iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dan Leman

Society for Neuroscience @sfn.org · 17/03/2026

#SfNHillDay is off to a great start! SfN Members and #NeuroAdvocates spent the day meeting with members of Congress and their staff, advocating for protecting NIH-funded research and scientists' ability to conduct their vital work, increased funding in FY 2027. #neurosky #brainweek

0146

Dan Leman @dpleman.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

3) we provide several pieces of evidence that these plasticity changes driven by learning are gated by homeostatic mechanisms rather than Hebbian ("fire together, wire together") mechanisms, suggesting a novel role for homeostatic mechanisms in reconfiguring the V1b network post-visuomotor learning

010

Dan Leman @dpleman.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

A few big takeaways: 1) we show that V1 is required for learning to happen in 1 day (and in rats!) 2) we challenge the notion that average cortical firing rates ("setpoints") are rigid and can actually be modified via a salient task, like learning

110

Dan Leman @dpleman.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Sure! Lab-raised juvenile rats quickly learn how to hunt crickets and this causes slow, but persistent increased plasticity in binocular visual cortex (V1b): in both firing rates & connections (spine density). So learning drives V1b increases in V1b activity & may be a site of skill consolidation

111

Dan Leman @dpleman.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

This was an incredible collaboration and would not be possible without the efforts of @bcary.bsky.social, @dianebissen.bsky.social, @wwenneuro.bsky.social, @strontiumpup.bsky.social, Regis Shanley, Krish Bhut, the seminal work of Brian Lane and the guidance and leadership of @turrigiano.bsky.social

110

Dan Leman @dpleman.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Excited to share several updates on our previous preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We show rapid prey capture learning requires V1, enhances V1b responses across learning, and induces persistent plasticity in firing rates + spines, via homeostatic, rather than Hebbian, processes. Read more:

biorxiv.org

Rapid prey capture learning slowly re-sets activity set points in rodent binocular visual cortex

Neurons within primary visual cortex (V1) possess stable firing rate set points to which they faithfully return when perturbed by passive sensory manipulations. Chronic recordings in vivo suggest that...

230

Dan Leman @dpleman.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Thrilled to share work from my PhD is now online as a preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We show prey capture learning requires V1, enhances V1b tuning to behavior, and induces persistent plasticity in firing rates and spines, gated by homeostatic, rather than Hebbian processes. Read more:

biorxiv.org

Rapid prey capture learning drives a slow resetting of network activity in rodent binocular visual cortex

Neocortical neurons possess stable firing rate set points to which they faithfully return when perturbed. These set points are established early and are stable through adulthood, suggesting they are i...

151