Ketamine for clinical use is clouded in controversy. Hallucinogenic party drug (“Special K”) and well-known anesthetic, it is increasingly touted as a panacea at low-doses for unresponsive depression…
MCB Professor Takao K. Hensch, who researches brain development with Harvard’s Center for Brain Science and Children’s Hospital Boston, has won the biannual Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize…
"It all started from my own experience,” says MCB professor Takao Hensch of his thriving study abroad programs in Japan. When he graduated from Harvard College, he resolved…
Scientists have long known that humans and other animals have a master biological clock situated in a deep brain region called the hypothalamus. In this master clock, cells…
Many people with autism display atypical sensory processing, and in independent studies, abnormalities in a deep brain structure known as the insula. A new study from researchers at…
(l to r) Takao K. Hensch, Henry H.C. Lee, and Alain Prochiantz A small group of highly metabolically active neurons act as conductors in the symphony that is…
Takao Hensch (l) and Eun-Jin Yang Behavioral preferences are shaped from an early age and often last a lifetime. Even before they are 1 week old, babies prefer…
Scientists in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) and Center for Brain Science (CBS) have launched a high-tech effort to map the brain’s “wiring diagram” and…
Brain functions, such as language, are shaped by experience during windows of heightened plasticity in early life. For example, children raised in an English- speaking environment will easily…
(L to R) Hirofumi Morishita and Takao K. Hensch Much of our behavior reflects the neural circuits sculpted by experience during early developmental critical periods. Such heightened brain…
