New research center at MIT: The relationship between the brain and the body

In recent years, the inseparable connection between our brains and bodies has been increasingly recognized by researchers and clinicia.

A new research center at MIT aims to unravel this mystery by creating and applying tools to explore the multidirectional, multilevel interactions between the brain and other organ systems in the bo.

The Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center will be led by Polina Anikeeva, a professor of materials science and engineering, brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and an associate investigator at the McGovern Institu.

"Under the distinguished leadership of Professor Anikeeva, this wellspring of resources will encourage MIT faculty, graduate students and researchers to do their best work and ultimately make a real difference in the lives of many," Reif add.

Center's Goals

The center's initial projects will focus on four research directions:

• Gut-brain: Anikeeva's team will expand the toolbox of new technologies and apply these tools to study major neurobiological questions, the gut-brain in the context of autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson's and affective disorders Brain pathways and connectio.

  
  

• Aging: CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang, MIT professor of neuroscience and McGovern Institute investigator, will lead a group to develop molecular tools for precise epigenome editing and elimination in various types of cells and tissues Accumulated "mistakes", injuries or illness.

  
  

• Pain: The lab of Fan Wang, a McGovern Institute researcher and professor of brain and cognitive sciences, will design new tools and imaging methods to study autonomic responses, sympathetic-parasympathetic balance and the brain Interactions of the autonomic nervous system, including how pain affects these interactio.

  
  

• Acupuncture: Wang will also work with veterinarian Hilda ("Scooter") Holcombe in MIT's Division of Comparative Medicine to improve techniques to record changes in the brain and surrounding tissue induced by acupuncture in a mouse mod.

  
  

An important component of the Lisa Yang Brain Body Center will focus on educating and training the brightest young minds eager to make real breakthroughs for people with complex and often devastating diseas.

Men are the same in the body

"I remember reading a phrase in middle school that stuck in my head: 'men sana in corpore sano' — 'A healthy body breeds a healthy mind,'" said Lisa Yang, a former investment bank.

"For labs like mine, this center marks a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conduct bold and risky research into the complexities of brain-body connections," said Anikeeva, who studies in materials science, electronics and neurobiology work at the intersection of learni.