Constructing connectome-based neural networks

Really excited to share a new preprint!

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁 & 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗲? We explore how!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We built Connectome-based Neural Networks (CoNNs) using Drosophila wiring (larva&adult) & compared with random networks with same sparsity.

Our latest publication grapples with how the brain could implement gradient descent by sending learning targets top-down, gating plasticity with dendritic inhibition, and updating synaptic weights with biologically observed learning rules like BTSP.

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Neuroanatomy reflects individual variability in impulsivity in youth - Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry - Neuroanatomy reflects individual variability in impulsivity in youth

Our latest work looking at the neuroanatomical basis of impulsivity in youth is out now in Molecular Psychiatry!

Check out my latest editorial reflecting on OHBM 2025 and emphasizing the power our community has to advance diversity and inclusion in research.

‪Ever wondered how GABAergic interneurons shape cognition? The IN-CODE consortium's latest NeuroView article introduces a "population approach", shifting the focus from individual interneurons to cooperative networks. Dive into the future of interneuron research here: doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...

how does his brain do it ? #neuroscience #memory #sport Nelson Dellis 6x US memory champion YouTube video by Roselyne Chauvin

The 6x US memory champion – Nelson Dellis – can memorize a deck of cards in 40 seconds and knows the first 10K digits of pi.
To figure out how, he let us peak inside his brain. Here is what we learned in our precision brain mapping study www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

youtube.com/shorts/MryMq...

Cascades and convergence: Dynamic signal flow in a synapse-level brain network Author summary To understand how the brain processes and merges information from our senses, we need more than just a “wiring map” of its connections; we need to see how signals actually travel throug...

🚨Another new one from the lab!

Cascades and convergence: Dynamic signal flow in a synapse-level brain network

We simulate sensory cascades in a bona fide biological neural network.

With Caio Seguin, Maria Grazia Puxeddu, and @misicbata.bsky.social!

journals.plos.org/complexsyste...

I couldn't find a tool to plot different #neuroimaging data in one consistent style, so I made one! Meet yabplot (yet another brain plot) - a #Python package for (sub)cortex & tracts.🧠
- Simple API
- Built-in atlases
- Custom atlas support
🔗 github.com/teanijarv/ya... (drop a ⭐️!)

We think of white matter as the highways of the brain. But when we followed development along those highways, we were surprised. The journey is more complex than we thought. My final PhD paper, “Two Axes of White Matter Development”, is now out in @natcomms.nature.com! 🛣️🧠✨
🔗 bit.ly/wm2axes

Check out our latest led by @richardfbetzel.bsky.social !! 👀⚡🧲

Exploring the Role of the Rich Club in Network Control of Neurocognitive States Using a network control theoretical framework, we found that the brain's rich club does not optimally control dynamics of the brain. Instead, size-matched sets of random peripheral regions had a sign...

🚨 New paper from @apodschun.bsky.social (with Sebastian Markett, Urs Braun, and myself)

Exploring the Role of the Rich Club in Network Control of Neurocognitive States

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The revised version of our paper on the impact of top-down feedback is now out @elife.bsky.social:

doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

tl;dr: we show that using human-brain-like feedback/anatomy in a deep RNN leads to human-like visual biases!

This work was led by @tmshbr.bsky.social

#NeuroAI 🧠📈 🧪

Computer model predicts aspects of cognitive performance The Allen Human Brain Atlas helped researchers design a model that looked at “intrinsic neural timescales”

Intelligence is not just about having "strong" brain connections. It’s also about how efficiently the brain coordinates processing speed across regions.

@lindenmp.bsky.social and @jason-z-kim.bsky.social share what their computer model is revealing about cognitive power: https://bit.ly/3LQuoxT

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁/𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰
So we model the dynamics.
Version of record of our paper is available.
#neuroskyence
elifesciences.org/articles/102...

Now in press one of my last PhD projects! We traced the neurobiological profile of fMRI BOLD signal variability, a measure that has been related to age, behaviour, disease status, but had not yet been fully contextualised within the brain's multiscale architecture. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nine subcortical/cerebellar atlases included in the subcortex_visualization Python package (and subcortexVisualizationR package in R). The atlases are depicted in two-dimensional vector graphic format.

The extended version of my thesis procrastination project/subcortex visualization package is out now in both Python and R, now that I’ve graduated 🤠 This figure shows the 9 atlases included (and counting)!

Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Website: anniegbryant.github.io/subcortex_vi...

Thanks to the Allen Institute for the write-up of our recent work! 👏

Paper is here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our latest preprint on how regional cellular, molecular, and other forms of heterogeneity shape macroscopic wave dynamics is now out:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

For a full thread, see:
x.com/_victorbarne...

So happy to see this new, growing open data resource out -- all credit to the amazing @juliettebrook.bsky.social + @tsalo.bsky.social + a superb team!!!!

NOTE: @juliettebrook.bsky.social is currently applying to clinical psych PhD programs -- great opportunity to recruit a ⭐TOTAL ⭐ STAR ⭐

Wanna compare dynamics across neural data, RNNs, or dynamical systems? We got a fast and furious method🏎️
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: arxiv.org/abs/2511.22828
💻: github.com/CMC-lab/fast...
I’ll be @cosynemeeting.bsky.social - happy to chat 😉

Study: Long Breaks Tied to Dip in Cognitive Test Performance - UConn Today A joint UConn - University of Minnesota research study concludes that there may be some reality to the "summer slide" of dips in test scores follo ...

Finding it tough to get back in the swing of things after vacation? You're not alone! Our study found that U.S. adults show lowest performance on cognitive tasks like executive functioning after winter break
Thanks @uconn.bsky.social for this highlight!
tinyurl.com/4dmssj5m
#PsychSciSky #AcademicSky

Pitty it has to disappear back into the file drawer come semester start! 😅

BHI December Monthly Newsletter Email from Rutgers Brain Health Institute Stay up-to-date with the latest faculty achievements, upcoming events, activities, and opportunities and more   As we come to the end of 2025, BHI would like

📩Check out the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) December Monthly Newsletter. Stay up-to-date with our latest faculty achievements, upcoming events, activities, opportunities, and more.
conta.cc/3MPkexA
@rutgersupress.bsky.social #RutgersBHI #neuroscience #brainhealth #mentalhealth #BHINewsletter

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗠𝗥𝗜?
We employed Switching Linear Dynamical Systems to investigate the dynamics of resting-state networks
They are dynamic, not static!
Work with Xiaoyu Zhao with lots of new methods.
Thread.
#neuroskyence
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Our paper on the ☀️ "summer slide" 🛝 is out now @pnas.org!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Summer slide is a replicable phenomenon across diverse datasets that's more than "forgetting" school material in vacation months, but effects of socioeconomic inequality are ➡️ 7x bigger! ⬅️
#PsychSciSky #DevPsy
🧵👇

🚨new work with the dream team @danakarca.bsky.social @loopyluppi.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @stuartoldham.bsky.social @duncanastle.bsky.social
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The dual interpretation of edge time series: Time-varying connectivity versus statistical interaction Functional connectivity (FC) is frequently operationalized as a correlation. Many studies have examined changes in correlation networks across time, claiming to link time-varying fluctuations to ongoi...

Just provisionally accepted -- preprint updated | The dual interpretation of edge time series: Time-varying connectivity versus statistical interaction | www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Come and join our team! We are looking for a Research Officer to help with recruitment and assessment on a large-scale human brain imaging study:

careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...

OHBM 2025 | Oral Session | Stuart Oldham | Only a matter of time: developmental heterochronicity c… YouTube video by Organization for Human Brain Mapping

My very normal, by the book presentation from this years OHBM is now available. So if you weren't at OHBM, were there but happened to miss it, or if you did see it and just want to relive it all over again, here is your chance :)

I'm quite fond of this one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP86...

Woohoo! So good to see @ahmadbeyh.bsky.social winning the Best Poster Award at this year's Rutgers BHI Symposium! 🤘🔥👏