thank you!

A fun challenge to lead this project throughout my PhD! So grateful to my colleagues for making this happen 🚀

We created a very large VR world and recorded fNIRS in pairs of hunters (see me wearing the fNRIS here):

Oooh, sounds interesting.
cc @peterakirk.bsky.social @emre-yavuz-21.bsky.social

We tried setting this up for fMRI but sadly this task in the dark, head-fixed is a recipe for motion sickness, and abandoned it (for now). So understanding insula, amygdala, hippocampus etc will have to wait...

:) we looked at heart rate variability with @peterakirk.bsky.social but didn't find anything, I think we had too few trials (fNRIS is painful!) and need more fine=detail epoching - beyond what was possible in the time aloted.

New preprint!

Prefrontal brain-to-brain synchrony during human group hunting: Evidence from fNIRS hyperscanning

Heroic work from @emre-yavuz-21.bsky.social and team

fNIRS & minecraft combined to reveal PFC synchrony during human group hunting

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New preprint!

Prefrontal brain-to-brain synchrony during human group hunting: Evidence from fNIRS hyperscanning

Heroic work from @emre-yavuz-21.bsky.social and team

fNIRS & minecraft combined to reveal PFC synchrony during human group hunting

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

This is intriguing and it models (among other things) an experiment we carried out back in 2004.

Uncertainty underlies geometric effects on navigation and grid-cell tuning, Kang et al., preprint.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Brain Dynamics during Architectural Experience: Prefrontal and Hippocampal Regions Track Aesthetics and Spatial Complexity Abstract. Architectural experience involves processing the spatial layout of an environment and our emotional reaction to it. However, these two processes are largely studied separately. Here, we used...

I'm increasingly interested, my research has moved more into exploring how we feel about spaces. In our recent fMRI study it was specifically activated when subjects had to decide if they liked a space when they were watching a movie of the space:
direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...

So much so that it even has its own swag! Take that, ACC.
twophotonart.com/products/ins...

This looks interesting… a unifying account of replay as context-driven memory reactivation. Reframes hippocampal replay not as a distinct phenomenon, but as a natural consequence of memory retrieval under changing context. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.22.533833

𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆
Excellent paper about purposiveness in biology. Important critique of the dynamical systems approach as a "simple" solution to the computationalism approach.
Highly relevant to the enactive approach too.
doi.org/10.1177/1059...

I second that! Its such an interesting area.

Great talk by Nadine on perception and imagination.
@nadinedijkstra.bsky.social the anterior insula region you found is dorsal or ventral? Without looking again I'm betting dorsal. We've been looking at insula subregions more extensively and finding lots of differences.

passing through London?

Walking the Weirdstone ( Online talk ) Archaeology and the Works of Alan Garner - an online lecture plus Q&A presented by Dr James Wright

Starting in 50 mins ... a few tickets left.

Walking the Weirdstone - Online Talk (Fundraiser)

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/walking-th...

Risk reshapes amygdala representation of choice Piantadosi et al. show mice flexibly adjust choices between reward options based on the punishment potential in a BLA-dependent manner. They find that BLA neuronal representation of punishment reactiv...

Risk reshapes amygdala representation of choice

"...these findings reveal how dynamic reshaping of choice-related basolateral amygdala representations underpins behavioral flexibility in the face of risk."

www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Revealed: how male and female brain cells differ in gene activity Variations in gene expression could help to explain why brain-disease risks differ according to sex.

The work could help to explain why the risk of developing some brain conditions — such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease — differs between males and females
go.nature.com/48Flrzv

Open Call for Proposals 2026 - Levante Deadline for submission: June 10, 2026. The overarching objective of LEVANTE is to identify how individual variability, group heterogeneity, and contextual variability influence children’s learning an...

The @Jacobs Foundation has opened the 2026 Call for Proposals for the LEVANTE initiative, aimed at understanding of how children aged 3 to 12 grow, learn, and develop across times, places, and cultures. Apply before 10 June.
levante-network.org/open-call-fo...

Just spotted this cool preprint from @aheadofthenerve.bsky.social

Hippocampal trace coding dominates and disrupts place coding

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Brainwide blood flow is driven by two opposing neural networks, UCL study finds New UCL-led research reveals a unified explanation for how neural activity shapes blood supply across the entire brain.

New @ucleye.bsky.social & @uclqsion.bsky.social research reveals a unified explanation for how neural activity shapes blood supply across the entire brain.
www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...
@carandinilab.net
@agnesland.bsky.social

The supply of blood to brain tissue is thought to depend on the overall neural activity in that tissue, and this dependence is thought to differ across brain regions and across brain states. However, studies supporting these views have measured neural activity as a bulk quantity and related it to blood supply following disparate events in different regions. Here we measure fluctuations in neuronal activity and blood volume across the mouse brain, and find that their relationship is consistent across brain states and brain regions but differs in two opposing brainwide neural populations. Functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) revealed that whisking, a marker of arousal, is associated with brainwide fluctuations in blood volume. Simultaneous fUSI and Neuropixels recordings showed that neurons that increase activity with whisking have distinct haemodynamic response functions compared with those that decrease activity. Their summed contributions predicted blood volume across states.Brainwide Neuropixels recordings revealed that these opposing populations coexist in the entire brain. Their differing contributions to blood volume largely explain the apparent differences in blood volume fluctuations across regions. The mouse brain thus contains two neural populations with opposite relations to brain state and distinct relationships to blood supply, which together account for brainwide fluctuations in blood volume.

How does blood flow relate to brain activity? We discovered that it reflects two neural populations affected oppositely by arousal. Together, they explain neurovascular coupling in all brain regions and brain states!

Out today in Nature: rdcu.be/fdC2A

@uclbrainscience.bsky.social

We've posted a new group-based lexical-semantic brain viewer! You can now inspect cortical conceptual maps at the group level (24 participants), vertex-by-vertex. Check it out!
gallantlab.org/viewer-stori...

A “fun” experience with BMC Neurology @bmc.springernature.com who sat on our submission for over 10 months without ever sending for review, despite repeated reminders… we have now retracted to submit elsewhere…

Ouch! I will not be submitting there.

Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex - Nature Face cells in the macaque inferotemporal cortex are initially able to detect faces and then rapidly switch to a face-specific neural code to discriminate between different face identities.

This looks like a significant discovery from Doris Tao's lab:

Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex
@nature.com

"..our findings indicate that there is a previously unknown mechanism for neural representation:.."

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fantasy map of a region nested between a chasm and a mountain range. The technique used is a mix of cross hatching and watercolor. It features fantasy creatures like dragons, goblins and giants. The style evokes old books and fairy tales.

A fantasy map showing several villages along a river, at the foot of a huge mountain range. The style evokes an etching on antique paper.

Map of a small duchy perched on cliffs in the style of an ancient etching. There's a pointy castle in the middle next to a waterfall, small villages and rivers as well as mysterious landmarks such as a labyrinth and a mushroom forest. The frame is heavily ornamented.

The Mappa Discworld, featuring Terry Pratchett's Discworld and the great A'Tuin with many illustrated references to the books. Created for the Discworld Emporium.

#PortfolioDay N° 04142026
Greetings fellow denizens of the blue skies.
I'm and old school D&D nerd who draws fantasy maps for a living. While sharing is much appreciated, it's not mandatory.
Comments, though, are most welcome.
You may now resume scrolling and have a pleasant day.

Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex - Nature Face cells in the macaque inferotemporal cortex are initially able to detect faces and then rapidly switch to a face-specific neural code to discriminate between different face identities.

This looks like a significant discovery from Doris Tao's lab:

Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex
@nature.com

"..our findings indicate that there is a previously unknown mechanism for neural representation:.."

www.nature.com/articles/s41...