The Neuroscience Institute includes research groups exploring a vast array of cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating neuronal and glial cell development and function across levels and species, in conditions of both health and neurological disease. Labs utilize state-of-the-art techniques including genetics, genomics, epigenetics, genome engineering, high-resolution imaging, and protein biochemistry, among others, to dissect the function of key molecules and signal transduction cascades that govern a broad spectrum of nervous system function and dysfunction. Areas of emphasis include neurodevelopment, ion channel and receptor signaling machinery, epigenetic regulation, and neuroinflammatory signaling utilizing both invertebrate and vertebrate systems.

The Neuroscience Institute has well-established strength in modeling and mathematical approaches to neuroscience, with an emphasis on oscillations in neural networks. The Associate members in Math, Physics, and Computer Science play important roles in this area. The Center for Neuromics supports computational approaches to big data.

The Neuroscience Institute is home to an expansive group of researchers studying cognitive neuroscience from a variety of angles and disciplines, from network neuroscience to clinical psychology to neurophilosophy.  This work covers social cognition, attention, decision making, emotion, memory and linguistics.  A particular area of expertise is the use and development of technologies for brain imaging, including rodent and human magnetic resonance imaging (f/MRI) and multiphoton microscopy. Several centers support this research including the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging and the Language Research Center.