How are the fluctuations in electric field organized across the whole brain? We analyzed the 3.4 M samples from the international brain lab using a combination of deep learning and graph theory. We found a surprising structure made of communities and landmarks.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
I am excited to share my first paper, showing that episodic memory formation is theta rhythmic, is now published in Nature Human Behavior! Check it out here: rdcu.be/e6pzS. Thanks to my PI, Katherine Duncan, and to my collaborators for their support on this journey! Stay tuned for iEEG follow up 🧠
New paper out from the Duncan Lab in Nature Human Behaviour! Congratulations to lead author Thomas Biba @tbiba.bsky.social for all his hard work through the peaks and troughs, seeing this through to publication!
Big thanks to our collaborators!
@lexidecker.bsky.social
@tvaliante.bsky.social
Yes it was a sucky one indeed.
New paper alert! 🚨
We found that the brain's compass is remarkably stable at two scales
1️⃣ the system maintains its internal organization for weeks
2️⃣ It "remembers" its orientation for weeks, even after a single visit
This may be key to how the brain aligns its other maps.
Paper: rdcu.be/e3waP
🚨 new work from the lab on how eye movements 👀 versus orofacial movements influence 🐭 visual cortex activity 🧠 #neuroscience #behavior #neuroAI
13% success rates at #CIHR, is a really 87% fail rate for>4000 scientists. At a time when 🇨🇦 is investing millions to recruit more scientist into a broken funding environment. 🇨🇦, U need a strong science foundation 2 attract success. #CIHR, fix your science foundation, it is eroding in real time
Intelligence and consciousness.
@anilseth.bsky.social, brief, clear and to the point: "intelligence is about doing and consciousness is about being"
www.noemamag.com/the-mytholog...
Join us March 20 at the University of Toronto for a special seminar by Dr. Sergey Stavisky on brain–computer interfaces.
#neuroAI @utoronto.ca @uoftcompsci.bsky.social @uhn.ca @kbi-uhn.bsky.social robotics.utoronto.ca/event/roboti...
Tough relationship to manage 😐
New eLife paper is out! We explore the link btw 2-phase perception/generation learning methods like wake-sleep, and what may happen in the brain under on psychedelics. Turns out hallucinations are consistent with hijacking phasic learning, essentially running both wake and sleep phases at once.
Are you thinking about doing neuroscience outreach but want to make it more exciting or hands on?
Check out RetINaBox! (A collab led by the Trenholm lab)
We tried to bring the experience of experimental neuroscience to a classroom setting:
www.eneuro.org/content/13/1...
#neuroscience 🧪
Wonderful article about our recent paper in @pnasnexus.org! Thanks, @sachapfeiffer.bsky.social and @mickbonner.bsky.social!
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
My thoughts on the matter: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Wonderful and inspiring opening session at the CIFAR/TWCF Winter School for the Neuroscience of Consciousness, here in beautiful wintery Montebello, in Quebec. All of the participants gave 60 second intros to themselves and their interests. What a great group of people.
Gao, Peiran, and Surya Ganguli. 2015. “On Simplicity and Complexity in the Brave New World of Large-Scale Neuroscience.” Current Opinion in Neurobiology 32 (June): 148–55.
In this piece for @thetransmitter.bsky.social, I argue that ecological neuroscience should leverage generative video and interactive models to simulate the world from animals' perspectives.
The technological building blocks are almost here - we just need to align them for this application.
🧠🤖
🧠📢 New preprint alert
Large-scale ephys is exploding but spike sorting remains the computational bottleneck. A 2-hr, 6-probe Neuropixels 2.0 Quad Base session can take over a week to sort on a single machine. Here's a better solution. 🧵
#neuroskyence #compneurosky
Lossy WavPack compression (up to 7× reduction) has minimal impact on sorting accuracy. This offers major storage savings without sacrificing quality.
Conceptual Roadmap of the present study. To examine the relationship between the metabolic costs of visual processing and aesthetic pleasure, we used both computational and physiological measures to quantify metabolic costs during visual processing: 1. Model-derived estimates of metabolic costs based on the activation of a deep neural network; 2. Metabolic activity of human brains, specifically in the visual processing areas. We found that both measures were inversely related to aesthetic pleasure.
Energy efficiency drives evolution, and humans may have evolved pleasure-based signals to optimize actions. Does this extend to aesthetic pleasure?
Yes!
Strong evidence in silico and humans, out in PNAS Nexus:
tinyurl.com/3kbu8xw4
With Yikai Tang and Wil Cunningham.
@uoftpsychology.bsky.social
😂
Finally got the job ad—looking for 2 PhD students to start spring next year:
www.gao-unit.com/join-us/
If comp neuro, ML, and AI4Neuro is your thing, or you just nerd out over brain recordings, apply!
I'm at neurips. DM me here / on the conference app or email if you want to meet 🏖️🌮
We are opening a FACULTY POSITION (tenure track, permanent) in the University of Cambridge at the interface of control and biology, interpreted broadly. Theorists and wet lab quantitative biologists with backgrounds in control, EE, applied math, ... apply by Jan 28!
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/univers...
There is this one too:
Gao, Peiran, and Surya Ganguli. 2015. “On Simplicity and Complexity in the Brave New World of Large-Scale Neuroscience.” Current Opinion in Neurobiology 32 (June): 148–55.
A study in Nature Communications identifies BNST theta and prefrontal BNST coherence as intracranial biomarkers predicting depression outcomes after deep brain stimulation. Lower activity predicted better long-term benefit, linking brain circuits to emotional bias and anxiety. 🧪
It was incredible to be part of #purpleday yesterday! 💜 Each year, this important day continues to grow bigger and stronger, bringing more awareness and support for the 1-in-100 people living with epilepsy.
@kbi-uhn.bsky.social @uhnresearch.bsky.social @tvaliante.bsky.social
Happy to share this work putting forth the first #computational model of #developing #embrionic cortical circuits. Phenomenal team coordination by Fernando Garcia Moreno @achucarro.bsky.social. @kbi-uhn.bsky.social @kcnhub.bsky.social
A 210 gram bag of Hawkins Cheesies, made with real Canadian cheddar.
I’m not “abandoning my diet”; I’m “supporting my country.”
