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Posts by Ilana Witten

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We could all use some extra stress #resilience rn. But how does it work in the brain? On the surface, resilience looks like ignoring stress. Does the brain fail to respond? Or are active adaptations required? Or are resilience and susceptibility divergent paths? doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116867

2 months ago 60 19 6 0
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Congrats @malu-murugan.bsky.social! So well deserved!

5 months ago 8 0 1 0

our interpretations are very much inspired by your previous work!

5 months ago 2 0 0 0
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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...

Check out our latest, online now at @sfnjournals.bsky.social www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...

6 months ago 56 18 2 2
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Persistent open chromatin state in early-life stress-activated cells of the VTA Scientific Reports - Persistent open chromatin state in early-life stress-activated cells of the VTA

Congratulations to Rebekah Rashford and team, it’s finally out! We tagged early life stress-activated neurons in VTA and found that chromatin those cells was much more open, even into adulthood, and that open CREs predicted greater gene expression in response to stress later in life
rdcu.be/eLa9z

6 months ago 97 30 6 0
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Conservation and alteration of mammalian striatal interneurons - Nature An analysis of cell-type diversity in brain samples from a variety of mammalian species, both during development and in adult animals, reveals that the TAC3 initial class of striatal interneurons is c...

Our new manuscript, led by Emily Corrigan, examines inhibitory neuron diversity across approximately 160 million years of evolutionary divergence, as part of BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) developing brain atlas package: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

5 months ago 60 22 2 1

awesome! feedback is welcome!

5 months ago 1 0 0 0

How do VTA DA neurons sculpt downstream representations to reinforce actions? VERY excited about our new preprint (by Alex Pan Vazquez & @czimmerman.bsky.social )

5 months ago 45 18 3 1

Congratulations Malu!! So well deserved!!

5 months ago 1 0 0 0

I'm incredibly honored to receive the Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award from @sfn.org SFN was the first research conference I ever attended and presented at. I feel truly humbled! Thanks to my fab research team who make me look good!

5 months ago 33 3 8 1
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Home - Lake Conferences

Join us for the second Neurobiology of Mental Health conference (May 2026) that will explore the biological mechanisms underlying mental health challenges and their treatment. Information and application on: lakeconferences.org. The deadline for applications is January 31st, 2026.

6 months ago 9 6 0 0
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Has Your Scientific Work Been Cut? We Want to Hear.

NYT is looking for scientists to tell them about their projects that were cut by the administration for a new series on “lost science”: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

6 months ago 6 2 0 0
Neuroscience lecture by Dr. Chris Zimmerman on Body-Brain interactions in learning

Neuroscience lecture by Dr. Chris Zimmerman on Body-Brain interactions in learning

Excited to hear the latest science updates from @czimmerman.bsky.social on Monday, 1-2 pm CST. You can join us too—either on Zoom or in person! bit.ly/3VOJrcy

6 months ago 34 12 1 2
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Two flagship papers from the International Brain Laboratory, now out in ‪@Nature.com‬:
🧠 Brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09235-0
🧠 Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09226-1 +

7 months ago 125 69 2 12
My Lab Displayed A Message of Solidarity on Our Windows. Harvard Took It Down. | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson If we continue down this path, we risk not only Harvard’s future as an institution of free inquiry and expression but also its integrity and trustworthiness.

Wrote a eulogy for the yellow letters in my office window. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

7 months ago 121 51 4 7

Come work with us! @princetonneuro.bsky.social and the Department of Psychology at Princeton University are searching for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the area of human cognitive neuroscience, to be hired jointly in Psychology and Neuroscience: puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/app...

8 months ago 70 64 2 0

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!

8 months ago 39 36 0 1
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Serotonin drives choice-independent reconfiguration of distributed neural activity Serotonin (5-HT) is a central neuromodulator which is implicated in, amongst other functions, cognitive flexibility. 5-HT is released from the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) throughout nearly the entire f...

🚨Pre-print alert🚨

We stimulated serotonin with optogenetics while doing large-scale Neuropixel recordings across the mouse brain. We found strong widespread modulation of neural activity, but no effect on the choices of the mouse 🐭

How is this possible? Strap in! (1/9) 👇🧵

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

8 months ago 92 35 3 1
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University of Utah Health Campus in winter. Image courtesy of the University of Utah.

University of Utah Health Campus in winter. Image courtesy of the University of Utah.

I’m very excited to share that I will join the University of Utah Department of Neurobiology as an Assistant Professor in Jan 2026!! 🎉🏔️🏜️

My lab will focus on body–brain interactions in learning & memory — how do signals from our internal organs remodel the brain & behavior?

9 months ago 141 12 18 1
NIH reproduction research creates the world's first reliable at-home pregnancy test NIH funding for what was then cutting edge research into human reproductive biology lead to the study of the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which could be used to check for pregnancy in a...

Am I pregnant? Pregnancy tests have been around since ancient Egypt, but did you know the first reliable at home test was the result of publicly funded science? The first hCG sensitive test was first developed by scientists at the NIH.

Learn more here: publicusaresearchbenefits.com/examples/202...

10 months ago 5 2 0 0
Searchable database of tangible benefits that federally-funded research gave us. A crowd-sourced site. Health and Well-being. National Security. Prosperity.

we're crowd-sourcing a searchable repository of tangible benefits stemming from federally-funded research. Come enjoy the great stories; or send in an idea; or volunteer to join the team.

publicusaresearchbenefits.com

please re-post so we get more great stories in there!

10 months ago 8 11 0 1

America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.

10 months ago 47911 11309 1458 453
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How we’re battling Trump’s science cuts across small-town America Neuroscientist Jessica Cantlon is urging scientists to use the power of local newspapers in the fight against US research-funding cuts.

Scientists whose Science Homecoming op-eds are mentioned in this Nature story include @flagel-lab.bsky.social @keananjoyner.bsky.social @magpine.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

11 months ago 11 8 1 3
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Opinion | Trump is killing one of our strongest exports The president wants to balance U.S. trade deficits? He can’t do it without this industry he hates.

Now there's a memorable stat!

"Colleges and universities are among America’s most competitive international exporters. In dollar terms, last year, the United States sold more educational services to the rest of the world than it sold in natural gas and coal combined."

wapo.st/3EvzMCI

1 year ago 1023 447 22 26
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My statement calling for the rightful return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia

1 year ago 564 120 53 9
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A neural mechanism for learning from delayed postingestive feedback - Nature Illness signals from the gut reactivate and strengthen flavour representations in the amygdala to support learning from delayed postingestive feedback.

How do we associate the flavors we experience during a meal 🍽️😋 with postingestive effects like food poisoning 🤢🤮 that arise much later?

Our answer in @nature.com this week: Illness signals from the gut reactivate and strengthen flavor representations in the amygdala.

📄: nature.com/articles/s41...

1 year ago 168 50 10 4
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How the brain remembers what gave you food poisoning We've all been there: one bad oyster ruins seafood forever. Now, Princeton neuroscientists have pinpointed how the brain stores memories for these powerful food aversions in mice. The new results reve...

One bad oyster, lasting brain change 🧠 Princeton neuroscientist @czimmerman.bsky.social reveals how a bad meal creates a lasting foul food memory.

📰: pni.princeton.edu/news/2025/ho...

1 year ago 14 6 1 1
Light sheet microscopy image showing neural activation (blue) during food poisoning in the central amygdala of the mouse brain. Credit: Christopher Zimmerman

Light sheet microscopy image showing neural activation (blue) during food poisoning in the central amygdala of the mouse brain. Credit: Christopher Zimmerman

Ever sworn off a food after a bad experience? Your brain knows what made you sick, even many hours later.

@czimmerman.bsky.social, from @princetonneuro.bsky.social studies how the brain learns from delayed post-ingestive feedback.

Read more in our Q&A:

www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/qa/it-mu...

1 year ago 7 3 0 0
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To stop intimidation, Eisgruber needs your help When targeting one institution is a bald attempt to divide and conquer, as is the case with Columbia, it is essential for a coalition or group of institutions and individuals to stand up together.&nbs...

"We are passionate about science and its benefits to society, but we fear more what will happen if we do not help defend everyone’s fundamental rights." Op-ed I co-wrote w/ @samwang.bsky.social @jpillowtime.bsky.social @ilanawitten.bsky.social & David Tank www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...

1 year ago 20 10 3 0
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Opinion | There Is a Way for Democrats to Stop Trump and Save America (Gift Article) The Democratic Party can’t stop America’s spiral into autocracy and oligarchy unless it casts off its stale talking points and reimagines what it stands for.

"If you don’t like what is happening to this country, you don’t need to wait for someone to come along and save it: You need each other."

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/o...

1 year ago 104 44 3 5