Skip to main content

Harvard University

Neurobiology

Harvard researchers are exploring the complexities of the brain and the nervous system, and uncovering ways to treat and prevent diseases like dementia, multiple sclerosis, and ALS.

Supporting research

Harvard recently announced an investment of $150 million—one of the largest direct investments in faculty research in Harvard’s history—to support the advancement of promising areas of scientific research.

Learn more about the investment
Michael Moskowitz in his lab

Demystifying the migraine

Michael Moskowitz, Harvard Medical School professor of neurology, has made multiple discoveries that have revolutionized thinking about migraines, deepened knowledge about why some treatments work, and led to new treatments that are available and prescribed now.

Learn more about Michael’s research

The mono virus seen under a microscope

Uncovering Epstein-Barr’s connection to multiple sclerosis

Harvard researchers published a landmark study confirming the Epstein-Barr virus as the leading cause of multiple sclerosis, and found that healthy diets in midlife may benefit long-term cognitive health.

Learn more about the study

A woman sits at a desk in an office.

Reversing the course of ALS

Merit Cudkowicz, a Harvard Medical School professor of neurology, co-authored a paper on a new drug that can radically slow and even reverse the course of the disease in a small subset of patients with a rare genetic variant.

Learn more about Merit’s work

Our nervous system experts

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Five Alzheimer’s research panelists sitting in chairs on a stage

Recent findings are demystifying Alzheimer's disease

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study’s Next in Science series brought experts together to discuss current Alzheimer’s research and explore potential breakthroughs in the future.

Recent findings are demystifying Alzheimer's disease

Environmental exposures are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

An illustration of a head
Environmental exposures are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

A test for new biomarkers of dementia

An older man with glasses in a white lab coat
A test for new biomarkers of dementia

Approaching Alzheimer’s from three different angles

A head with puzzle pieces where the brain is.
Approaching Alzheimer’s from three different angles

Optimism may lower the risk of developing dementia

Older woman staring off into the sky
Optimism may lower the risk of developing dementia

A common sleep drug may be linked to an increased dementia risk

An outline of a brain with different pills inside of it.
A common sleep drug may be linked to an increased dementia risk

How the nervous system works

How we perceive what’s happening inside our bodies

Interoception, the perception of internal signals from the body, could be implicated in anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, and chronic pain. Learn more about interoception.

Why digestion is so connected to the brain

The gut’s enteric nervous system is constantly influencing our mood, our wants, and our needs. Learn more about those gut feelings.

How the brain and the heart are connected

Thoughts and emotions can affect heart health, and what happens to the heart, likewise, can influence the health of the brain. Learn more about the connections.

Why smell and memory are so strongly linked

Smell signals get sent to areas of the brain involved in generating emotions and storing and organizing memories. Learn more about the sense of smell.

Autism and ADHD

Illustration of a parent playing with a young child

Taking a fresh look at the definition of autism

Ari Ne’eman, assistant professor of health policy and management at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says that creating a high-needs autism category risks a return to segregation and neglect—though other subdivisions may make more sense.

Taking a fresh look at the definition of autism

Understanding how ADHD diagnoses can go wrong

A Harvard study found a spike in ADHD diagnoses on Halloween, highlighting the stakes of cognitive bias in medicine.

Two researchers looking at a computer
Understanding how ADHD diagnoses can go wrong

Funding foundational autism research

Harvard and Yale researchers were awarded $46 million to map how the brain develops to understand the divergences that occur in children with autism.

A petri dish with something growing in it
Funding foundational autism research

Ensuring proper dosage on attention medication

Patients taking a high dose of a prescription amphetamine face more than a five-fold increased risk for developing psychosis or mania, according to Harvard research.

Adderall pills
Ensuring proper dosage on attention medication

Protecting patients from unnecessary harm

Harvard experts say there is mounting evidence that applied behavior analysis (ABA), a type of therapy for children with autism, is frequently ineffective and often harmful.

A child holding a person's hand
Protecting patients from unnecessary harm

Advancing support and exploring new strategies

Novel treatments

Harvard experts are advancing exciting new treatments for neurological disorders, including an engineered probiotic to treat multiple sclerosis, creating wearable robotics to help people with Parkinson’s walk without freezing, and finding safe and effective ways to deliver medication into the brain.

Psychedelics

Findings around using psychedelic drugs like ketamine to help mental health disorders is promising, but Harvard experts highlight the importance of more research and the need for safety standards.

Mindfulness

Research on meditation and mindfulness have shown that it can be helpful for relieving stress, dealing with anxiety, countering burnout, processing fear, and even alleviating chronic pain.