Acetylcholine demixes heterogeneous dopamine signals for learning and moving Nature Neuroscience - Jang et al. measured dopamine and acetylcholine release in the striatum of rats performing a decision-making task and found that the relative timing of cholinergic and...

Thrilled to share our new paper, which shows that the relative timing of cholinergic and dopamine release dynamically gates whether dopamine acts as an RPE for in vivo plasticity and reinforcement learning. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

What an enormous privilege to be able to bring talented new trainees to #SfN2025 each year! I always love seeing it through their eyes. (And I promise we weren't the ones to break the 'C' on the sign.)

I really hate it when scientists keep saying that “we need to rebuild trust in science,” because it implies that scientists are to blame for the mistrust rather than the millions of dollars of dark money that have funded political attacks on science in order to advance a far right agenda.

Superior Colliculus Projections Drive Dopamine Neuron Activity and Movement But Not Value To navigate dynamic environments, animals must rapidly integrate sensory information and respond appropriately to gather rewards and avoid threats. It is well established that dopamine (DA) neurons in...

So stoked to have our image on the cover of this week's issue of Journal of Neuroscience!! @sfnjournals.bsky.social #JNeurosci #SfN25. Check out the final version of the paper here www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...

Society for Neuroscience flyer for the graduate program in neuroscience at the university of minnesota, graduate fair booth 53 at the conference. A QR includes a link to presentations.

This coming week at #SfN25 come visit us at the Minnesota Graduate Program in Neuroscience booth at the grad fair! For applicants this cycle, note that the deadline is soon - Nov 20th. Also everyone check out the presentations at the meeting by UMN folks - shorturl.at/jNRxQ

Costa Lab posters at SfN

Going to #SFN2025. Check out the Costa Lab posters on Sunday and Monday afternoon!

The Day Lab will be representing our work at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference (@sfn.org) in San Diego this week in two sessions - stop by to see updates on a lot of really cool science! #SfN2025 #Neuroscience

check out the @okaysteve.bsky.social lab’s posters (for both neuron and glia enthusiasts) at #SfN2025 on Saturday PM! especially say hello to @siriacoello.bsky.social who is applying to grad school this cycle✨

Come visit our posters at #SFN2025! All in collaboration, to a greater or lesser extent, with the amazing @mtorregrossa1.bsky.social. (And those three brilliant young ladies in the middle are my current crop of senior undergrads!)

Cocaine seeking and consumption are oppositely regulated by mesolimbic dopamine in male rats - Nature Communications Here authors demonstrate how opposing trajectories of dopamine transmission underlie changes in drug seeking and taking over chronic drug use. Increased dopamine to drug cues elevates craving, whereas...

Thought now was as good a time as ever to join bsky - Excited to share a big part of my PhD work is finally published- 7+ years of experiments from a great team of people. Wishing I could be at #sfn2025 to celebrate with you guys! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@sfn.org and neuro peeps! For 10+ years, you have honored us w/your attending our Psychopharmacology Social. #SfN2025 will be the last time I and @jaredwyoung.bsky.social will host this event (Tues, Nov 18, 7-9 pm, Marriott Marquis-Grand Ballroom Salon 5). Drink, groove and mingle one last time-AND-

Stimulus-specific and adaptive value representations in the basolateral amygdala in male mice - Nature Communications How basolateral amygdala represents the specific value of rewards remains unclear. Here the authors find that basolateral amygdala neurons assign stimulus-specific values to different rewards and rapidly re-scale these signals with changing reward context, thirst or stress, illuminating how the brain guides flexible, state-dependent choices.

Too bad no mention of the Crespi Effect, dependent on basolateral amygdala. Classic 🏆 ibotenic lesion and lidocaine inactivation papers by Salinas, Packard, and McGaugh, 1993; Salinas, Parent, and McGaugh, 1996 could have been cited.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Careers at LIBD | Medical Research Jobs | Lieber Institute View our career opportunities with Lieber Institute for Brain Development including investigators, medical research jobs, scientists, & lab techs

We have several positions open at various levels (Research Assistant, Research Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow) across our highly interactive teams in the Division of Translational Neuroscience 🧠🔬🧪 @lieberinstitute.bsky.social

www.libd.org/careers/

Links to individual positions in the thread below.

Information flyer for graduate program in neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. Virtual open house events on October 6th and 30th.

For those interested in a neuroscience PhD - the University of Minnesota Graduate Program in Neuroscience www.neuroscience.umn.edu is hosting virtual open house events coming up on Oct 6th and Oct 30th. Learn about the program and meet students and faculty! Register here: forms.gle/kANEp4Fmd3ut...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

🚨 We’re hiring a postdoc! 🚨

Excited for our new NiCE grant with @lauerlab.bsky.social @batwoman123.bsky.social 🎉We use a comparative approach, two-photon imaging & optogenetics to identify why bats🦇 and deer mice resist noise but lab mice don't.

If you're interested, please DM or e-mail me!

"We’re currently at about 54% of last year’s total [of funded R01s]...Another way to look at this is that we’re missing 1,809 new R01s."

📢We're #hiring Group Leaders!

Apply to lead a lab at Janelia & advance biology using theory, computational modeling & machine learning.

🔹5-year renewable appointment
🔹Pioneer new tools & approaches
🔹Collaborate across disciplines

Apply by Nov. 4👉 https://janelia.link/groupleader

K.M. Costa Lab

If you are a highly motivated grad student (@uabneuro.bsky.social) or a prospective postdoc with experience in behavior, neural recordings, or programming, and would like to contribute to this project, just contact me. Details on kmcostalab.com

We are thrilled to announce that OneNeuro Co-Director Patricia Janak, Ph.D., has been elected as the 2026-2027 President of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). @janaklab.bsky.social

View the official announcement: www.sfn.org/publications...

We're looking for a research assistant to work in our neuroscience lab at @princetonneuro.bsky.social @hhmi.org where we study learning and decision-making circuitry.

Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21001/r...

Pls share w/ anyone who might be interested!

#JNeurosci: Stritzel et al. found that brief nighttime exposure to dim red light conditions widely used in rodent research caused circadian disruption and red light stimuli were detected by the rodent visual system. ‪@colorado.edu‬ @vulintus.com‬
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0157-25.2025

‘Seek Funding’ Step Added To Scientific Method PARIS—In an effort to modernize the principles and empirical procedures of examining phenomena and advancing humanity’s collective knowledge, the International Council for Science announced Thursday t...

‘Seek Funding’ Step Added To Scientific Method

What kinds of support do early-career researchers need? Help The Transmitter and Neuromatch bolster the next generation of neuroscientists.

Calling all early-career researchers! @thetransmitter.bsky.social and @neuromatch.bsky.social want to understand your journey as you become the next generation of neuroscientists. Share your experiences and help us build the resources you need.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...

Being an academic right now feels like riding in a car that has the check engine and low fuel light on, and you know you there isn't a gas station for at least the next three years.

How long before it stalls in the middle of the rode?

How long before you get off?

How long before we all get off.

📣 Heads-up that our amazing dept (Berkeley Psych) is anticipating hiring *two* TT Asst Profs this Fall, under the themes of (1) Social & Personality Psychology, and (2) Biological Basis of Behavior.

Official job ads coming soon...

Send qs for (1) to Iris Mauss/Serena Chen, (2) to Linda Wilbrecht

Starting up OnlyLabs, where people can pay to watch researchers who used to have federal funding do Hot Uncensored Cutting Edge science experiments.

It's also kind of an interesting layperson's take on sign tracking.

Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to go to their treat. Why do some animals learn to interact with the bell instead? New Pitt research found that this behavior, called sign tracking, relies on dopamine release at just the right time.

Our lab was featured in PittWire! Yay local publicity! :-)
www.pittwire.pitt.edu/features-art...

Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities The move would undo years of work, leaving advisory councils understaffed, and without the full expertise needed for reviews.

NEW: In an unprecedented move, the NIH will soon disinvite dozens of scientists about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding.

NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.