The mission of the Simons Center for the Social Brain is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition and behavior, and to translate this knowledge into better diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

The Simons Center studies the underlying mechanisms of ASD in both humans and relevant model organisms and systems, as neural correlates of social cognition and behavior exist in diverse species. Our approaches take advantage of MIT’s strengths in genetics and genomics, molecular and cell biology, analyses of neural circuits and systems, cognitive psychology, computation and engineering.

Our programs include funding for innovative, collaborative team projects and postdoctoral fellowships, as well as events that reach a wide audience, including a Colloquium Series and a Lunch Talks Series.