamma-wave stimulation on brains affected by neurodegeneration. Clinical trials of GENUS in humans have already shown safety and evidence of efficacy.

Other notable inventions include a mechanism-based pharmacological therapy for Rett Syndrome, a severe neurological disorder that affects cognitive and emotional development, usually in girls. The therapy uses the molecule IGF1 (insulin-like growth factor 1). This achievement is the result of years of the institute’s work on the genetic aspects of synaptic plasticity.

SCOUT also deserves emphasis. This innovation is a pipeline that enhances the ability to analyze “minibrains,” cerebral organoids built from human-derived stem cells that serve as manipulable models of human brain development and neurodegeneration.

SCOUT makes it possible for scientists to image and define these three-dimensional brain models more clearly and with greater precision. The process makes the organoids transparent, allowing for better imaging of the complete model in real space, with cellular reactions easy to follow and record. SCOUT’s freely accessible software can then perform sophisticated analyses on the gathered data, affording new possibilities for studying multiple diseases.