iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Check out our labs new work on dopamine across the mPFC and hippocampus! Lots of interesting things! Huge thanks to the team. 👇🏻

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Steve Ramirez @okaysteve.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

🚨 new work from the lab! "Dissociable cortical-hippocampal dopamine dynamics support memory-guided behavior" by @albitc.bsky.social et al. congratulations whole-heartedly to the team and we're excited to hear everyone's thoughts on the work! 👇🏽 www.cell.com/current-biol...

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Jorge Miranda Barrientos @jorge-miranda.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

These mPFC neurons are telling me that GRS @grc-frontal-cortex.bsky.social starts today!!! On my way to the airport. Can't wait to listen the amazing projects people are working on. So honored to co chair the GRS with @albitc.bsky.social

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Psyched to see everyone and talk cool science!

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Helen Barron @helencbarron.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

***New preprint from the lab*** showing “Generative replay across hippocampal-neocortical circuits”. In sleep we show spiking sequences in V1 (sensory neocortex!) that represent information that has not been directly experienced www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @bndu.ox.ac.uk @ndcnoxford.bsky.social

biorxiv.org

Generative replay across hippocampal-neocortical circuits

To make flexible decisions, the brain needs to make inferences between events that were not directly experienced together. In sharp-wave ripple (SWR) events, during periods of rest and sleep, spiking ...

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LifeCanvas Technologies @lifecanvastech.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

How do we balance pleasure and pain to make complex decisions? In a new paper from Steve Ramirez’s lab, Albit Caban et al. found that neurons in the prelimbic cortex (PL) play a key role in producing adaptive behaviors to resolve conflicts: bit.ly/3RFacSl @okaysteve.bsky.social @albitc.bsky.social

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I wanna thank you all for reading this post and want to give a huge shoutout to the team that helped make this work possible and to @okaysteve.bsky.social who has been the best mentor I could’ve asked for.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Finally, through circuit-specific optogenetic inhibition, we found that VTA projections to the PL are required for the Timing behavioral strategy during conflict, identifying an upstream circuit that supports behavioral flexibility.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Interestingly, when animals failed to flexibly resolve conflict, these coordinated network dynamics broke down. Reward-related hub neurons became overactive, network communication deteriorated, and the brain remained locked in a state favoring reward seeking.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Using single-cell calcium imaging, we found that prelimbic neurons organize into dynamic functional networks representing reward and avoidance memories. During successful conflict resolution, these networks briefly re-emerged at key choice points before each behavioral decision.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Using activity-dependent labeling and chemogenetics, we selectively manipulated reward and avoidance engrams in the PL. Silencing either population impaired flexible behavior during conflict, while leaving reward seeking and avoidance intact when tested independently.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

This interesting behavior inspired us to leverage whole-brain cfos expression and graph theory to find which brain regions are critical for the expression of a “Timing strategy”. We narrowed it down to a few key regions of which we chose the prelimbic cortex (PL) to focus in on.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Interestingly, most mice learned to balance both behavioral drives, by obtaining reward early during the 30s trial and avoiding the shock nearing the end, escaping to a safe platform. We called this behavioral strategy “Timing”.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

We had mice go through an approach-avoidance conflict task. Mice learned that a 30s light signaled reward, while a 30s tone predicted an avoidable shock during the final 3s. During conflict, both cues appeared together, requiring animals to balance competing motivations.

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Albit Caban @albitc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Every day, our brains arbitrate between competing memories and motivations. This ability allows us to flexibly adapt our behavior as the world around us changes. But how does the brain actually do it? Our new study sheds light on this! www.cell.com/current-biol...

cell.com

The prelimbic cortex arbitrates memory-guided conflict resolution

Caban-Murillo et al. show that, during approach-avoidance conflict, prelimbic cortex ensembles are recruited to represent reward and punishment through distinct network patterns. Both ensembles are ne...

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GRC Frontal Cortex @grc-frontal-cortex.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

We are thrilled to announce that the preliminary program for the 2026 GRC on the Frontal Cortex is now live! www.grc.org/frontal-cort... Registration is now open for both the GRC and our GRS, chaired by @albitc.bsky.social and @jorge-miranda.bsky.social!

grc.org

2026 Frontal Cortex Conference GRC

The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Frontal Cortex will be held in Holderness, New Hampshire. Apply today to reserve your spot.

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Martínez-Rivera @freddysonj.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Memorias del PR Social! Gracias por el apoyo! 🇵🇷

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Martínez-Rivera @freddysonj.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Boricua, vas a #SfN2025? No te pierdas el Puerto Rico Social! @albitc.bsky.social ATorrado, CBravo 🇵🇷🦜🐸

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