Sign in

Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD

@bbaltaretu.bsky.social
209 followers 297 following 6 posts

Neuroscientist :: Perception | Cognition | Action | Eye-Tracking | fMRI | VR

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Christoph Strauch @cstrauch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
How much of a risk are LLM-generated bots for online behavioral experiments? We present results of an entirely natural language prompt-generated agent, capable of absolving any of the 26 experiments we tested it on. Most tasks are passed with data that can pass as human osf.io/preprints/ps... (1/)
26336
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Jorge Morales @jorgemorales.me · 01/10/2026
Our lab is growing! We're looking for a graduate student to start next fall (applications due on Dec 1) and a postdoctoral researcher to start soon (ad coming soon; starting date is flexible, probably some time next year). subjectivitylab.org
subjectivitylab.org
The Subjectivity Lab · Duke University · Jorge Morales, PhD
Duke interdisciplinary research group led by Dr. Jorge Morales studying vision, mental imagery, consciousness, and introspection.
14224
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Liuba Papeo @ljubapi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Humans are remarkably good at recognizing other animals from appearance🐾 Our new study in J Cogn Neurosci @MITPress shows this ability is surprisingly resilient to visual information loss, using EEG, behavioral measures, and deep neural networks. With @jrhochmann.bsky.social C. Spriet F. Rostami 🧵👇
1123
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Marc Sommer @neurocircuits.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
📢 To everyone on the job market who has a vision for neuroscience applied to biomedical applications & technological innovation: The Duke Department of Biomedical Engineering announces a tenure-track faculty job search in neural engineering, broadly defined! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32784
View of Duke Chapel looking up a quiet street framed by colorful autumn foliage
03218
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Hayoung Song @hayoungsong.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
There are 2 tenure-track searches happening at UT Austin Psychology @utaustin.bsky.social! Dev/Social: apply.interfolio.com/194041 Clinical: apply.interfolio.com/194045 Please apply and be my colleague! Austin is awesome, UT is awesome, and the department is awesome⭐
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
02214
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Jörn Diedrichsen @diedrichsenjorn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New preprint from the lab. A long-overdue fMRI study on bimanual movement direction encoding: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @alighavampour.bsky.social, @andpru.bsky.social, @jjodx.eurosky.social
2218
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Vivian Paulun @vivianpaulun.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨 Preprint alert! 👶🧠🌊 "The Emergence of a Distinction between Things and Stuff" osf.io/preprints/ps... So excited to share my first infant study, with the wonderful Sanghee Song and Liz Spelke.🎉 Do babies expect sand to behave differently from solid objects? 🧵1/5
411833
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Sylvain Baillet @sylvainbaillet.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
👉 Tenure-track opening in neuroscience @crchum.bsky.social @umontreal.ca crchum.carrieresante.gouv.qc.ca/poste/profes...
04133
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Reza Shadmehr @rezashadmehr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Faculty position opening in computational neuroscience at Duke University. academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32697
03732
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Paul Gribble 🇨🇦 @gribblelab.org · 17/09/2026
when you use AI to write code you put yourself in cognitive debt ; at some point you will have to spend the time and effort to understand the code, if you are ever to use it for anything you put your name on. May feel like a shortcut but really it’s only the beginning of your work it’s not the end
1146
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Earl K. Miller @earlkmiller.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Most cortical neurons exhibit mixed selectivity rather than specializing in a single function. Our limited ability to juggle tasks may therefore reflect interference among overlapping neural representations. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #neuroscience
nature.com
Feature interference underlies a neuronal basis for the behavioral cost of task uncertainty - Nature Neuroscience
Using a combined approach of monkey electrophysiology, artificial neural networks and human psychophysics, Xue et al. show that neuronal interference from irrelevant information underlies behavioral e...
13915
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Marlene Cohen @marlenecohen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Now out in Nature Neuroscience: fantastic work by @cxue.bsky.social, Sol Markman et al who discovered a neural reason that performance suffers under cognitive load: “Feature interference underlies a neuronal basis for the behavioral cost of task uncertainty”. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪🧵1/
nature.com
Feature interference underlies a neuronal basis for the behavioral cost of task uncertainty - Nature Neuroscience
Using a combined approach of monkey electrophysiology, artificial neural networks and human psychophysics, Xue et al. show that neuronal interference from irrelevant information underlies behavioral e...
312040
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Earl K. Miller @earlkmiller.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
New paper! Decision-making isn't just picking winners via more neural firing, the brain reorganizing activity patterns into different subspaces, shifting from "one option vs. another" to "chosen vs. rejected" doi.org/10.1016/j.is... #neuroscience @picowerinstitute.bsky.social @mitbcs.bsky.social
14511
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Joey Saito @jsaito25.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Has anyone taught a course of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Vision (w/ emphasis on the neuro side)? Would you be able and willing to share your slides etc. to help me develop a course?
01212
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Straw @andrewstraw.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
We are hiring! Come join us in the Straw Lab at the @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social . Seeking a scientist to work on the neural and computational mechanisms of visual navigation in honey bees. uni-freiburg.de/en/job/00005...
Bee trajectories in agricultural landscape and two photon microscope for in-vivo calcium activity imaging.
18063
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Russ Poldrack @russpoldrack.org · 03/09/2026
We are searching for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position, with a research focus on developmental and/or social psychology. Please apply or forward to anyone who might be interested! facultypositions.stanford.edu/jobs/assista...
facultypositions.stanford.edu
Assistant Professor, Psychology - Stanford University, California, United States
The Department of Psychology at Stanford University is seeking applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position, with a research focus on developmental and/or social psychology. In addition ...
08678
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
If this makes you mad, submit your cognitive science research to @openmindjournal.bsky.social No APCs, no subscription fees. It's funded by university libraries, at low cost.
18934
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Laura Dugué @lauradugue.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
In this morning’s symposium at #ECVP2026 I’ll present some of the recent research from our lab on #rhythmic_attentional_sampling and #traveling_waves. @ecvp.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu
1111
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Tim Kietzmann @timkietzmann.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
We are hiring a full professor for "Intelligence in biological and artificial systems". If you don't know about the German system yet, let me tell you a little bit about working as a professor at the institute. Thread 👇
13116
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Tom Wallis @tsawallis.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
TU Darmstadt's Perception Lab is at #ECVP2026 in force. We hope you can make it to see our work! @engramm.ing @lreining.bsky.social @lschmittwilken.bsky.social
A graphic depicting the times that TU Darmstadt's Perception Lab members have posters at the European Conference on Visual Perception, 2026.
0184
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Kurt Fraser @kurtfraser.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Department of Psychology at University of Minnesota seeks an Assistant Professor working on computational approaches related to cognition and/or perception (broadly). This would be in my area of the department and I’m happy to answer any questions. Posting : hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...
google.com
Careers
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Computational Approaches to Perception and/or CognitionDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of Minnesota, College of Liberal ArtsThe Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities announces a search for an outstanding scholar to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position focused on computational approaches to perception and/or cognition. This full-time position in the Department’s Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CAB) Training Program will begin in Fall 2027.Applications are invited from researchers who would extend or complement our historic strengths in combining experimental and computational approaches to perception and cognition. Examples of desired research topics include, but are not limited to, computational approaches in human and/or non-human animal models to study perceptual function and sensory loss, learning, motivation, emotion, and/or higher cognition. While we expect the primary appointment to be in our CAB area, there is  potential for cross-affiliation with other departmental areas.The appointment will be 100%-time over the nine-month academic year (late-August to late-May) and will be made at the rank of tenure-track assistant professor, depending on qualifications and experience and consistent with collegiate and University policy. Salary and start-up packages are competitive. The successful applicant should have and is expected to maintain a strong research program, advise graduate students from a variety of different backgrounds, and teach undergraduate and graduate courses, including core courses within the graduate training program. A strong record of teaching and mentorship is desired. The individual will also be expected to contribute to the service needs of the department, college, university, and profession.A successful candidate's application will demonstrate scholarly distinction, a record of publications, teaching commitment and, if applicable to the research program and the candidate’s career stage, evidence of success in securing and/or pursuing extramural funding.Applicants are invited to review the Workload Principles and Guidelines for Regular Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as the Standards for Promotion and Tenure in the Department of Psychology.
14638
Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD @bbaltaretu.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Join Tarkesh’s lab! A wonderful opportunity!!! 👇👇👇👇👇👇
020
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Tarkesh Singh @tarkeshsingh.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I am recruiting a PhD student in sensorimotor neuroscience to join my lab, with a start date of January 2027. This position is fully funded. If you are interested, please send your CV and a brief letter of interest by email. Reposts appreciated.
02126
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Jonathan A. Michaels @jonathanamichaels.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Looking for a postdoc in motor control / systems neuroscience? I'm seeking candidates to develop a Connected Minds Fellowship proposal with me at York University: $70K/yr for 2 years + benefits, plus an $8.5K/yr research allowance. Deadline: Sept 27, 2026. 🧵
12825
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Pruszynski @andpru.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
We looking for a postdoc with NHP electrophysiology experience to do simultaneous Neuropixel recordings across the corticothalamic motor circuit to better understand the neural control of reaching and grasping. We start looking at applications on August 31st. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Pruszynski Postdoc 2026
Postdoctoral Researcher, Control Policies in the Primate Motor Circuit Pruszynski Lab @ Sensorimotor Superlab​ The Pruszynski Laboratory at Western University is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to j...
22624
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Joey Saito @jsaito25.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Spatiotemporal Representations of Contextual Associations for Real-World Objects www.jneurosci.org/content/46/1...
jneurosci.org
Spatiotemporal Representations of Contextual Associations for Real-World Objects
In the real world, objects always appear in context. Many objects are reliably associated with a certain scene context (e.g., pots appear in kitchens) and other objects that appear in the same context...
022
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Thérèse Collins @theresecollins.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
New preprint! What the eyes do when searching for a visual target reveals the psychological similarity between objects, just like more classic (but much longer & tedious) tasks like triplet odd-one-out and direct comparison. www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... #BRAINFLOW @upcite.bsky.social @cnrs.fr
biorxiv.org
Eye movements reveal representational geometry
Mental representations are the explanatory construct of the cognitive sciences, but there is no widely accepted characterization of how they cause behavior. Visual representational geometry can be quantified by similarity scores, but almost all methods require an explicit judgment. To examine how representations cause behavior by varying task demands, observers must perform different tasks while continuously reporting similarity, leading to dual-task interference. This study develops scanpaths as an implicit similarity measure, and uses representational similarity analysis to validate it. Observers searched for a target; fixations on distractors may reveal similarity. Similarity was also quantified by an odd-one-out task in the same participants, and ratings from different participants (Jiang et al. 2022). Representational geometries between tasks correlated. A generative model predicted first fixations in novel data. This double validation of the scanpath method opens the door to examining the causality of representations by determining if and how they vary with task demands. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
25216
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Pruszynski @andpru.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Official job posting coming when I get back from the cottage but if you're interested in a post-doc doing multi-area high-density electrophysiology in the cortico-thalamic circuit during reaching, feel free to reach out!
11816
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Pruszynski @andpru.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Very happy to receive a CIHR Project Grant to continue our work on how sensory signals are organized in the thalamo-cortical motor circuit.
5592
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Earl K. Miller @earlkmiller.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
The primate claustrum as a hub for precision weighting of prediction errors across the cortical hierarchy. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... #neuroscience
journals.plos.org
The primate claustrum as a hub for precision weighting of prediction errors across the cortical hierarchy
Understanding how signals are exchanged across the cerebral cortex is a central challenge for theories of perception and cognition. This Essay puts forward a roadmap for investigating cortical network...
0205
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Gavin Buckingham @drgbuckingham.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The Cognition Group in the Psychology dept at Exeter are at risk of redundancy because "basic cognitive psychology research does not align with the current priorities of funding bodies" If you think this is overtly wrong and misguided, please sign this open letter docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Open Letter in Support of the Cognition Group, University of Exeter
To Executive members of the University of Exeter, including Vice Chancellor Prof. Lisa Roberts, Senior Vice-President and Provost Prof. Dan Charman, Pro Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean Prof. Sallie...
128591
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Rosanne Rademaker @rademaker.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Interested in how people perceive and remember the speed of visual objects? Our paper (see also the blueprint/ thread below) is now out in the Journal 📔 of Vision!
jov.arvojournals.org
Better performance when recalling speed from object motion compared to texture motion | JOV | ARVO Journals
0178
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Lenny van Dyck @levandyck.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Excited to share that our paper is now out in #JNeurosci! We propose a multidimensional framework of high-level visual cortex that reconciles a longstanding debate. Thanks to @kathadobs.bsky.social, @martinhebart.bsky.social, and everyone else for the great discussions along the way. More to come 🧠🌈
doi.org
Multidimensional feature tuning in category-selective areas of human visual cortex
Two prominent accounts describe the functional organization of human high-level visual cortex. A categorical view emphasizes category-selective areas, while a dimensional view highlights continuous fe...
14112
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Paul Linton @lintonvision.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Delighted Megan Peters (@meganakpeters.bsky.social) is able to join us as a speaker! Over 160 people registered so far! Full schedule: computationalconsciousness.github.io
1124
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Doug Crawford @jdcrawford.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06...
medicalxpress.com
Update to 89-year-old motor homunculus model shows brain's motor cortex isn't as neatly organized as previously thought
For almost a century, budding neuroscientists have been taught that the headband-like strip of brain tissue over our ears that controls our movements, called the motor cortex, contains an orderly map ...
021
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Trends in Cognitive Sciences @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Online planning of sequential actions Review by Jörn Diedrichsen (@diedrichsenjorn.bsky.social), Mehrdad Kashefi (@mkashefi.bsky.social), Amin Nazerzadeh, & J. Andrew Pruszynski (@andpru.bsky.social) tinyurl.com/2p9nbnbx
03711
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Ravi Menon @northernthrux.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
In our 30th year, absolutely ticked pink to receive our third successive Platform Support Grant in support of Western's Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping. A testament to the amazing technical staff in this unique-in-Canada facility. Co-funded with @westernu.ca @schulichmeddent.bsky.social
1225
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Brad Postle @bradpostle.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Postdoc position available at postlab.psych.wisc.edu. Pls send cv to postle@wisc.edu
postlab.psych.wisc.edu
PO-STL-AB
Our interests in human memory and cognition encompass the cognitive and neural basis of working memory, attention, control, and consciousness.News  Madison Symposium on Memory & Control. On 30 May 202...
15571
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Jörn Diedrichsen @diedrichsenjorn.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I will miss #OHBM2026 this year, but if you go make sure you see these four amazing posters from current and former members of the lab !
1147
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Pruszynski @andpru.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Natural behavior unfolds as a continuous stream of actions. Because these actions often occur in rapid succession, the brain must prepare multiple future actions while the current action is being executed. Our TICS piece explores how this works. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
39533
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Ravi Menon @northernthrux.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Guess who's celebrating a 30th anniversary? With massive thanks to years of support from @westernu.ca @schulichmeddent.bsky.social @lhsccanada.bsky.social @braincanada.bsky.social @innovation.ca @brukercorporation.bsky.social Siemens Healthineers, Gov. of Ontario www.schulich.uwo.ca/about/news-e...
schulich.uwo.ca
Western’s CFMM marks 30 years of imaging discovery - Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry - Western University
Researchers have transformed understanding of the brain, healthy aging and disease.
1278
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Christoph Strauch @cstrauch.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
New preprint (doi.org/10.64898/202...) shows that where you look next is an economic decision. Saccades trade off effort-costs (measured via pupil) against monetary rewards. 1) By default, participants have strong saccade direction preferences (e.g., cardinal over diagonal, up over down) (1/4)
Left: participants prefer cardinals and upward directions without receiving rewards. Center: after titrating rewards throughout the experiment, downward and cardinal directions provide less reward, i.e., participants are willing to saccade there even though they gain little in comparison. Right: This titration of rewards offsets the internal saccade costs, leading to uniform preference across directions
13412
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Pruszynski @andpru.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
I encourage everyone to show up and make your voice heard at upcoming town halls and via any other channels: cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/45096.html • Bilingual session: Thursday, May 28 at 1:00 p.m. ET • English session: Wednesday, June 24 at 1:30 p.m. ET • French session: Thursday, June 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET
cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Webinars - CIHR
CIHR holds several webinars that allow us to share information, exchange ideas and discuss issues of importance with our stakeholders.
21923
Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD @bbaltaretu.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Excited to share my latest postdoc article with Melissa Võ and Katja Fiehler! Using a memory-guided placement task in VR, we tested how semantic and spatial scene relationships shape allocentric coding of objects. Here, spatial factors played a stronger role. Read it here: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Spatial proximity and scene grammar: shaping spatial representations for memory-guided actions in naturalistic environments - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Spatial proximity and scene grammar: shaping spatial representations for memory-guided actions in naturalistic environments
090
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Tarkesh Singh @tarkeshsingh.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
New preprint! Older adults' anticipatory motor responses scale less with object speed when they rely on peripheral vision — but scale normally when they actively track the object. A selective behavioural signature of magnocellular aging. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
084
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Will Harrison @willjharrison.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Also, I’ll be giving a workshop on the first day about early vision theory and modelling. visualneuroscience.auckland.ac.nz/epc-apcv-2026/
visualneuroscience.auckland.ac.nz
EPC & APCV 2026
044
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Jonathan Tsay @tsay.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
For those attending @ncmsociety.bsky.social this week, come check out posters and talks from the Physical Intelligence Lab! #NCM #MotorLearning #CognitiveNeuroscience
194
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
Andrew Pruszynski @andpru.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
For those going to @ncmsociety.bsky.social annual meeting next week, come check out our posters! @diedrichsenjorn.bsky.social @gribblelab.org. I know that @mnlmrc.bsky.social @sivanjo.bsky.social @alighavampour.bsky.social @arminpanjehpour.bsky.social and Amin are excited show you what they've done.
03111
Reposted by Bianca R. Baltaretu, PhD
SfN Journals @sfnjournals.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
#JNeurosci: When playing in a band, notes must be efficient yet flexible to tempo, dynamics, or other musicians’ actions. Using a sequential finger‑pressing task, Nazerzadeh et al show this balance comes from integrating sensory input & sequence memory doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1797-25.2…
1112