Biophysical modeling to develop and test mechanistic hypotheses underlying pharmacological EEG biomarkers. Top: Modeling EEG biomarkers begins with picking a specific brain signal that is reliably different between patient populations. An example of a hypothetical EEG biomarker is an auditory event related potential (ERP) that is suppressed in post-treatment (red) relative to pre-treatment (blue). Middle: Biophysical modeling allows for testing mechanistic hypotheses that explain how EEG biomarkers emerge and change with drugs. Hypotheses about which drug mechanisms lead to distinct brain activity patterns must be constructed, and corresponding model parameters identified. Bottom: The default HNN model is used as a starting point to test hypotheses by either manually altering the values of the chosen model parameters, or using automated optimization and inference algorithms. Differences in parameter values pre-to post-treatment correspond to model-based predictions.

Happy to share a new preprint from the @hnnsolver.bsky.social team!🧠💻🎉

"Uncovering putative neural mechanisms of neurotherapeutic impacts on EEG using the Human Neocortical Neurosolver"

📝 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Multipanel figure illustrating the key components of the paper: 1) biophysical reservoir computing where a network of biophysically detailed excitatory and inhibitory neurons are randomly connected, receive a brief input, and produce a sustained spiking pattern in response, 2) an illustration of the task the biophysical reservoir computer is trained on: a simplified working memory task where the network must produce distinct fixed point attractors in response to different inputs.

Happy to share a new preprint from my PhD thesis! “A novel framework for expanding RNNs with biophysical detail to solve cognitive tasks” 🧠💻

📝 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

@jonescompneurolab.bsky.social

Faculty at Brown earn prominent awards, distinctions in Fall 2025 Over the fall semester, prestigious national and international organizations recognized Brown faculty for their research, service, scholarship and leadership.

Congrats to @jonescompneurolab.bsky.social, @desrocherslab.bsky.social and Leenoy Meshulam for being recognized by Brown on their recent awards from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NYU and the Allen Institute! Check it out: www.brown.edu/news/2026-01-15/faculty-awards

Our amazing undergrad RA Phillip recently tabled at a STEM Night event at Nayatt Elementary School in Barrington. Here are some photos of Phillip talking about electricity, EEG, and research at Brown to the students and family!

#alzheimersdisease #neuroscience #computationalneuroscience #meg #neuraldynamics #biophysicalmodeling | Danylyna Shpakivska Following the recent video by Hashem Al-Ghaili highlighting our work on beta events in MCI and Alzheimer’s disease progression — here’s where we are now. The video discusses our recent paper in Imag...

Our research on biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease progression has been gaining traction on social media!

Check out the video by Hashem Al-Ghaili: www.linkedin.com/posts/hashem...

and the reply by Danylyna Shpakivska, the author of the highlighted paper: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

HNN Dissemination Feedback This short survey aims to gather information on current community usage of the Human Neocortical Neurosolver (HNN) software. Please fill out this survey if you have heard of HNN, attended a workshop...

📣 Help us improve HNN features and educational resources for you! 📣

If you have heard about HNN, interacted with the software, or used it for a research project, we'd love to hear from you in this <5 min survey!
forms.gle/LB29PXMbEQak...

And finally, PI Stephanie Jones will introduce our software and our latest discoveries at symposium SYM.10 "Computational Approaches to Understand Emergence of Human Brain Dynamics Across Spatial and Temporal Scales", Wed Nov 19, 3:50 - 4:25 pm

dylansdaniels.bsky.social will present general information on our HNN software for cellular- and circuit-level interpretation of human MEG/EEG. Visit Dylan's poster to learn how to get started with your HNN simulations! Wed, Nov 19, 2025, 1 PM - 5 PM, PSTR478.06

Joyce Gao will present the application of HNN to simulate single pulse TMS evoked potentials. We show generative predictions for double pulse TMS and pharmacological modulations. Wed, Nov 19, 2025, 1 PM - 5 PM, PSTR478.08

@katduecker.bsky.social will present the next-generation HNN with cellular dynamics tuned to human cells & dendritic calcium spikes in the L5 and L2/3 pyramidal cells. Our simulations show that calcium spikes have dominating effects on human E/MEG signals! Sun, Nov 16, 2025, 8 AM – 12 PM, LBP022.07

The Jones comp neuro lab is at #SfN25! Come check out our talks and posters to learn about our latest & greatest Science with HNN! All poster presentation times & locations can be found at jonescompneurolab.github.io/textbook/res...

HNN was recently featured on the @carneyinstitute.bsky.social website and newsletter! Check out this article for the unique history and applications of HNN: carney.brown.edu/close-human-...

A patent filed by the lab is up for a Brown Innovation of the Year award! “Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Delivery Protocols Based on Computational Modeling of the Electromagnetic TMS-evoked Response” was filed by Drs. Sliva and Jones.

View and vote here tinyurl.com/nx37789m

Catching up on good news — Ryan Thorpe defended his thesis back in August 2024! He has since started a postdoc at University of Colorado. Congratulations, Dr. Thorpe 🎉🍾

Our PhD student @ntolley.bsky.social successfully defended his thesis, "Bridging biophysics and emergent dynamics through deep learning assisted modeling of the neocortex", on July 9th, 2025.

Congratulations Dr. Tolley!!! 🎉🎉