New preprint from my lab! We study how reinforcement learning & selective attention interact. To do so, we built a set of models describing different ways that value & reward prediction error can modulate top-down attention. We compare model outcomes to monkey data from a color value learning task
Ok, this new brain mapping technique is kinda bonkers. They used RNA barcodes to map connections between neurons with single-synapse precision. Mapped over 1,000 neurons in mice, found new links. 🤯
My first foray into explicitly trying to bridge Marr’s levels, with @bealebrains.bsky.social. Inspired by Hahn and Wei’s models (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38360947/), we wondered how the brain could instantiate sensory inference with efficient /decoding/ properties.
1/
Another new one from the lab in J Neurosci:
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Evidence accumulation is a core principle by which brains convert information into decisions. But what happens when the evidence the brain needs can't be directly read from an external stimulus or memory? 1/N
Interoceptive autonomic regulation in typical development and autism spectrum disorder: A computational model integrating multiple physiological systems www.biorxiv.org/node/5254336...
Have been in a deep hyperfocus for weeks preparing this NNF-LF brain body grant. Proud of our work, eager to finally submit and return to earth. The pushed work backlog is going to be immense. So many emails to address...
Still, nice to be able to take the luxury of such deep focus.
Thanks Yoav!
issue is that the peristaltic noise is a function of not just the rhythm but GI contents, gas, etc. so its very non stationary compared to the muscular rhythm. but there are labs trying to make interoception tasks with it. my bet would be on ingestible pills for the brain body side.
there are claims that EGG or even optomagnetic gastrography via OPMs might be able to pick up lower bowel motility but i've never seen a strong verification of that.
You can measure peristalstic sounds with a simple stethoscope. We actually once tried to make an interoception task around that when I was at Cambs, but abandoned it due to various technical issues. I'm not sure if it can be useful for brain body coupling though.
You can install with just "pip install gastropy", see our documentation for interactive tutorials and sample data including my very own brain's fMRI data.
Contributions are welcome! We plan to validate and expand the toolbox through the summer, then submit the full package paper with partner labs to JOSS.
Code: github.com/embodied-com...
Docs: www.the-ecg.org/gastropy/
GastroPy is now out in early beta! Please to share our Python toolbox for electrogastrography and stomach-brain coupling analyses. It includes tools for cleaning, visualising, and analysing EGG data, plus fMRI stomach-brain coupling workflows. Docs, code, and preprint below. osf.io/preprints/ps...
New discovery! Spoiler alert: Neural dynamics are key.
Evidence for predictive computations in a brain hierarchy during a visual search task
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Work led by @pinotsislab.bsky.social
#neuroscience
We develop a new TMS targeting algorithm and test it in an open label trial in a treatment-resistant depression population with high comorbidities. Preprints by @rubykong92.bsky.social Phern-Chern Tor
1. doi.org/10.1101/2025...
2. doi.org/10.64898/202...
Our new approach ...
Really excited about our new work on aphasia! Even in fairly profound aphasia, we can recover semantic maps through visual stimuli and use them to decode language. This is a big step! Language BCIs in aphasia might be possible!
Interesting new preprint from UK Biobank data on blood biomarkers in psychiatry. In ~47,500 people, plasma NfL was modestly elevated in bipolar and depressive disorders, while GFAP was largely unchanged. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Out now in @natcomms.nature.com, our latest from @bodybrainbehaviour.bsky.social: Visual perception, oscillatory excitability markers, and network connectivity are modulated by the breathing rhythm - depending on how much you know about the stimulus.
#brainbody #neuroskyence
1/8. New preprint! ✨
How spontaneous is spontaneous behavior? 🧠🐭
We found that whole-brain fUSi signals predicted spontaneous behavioral transitions seconds in advance. Inhibiting one node of this transition-prone state, the medial septum, facilitated switching!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Using time-resolved EEG/MEG decoding?🧠 Here’s a new approach!
No feature engineering (decode from raw signals), but capturing info that standard decoding often misses (oscillatory/aperiodic activity, connectivity).
Lightweight, INTERPRETABLE, and easy to use. (1/6)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Just out! Expectations modulate stimulus-evoked recurrent, but not feedforward, processing, and this is attention-dependent. NMDA-dependent feedback specifically supports perceptual integration (illusory contours), rather than mediating expectations (base rate). www.jneurosci.org/content/46/1...
Interesting new paper from @mtsakiris.bsky.social and colleaugues validating a new fully remote method of adjustment for heart rate estimation against our task and several others. Fascinating! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
An international mega-analysis of psychedelic drug effects on brain circuit function idp.nature.com/authorize?re...
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Zhishun Wang, Jack Grinband, et al:
MEPrep: A robust pipeline for multi-echo fMRI denoising and preprocessing
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
New paper (with lots of cute animal videos!)
Ever watch your dog "run" while asleep and wonder what’s going on in their brain? In Current Bio we suggest that those twitches aren't just leaky dreams—they’re a vital maintenance system for the most precise movements
www.cell.com/current-biol...
This paper has been a long time coming. Instead of reanalyzing the same old resting-state fMRI datasets, we combined nearly all datasets around the world. Note that we didn't exactly find indisputable evidence for "default mode network disintegration."
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
My latest feature for @sciam.bsky.social explores the research connecting problems with interoception to a wide variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders, eating disorders, & PTSD. This work is ultimately circling in on a central message: the body & mind are inextricably intertwined.
Thanks Diana - always a pleasure speaking with you!
