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Posts by Mark H Johnson

Left: Intracortical intensity profiles were extracted at each vertex of infant structural MRI scans. Intensities were sampled at 12 equivolumetric intracortical surfaces, spanning from the pial boundary (blue) to the white matter boundary (yellow), capturing signal variations across cortical depths, defined as microstructure profiles. Top right: Systematic changes in profile shape with respect to (i) center of gravity and (ii) variance. To illustrate this relationship, all profiles (across participants and regions) were sorted according to the respective moment, then averaged within 100 bins. Bottom right: Parcel-wise central moment distributions mapped on the dHCP 40-week surface template (see S1 Data). Excluded regions (i.e., von Economo areas LA1, LA2, LC1, LC2, LC3, LD, and LE and the cortical wall) are shown in gray.

Left: Intracortical intensity profiles were extracted at each vertex of infant structural MRI scans. Intensities were sampled at 12 equivolumetric intracortical surfaces, spanning from the pial boundary (blue) to the white matter boundary (yellow), capturing signal variations across cortical depths, defined as microstructure profiles. Top right: Systematic changes in profile shape with respect to (i) center of gravity and (ii) variance. To illustrate this relationship, all profiles (across participants and regions) were sorted according to the respective moment, then averaged within 100 bins. Bottom right: Parcel-wise central moment distributions mapped on the dHCP 40-week surface template (see S1 Data). Excluded regions (i.e., von Economo areas LA1, LA2, LC1, LC2, LC3, LD, and LE and the cortical wall) are shown in gray.

How do #prenatal & #postnatal periods shape the developing human #cortex? This study uses #neonatal MRI to show that time in the womb drives widespread, uniform maturation, whereas time after birth produces more region- & depth-specific changes across the cortex @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/47o6rpk

3 weeks ago 7 8 1 0
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Children born with upper limb difference show the incredible adaptability of the young brain Children born with upper limb difference show the incredible adaptability of the young brain

How does the brain adapt when a child is born with an upper limb difference?

Research from @mrccbu.bsky.social @durham.ac.uk reveals widespread changes across the brain, highlighting its remarkable ability to reorganise and support adaptation to the world around them.

Find out more: bit.ly/3Ov88dT

1 month ago 4 2 0 0
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Babies can categorise objects better at two months than previously known | Newstalk Babies as young as two-months-old can categorise objects in their brains, which is far younger th...

"Babies can categorise objects better at two months than previously known." - Professor Rhodri Cusack from Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and co-author of the research speaks to NewsTalk. Listen to the interview:

ow.ly/MqA650Y8ZbB

@rhodricusack.bsky.social @trinityneuro.bsky.social

2 months ago 22 9 0 1
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The two-process theory of face processing: modifications based on two decades of data from infants and adults - PubMed Johnson and Morton (1991. Biology and Cognitive Development: The Case of Face Recognition. Blackwell, Oxford) used Gabriel Horn's work on the filial imprinting model to inspire a two-process theory of the development of face processing in humans. In this paper we review evidence accrued over the pas …

Results almost exactly as predicted by the two-process theory:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25454353/

2 months ago 2 1 1 2
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MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls

I'm very fortunate to have been continuously funded by the MRC for most of my career despite some funding squeezes. However, things now look dire; first cutting all proper unit funding, then scrapping programme grants, and now circa 2% funding rate:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

2 months ago 5 2 0 2
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Thrilled to share our paper on the formation of brain shape in human newborns, just out @natneuro.nature.com: tinyurl.com/2ty4ef43
Using #fractal analysis of #MRI data from the developing Human Connectome Project (lnkd.in/dxeHbJX6), we show that brain shape closely captures infant age and genetics ⬇️

3 months ago 20 8 1 1
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Annette’s last lecture: A work of informed imagination

After her death I imagined what her last lecture would have been like:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

3 months ago 0 0 0 0
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What the eyes may reveal about the epigenetics of early autism… Subtle changes in the body can reveal a great deal about early brain development. One such change is the pupillary light reflex (PLR): the automatic constriction of the pupil in response to…

Subtle changes in the body may reveal how the #brain develops before behaviours emerge.

In their new blog, Drs Chloe Wong & Laurel Fish explore how #DNA methylation is linked to the pupillary light reflex, offering insight into #autism development.

🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/what-the-eye...

3 months ago 3 4 0 0
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Direct Fit to Nature: An Evolutionary Perspective on Biological and Artificial Neural Networks Evolution is a blind fitting process by which organisms become adapted to their environment. Does the brain use similar brute-force fitting processes …

Direct Fit to Nature: An Evolutionary Perspective on Biological and Artificial Neural Networks www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... - thought-provoking (2019) paper from @urihasson.bsky.social and colleagues

4 months ago 15 5 3 0
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Mapping the Developmental Trajectory of Functional Brain Networks in Early Infancy: Insights into Typical Maturation | bioRxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

4 months ago 4 2 0 0
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Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵

5 months ago 92 44 4 3

Annette Karmiloff-Smith.

She ended every seminar/keynote I ever saw with a picture of her kids and grandkids as a note on what's important and that succesful women in academia can have a family too.
I told her the second time how inspirational I'd found that and she was absolutely lovely.

5 months ago 21 6 3 0
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Sound advice, but perhaps our objective should be to eliminate the dreaded word completely and replace it with new scientific terminology. In this respect, I disagreed with my co-authors of "Rethinking Innateness" - as noted in the Preface.

5 months ago 1 1 1 0
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Automated detection of mouth opening in newborn infants - Behavior Research Methods Automated behavioral measurement using machine learning is gaining ground in psychological research. Automated approaches have the potential to reduce the labor and time associated with manual behavio...

First human newborn paper from my NSF CAREER Award! Automated detection of mouth opening in newborn infants - with our amazing @umiamipsych.bsky.social team: Guangyu Zung, Yeojin Amy Ahn, @tiffany6390.bsky.social, @semaylott.bsky.social, Arushi Malik, @dmessinger.bsky.social doi.org/10.3758/s134...

5 months ago 17 9 2 0
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The world through infant eyes: Evidence for the early emergence of the cardinal orientation bias | PNAS The structure of the environment includes more horizontal and vertical (i.e. cardinal) orientations than oblique orientations, meaning that edges t...

The world through infant eyes: Evidence for the early emergence of the cardinal orientation bias www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

6 months ago 7 3 0 0
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Early- and late-diagnosed autism are genetically distinct Analyses of symptoms and genomic data indicate that autism that manifests in early childhood is distinct from autism that is diagnosed later in development.

And a very helpful and informative commentary on the paper by @tuckerdrob.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

6 months ago 13 4 1 1

I was one of those academics who benefited from an H1B visa, and I like to think the US benefited from this also. I can't imagine many US universities can afford to cough up 100k extra for recruitment, so sad to see this....

7 months ago 3 0 0 0

👀

7 months ago 2 1 0 0
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Steven Rose obituary: Vituperative neuroscientist Academic who showed little tolerance for IQ testing, but made steps towards a treatment for Alzheimer’s, dies aged 87

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 “Steven Rose obituary: Vituperative neuroscientist,” in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠

www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...

8 months ago 8 4 0 0
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Join our #NewBONDS study at #Cambridge #Babylab
Expectant and young parents are invited take part investigating what effect early interactions have on developing brain🔎🧠🐣
📨Get in touch to learn more!
#developmental #psychology #neuroscience #research #family #interaction

8 months ago 1 2 0 0
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Join us for a 2-day international conference "Interventions & Recovery"🧠 bit.ly/46QQ1WG
We'll cover cell & gene therapies, pharmaceutical innovations, and cutting-edge neurotechnology

Check out our Programme!👇neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/camneuro-events/8th-camb...

8 months ago 2 3 0 1

Finally got around to this interesting exchange. Much to like! However, in my view neonate cortex is building a foundation model while sub-cortical sensorimotor routes support newborn behaviours and, importantly, bias the inputs to the foundation model (e.g. orienting toward faces).

8 months ago 1 1 0 0
PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

thrilled to share this project over a decade in the making out now in @pnas.org! We show that precocious GABA boosting in neonates by early sevoflurane/propofol anesthetic exposure accelerates visual cortical maturation in human infants
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

8 months ago 38 15 2 0
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<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library Background There is a pressing need for research on neurodevelopmental conditions to focus on predictors of resilient or positive outcomes, rather than core symptoms and impairment. One promising av.....

Excellent work from my colleague Daniel Wechsler showing that "Mother–child autism trait similarity positively predicted both social functioning and psychological well-being in children..". Trait similarity may act as a protective or promotive factor.
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

9 months ago 2 0 0 0
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Potential role of developmental experience in the emergence of the parvo-magno distinction - Communications Biology Developmentally-driven computational modeling study suggests that early sensory experience shapes distinct neuronal response properties in the visual system, providing a potential account of the emerg...

1/ New paper out in @commsbio.nature.com, led by @marinv.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1038/s420...! Across several past studies, we showed how newborns' degraded vision may benefit human development and inspire more robust deep networks. We have referred to this as Adaptive Initial Degradations (AID).

9 months ago 31 13 1 1

DNA is often called a “blueprint for life”. In common parlance a blueprint refers to (e.g.) an architect plan, technical drawing or engineering design. DNA does indeed contain information to guide construction, in this case of a living organism. But beyond that, similarities rapidly break down. 2/n

10 months ago 22 3 1 0
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The latest essay in our #NeuroAI series explores how inspiration from how babies learn language might improve language models.

11 months ago 5 2 0 0
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Genome-wide association meta-analysis of age at onset of walking in over 70,000 infants of European ancestry - Nature Human Behaviour A genome-wide association study of age at onset of walking in over 70,000 infants found 11 significant loci. Age at onset of walking showed SNP heritability of 24%, a reliable polygenic score and gene...

Delighted to be part of the team on this breakthrough infant behaviour genetics study led by @angelicaronald.bsky.social and Anna Gui:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

11 months ago 7 1 2 0

From our 'infant sibs' cohorts we are finding increasing evidence for Chronogeneity as a way to view heterogeneity in autism. In other words, different ages of onset may reflect different types of neurodiversity.
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

11 months ago 8 2 1 0

Congratulations Karla! Great to see how much your research has grown from those PhD days...😀

1 year ago 2 0 1 0