Nima Dehghani.

Nima Dehghani

Research scientist
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nima Dehghani is a research scientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on data-driven dynamical modeling, foundations of physical computing and bio-inspired intelligence.

He was initially trained as a physician and later as a physicist, obtaining his Ph.D. in complex systems physics and computational neuroscience from Sorbonne Université  (Campus Pierre et Marie Curie) while conducting research at the Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience at the Unité de Neuroscience, Information et Complexité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UNIC-CNRS). For more information, see: https://compneuro.mit.edu/about

Explore more from The Transmitter

Headshots of Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel.

How Nobel Prize-winning optogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience

The technique has enabled neuroscientists to target brain circuits and cells with unprecedented specificity, transforming the study of memory, interoception, brain disorders and reward, among other domains.

Illustration of two cats jumping to opposite buildings in a city.

Is confidence a second thought—or part of the first one?

In some settings, neural circuits may calculate confidence in a decision simultaneously with the choice itself. That changes the types of questions researchers should ask.

By Ariel Zylberberg
5 October 2026 | 6 min read
Illustration of a plate with a cherry in front of a computer server.

What AI can learn from hunger

To enhance AI safety, take a lesson from biological brains; a small set of wants maintains durable control over a much larger cognitive system.

By Anthony Zador
5 October 2026 | 6 min read