Sign in

Jeff Zacks

@jzacks.bsky.social
3.5K followers 148 following 77 posts

Cognitive neuroscientist

PostsRepliesMedia
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The call for participation for the first inaugural Event Cognition Conference is live! franco.nd.edu/events/confe... franco.nd.edu/assets/67910...
01510
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Great donation opportunity benefiting Siteman Cancer Center in STL. On September 20 I'll be riding 100 miles. Pedal the Cause is an effective and efficient charity; every penny goes to research. This is especially important in the current challenging environment. www.givesignup.org/jeffz
givesignup.org
Jeff Zacks - Pedal the Cause
I'm back to riding Pedal the Cause after getting a new hip last August, and I can't wait! We've had great rides in Missouri and Wisconsin, and I'm feeling well prepared for the century...
030
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This op-ed from Farrell, Gopnik, and Evans is right on target: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Research We Need to Understand A.I. Is Falling Apart
Just as A.I. is poised to change the world, we’re losing our best ways of studying what that change will look like.
062
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
We are hiring at all ranks for an ambitious cluster of positions studying the "rules of life." This cuts across departments and disciplines--including those applying formal/computational methods or AI to brain and behavior. #WashU insideartsci.washu.edu/rules-of-life
insideartsci.washu.edu
Rules of Life
Recruiting interdisciplinary expertise to explore fundamental questions regarding living systems and the physical world
0126
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Adi Upadhyayula @adibuoy23.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
(1/9) Preprint Alert! 🚨 New work on how the brain comprehends narratives. 🧠🎥 Are "Key Moments" - our recent line of research - truly distinct from "Event Boundaries"? We put them to the test to see if these two constructs differ from each other. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
doi.org
OSF
13713
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
New preprint from Tan Nguyen! Ever wanted to know why violating a schema sometimes helps memory but sometimes hurts? osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io
OSF
1237
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Time to engage in support of effective science for humanity. @holdenthorp.bsky.social lays out the latest.
030
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Looking forward to talking with @margulisa.bsky.social about her new book next Monday at Left Bank Books! left-bank.com/event/2026-0...
left-bank.com
Elizabeth Margulis - Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams
042
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Yining Ding @liliand.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Our new paper on aging and temporal order memory (with @jzacks.bsky.social) is now out in Psych & Aging! Using a narrative paradigm, we found that older adults have preserved event-based memory organization and show greater knowledge-related benefits in temporal memory than younger adults. 🌟
22312
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
New preprint from Ashwin Srinivasan! TL;DR: Giving people control over transitions in a TikTok-like interface improved subsequent memory; predictability of transitions did not. Segmentation and control: Control over transitions differentially impacts within-event memory osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io
OSF
0189
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Applications are open for the Computational Neuroscience Next Generation Symposium, hosted by the Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience at WashU! Sept 14-15, 2026. ctcn.wustl.edu/2026-next-ge...
ctcn.wustl.edu
2026 Next Gen Symposium
Applications are open for the 4th annual Computational Neuroscience Next Generation (CNNG) Symposium at WashU on Sept. 14-15, 2026 in the Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building. We invite p…
020
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Like the basic science that gave us modern AI, effective teaching methods, and cognitive behavioral therapy? If so, the developments described here should be seriously concerning. Office hours to strategize tomorrow (4/10) at 1:30 Eastern; registration link included: fabbs.org/news/2026/04...
fabbs.org
031
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
The Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience at WashU has an opening for a postdoctoral scholar! Deadline is May 1. ctcn.wustl.edu/postdoc-fell...
ctcn.wustl.edu
Postdoc Fellows
The CTCN funds a cohort of outstanding Postdoctoral Fellows to work at the interface between theoretical and experimental labs and help forge new collaborations. CTCN Fellows have strong training i…
12320
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Adi Upadhyayula @adibuoy23.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
2/ Work with June Kim, Josh Koh, @jzacks.bsky.social, @zreagh.bsky.social, and @alexbarnett.bsky.social.
131
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Yining Ding @liliand.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Excited to share our paper (with @jzacks.bsky.social), now out in JEP:LMC! Event boundaries sometimes disrupt temporal order memory in list-based paradigms—but what happens in narratives with more complex structures that better resemble real life? ✨ Link: psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...
psycnet.apa.org
APA PsycNet
24513
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
As we're hearing about exponentially increasing rates of gain in AI, this seems relevant again: www.science.org/content/blog...
science.org
Reading the pandemic data
010
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
The Aging & Development training program at WashU has an opening for a postdoc! psychaging.wustl.edu
psychaging.wustl.edu
Home | NIH (T32) Graduate and Postdoctoral Training Grant Program in Aging | Washington University in St. Louis
Welcome to the NIH Aging and Development Training Grant program. Job postings POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN AGING The Aging and Developm...
145
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
This is good news for NIH-funded behavioral scientists and for the public; it resolves an unfortunate Catch-22 situation that inflated administrative burden and occasionally excluded basic behavioral science from funding opportunities: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-032: Basic Experimental Studies in Humans (BESH) Will No Longer Be Considered Clinical Trials by the NIH
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Basic Experimental Studies in Humans (BESH) Will No Longer Be Considered Clinical Trials by the NIH NOT-OD-26-032. NIH
15416
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
A thoughtful exposition of the liberal arts approach to the undergraduate major (no bias on my part): www.instagram.com/p/DTf7yehETmx/
instagram.com
washuartsci on Instagram: "we’re kicking off the spring semester with episode three of our Major Impact series 🤸🏾in this episode, mathematics & economics ma…"
we’re kicking off the spring semester with episode three of our Major Impact series 🤸🏾in this episode, mathematics & economics major Delia Zacks shares her major decision journey, her advice for prospective WashU students, and why she thinks YOU should choose to be a part of the ArtSci family 🫶
010
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Lexi Decker @lexidecker.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
🧠 Hiring a Research Assistant/Lab Manager! Share widely! 📍 St. Louis | ⏰ Full-time We're launching the How We Learn Lab @WashU, studying attention, learning & memory interactions. Perfect for anyone interested in dev cog neuro who wants hands-on experience before grad school. deckerlab.com
deckerlab.com
How We Learn Lab
33323
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Spotify wrapped informs me that my listening age is "deceased."
0110
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Michael J. Kane @michaeljkane.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Andy Conway and I are honored to serve as inaugural co-Editors of this new Psychonomics journal, focused on the rigorous study of individual differences in cognition. Please spread the word to potentially interested colleagues; we hope that you will send us your best relevant work!
23313
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
WashU responded to the White House's "compact for excellence in higher education" with a defense of core principles that was less public and less clear than it should have been. Baby steps. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa... (Requires creating a free account to read.)
insidehighered.com
Reading Between the Lines on Compact Responses
Universities that rejected the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education emphasized merit in their responses and highlighted core values in turning it down.
050
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Thoughtful essay about the importance of standing up to open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...
donmoynihan.substack.com
Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
Leaders are underestimating the risks of not fighting back
020
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
@fabbs.org wants to hear from you about the recent NSF Graduate Research Fellowship announcement and its impacts on scientists in clinical psychology! Current or past NSF grad fellow in Clinical Psychology? tinyurl.com/36r9znke Current student who hoped to apply? tinyurl.com/yhbz3d5u
tinyurl.com
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has finally released the solicitation for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) for fiscal year 2026. The new solicitation includes two significant chan...
010
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
New eLife preprint from Tan Nguyen—Pattern-based functional MRI and computational modeling show evidence for multiple signals contributing to updating the brain's representations of events: elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
elifesciences.org
Multiple event segmentation mechanisms in the human brain
0175
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Sam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Baccarelli was paid $700/hour for his work on a case against Tylenol. I will charge $0/hour to tell courts, FDA, and everyone else that correlations can arise from latent variables in the absence of a direct causal relationship. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
thecrimson.com
Harvard’s Public Health Dean Was Paid $150,000 to Testify Tylenol Causes Autism | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard School of Public Health Dean Andrea A. Baccarelli received at least $150,000 to testify against Tylenol’s manufacturer in 2023 — two years before he published research used by the Trump admini...
0383
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Dr. Cheri A Levinson @cherilev.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
The @nsf has also decided that clinical psychology is not eligible for NSF. This is a crock of 💩 Clinical psych (actually clinical science) is a RESEARCH degree. Let’s just completely not support research training in mental health then. Bad bad bad bad decision
2183
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Hayoung Song @hayoungsong.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
How does the brain🧠 make causal inferences and use memories to understand narratives🎬? We built an RNN🤖 with key-value episodic memory that learns causal relationships between events and retrieves memories like humans do! Preprint www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... w/ @qlu.bsky.social, Tan Nguyen &👇
biorxiv.org
A neural network with episodic memory learns causal relationships between narrative events
Humans reflect on past memories to make sense of an ongoing event. Past work has shown that people retrieve causally related past events during comprehension, but the exact process by which this causa...
39529
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Short videos highlighting the science that is not getting done due to federal science cuts: www.youtube.com/shorts/2J_BW... Share them! (Thanks to Timothy Wilson and his collaborators for making these!)
youtube.com
Preventing Misinformation @science
YouTube video by What We'll Never Know
12311
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
New preprint from Yining Ding @liliand.bsky.social! People use semantic event knowledge and grouping to remember the temporal order of events. osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io
OSF
0268
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
The Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (@fabbs.org) is searching for a short-term technology policy fellow. Great opportunity for a new PhD interested in policy, maybe before a research postdoc or faculty position: fabbs.org/news/2025/08...
fabbs.org
We’re Hiring: Technology Policy Fellow – FABBS
Location: Washington, D.C. (hybrid) Salary: Approximately $7,000 per month Start Date: September 15, 2025 Duration: 3 months, with potential for longer Position
01213
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Black In Neuro @blackinneuro.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
It’s been 5️⃣ years of #BlackInNeuro! 🧠✨ Join the annual #BlackInNeuroRollCall on September 10th and tell us where you were in 2020, and where you are now! New role? New city? New degree? We want to hear it!! Post your video + use #BlackInNeuroRollCall so we can celebrate YOU!! #5YearsOfBIN
Flyer for the Black In Neuro Conference on Wednesday, September 10. The background is a soft peach with vibrant geometric patterns in mustard yellow, coral, teal, and pink at the top border. A bold orange "#BlackInNeuroRollCall" title is centered. The main text below reads: "BIN was founded five years ago and we have all made big moves since then. Record a quick video sharing where you were when BIN launched in 2020 — and where you are now. Whether it's new degrees, new cities, or new roles, we want to hear how far you’ve come! Be sure to use #BlackInNeuroRollCall and tag us @BlackInNeuro.". Black In Neuro logo appears in the bottom left corner and to the right reads "#5YearsofBIN".
0127
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
I live in rural Missouri, population 480. I travel to DC a few times a year. The President is lying.
598115142181
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Science and Freedom Alliance - SAFA @safa-science.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
The Supreme Court is reviewing a vitally important NIH case on its shadow docket. It is likely that the Court will back Trump, and say his (illegal) grant terminations are ok. We must speak up now. 1/
scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com
Tell the Supreme Court: No Stay. Hands off NIH
The Supreme Court is poised to allow Trump to illegally terminate NIH grants. Let's speak out. There is not much time.
26746334
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 29/07/2025
🚨ATTENTION CDC AND ALLIES!🚨 Our genes/jeans are GREEN tomorrow To see our strength and build community, we ask that you wear something 💚green💚 to work on WEDNESDAY (tomorrow) to show solidarity and readiness to defend public health. Spread the word! #courageiscontagious #spreadthecolor #wearthecolor
media.tenor.com
a man in a green lantern costume is standing in a hanger with a helicopter in the background .
Alt: Ryan Reynolds suiting up as Green Lantern. While better known for his role as Deadpool, Ryan will always be Green Lantern to us. Sorry not sorry, Ryan. This will haunt you forever.
39329
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
New review paper with Maverick Smith on improving memory for stuff people actually want to remember: doi.org/10.1177/0963...
doi.org
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
0228
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
New update today (on Senate version, House version is worse): 👎 Though overall NSF budget would remain flat, STEM education would still see a 15% cut: $1,172 --> $1,000 million From a bill report out today after the bill passed in committee yesterday: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
STEM EDUCATION
Appropriations, 2025 ............................................................................. $1,172,000,000
Committee recommendation ................................................................. 1,000,000,000
093
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Another (small) update today: The analogous subcommittee in the House will now meet next Tuesday, July 15, also about NSF/NASA/NOAA budgets (link below). House has recently been more hawkish on $ than Senate, so will be interesting. Here's who to call: appropriations.house.gov/subcommittee...
appropriations.house.gov
Subcommittee Markup of Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Bill
1126
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Adrien Peyrache @apeyrache.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Brenda Milner just turned 107. Happy birthday! On my very first day as a PI at the MNI, she was right in front of me in the cafeteria line. She was already nearly 100, and still coming to work. What a legend.
0595
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
The Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience at WashU is recruiting postdoctoral fellows. The Center offers a unique opportunity to craft a transdisciplinary research program with an unusual degree of independence. ctcn.wustl.edu/postdoc-fell...
ctcn.wustl.edu
Postdoc Fellows
The CTCN funds a cohort of outstanding Postdoctoral Fellows to work at the interface between theoretical and experimental labs and help forge new collaborations. Application deadline August 1st, 20…
01312
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Thoughtful column by @marccoutanche.bsky.social about parallels between the current federal challenges to science and the history of Soviet science: www.post-gazette.com/opinion/gues...
post-gazette.com
Marc Coutanche: The president and DOGE repeat the Soviet's big mistake
America went to the moon. The USSR starved. The difference was that America promoted science over politics. Getting to the moon remains one of the greatest...
020
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
There's one day left to submit a comment on the Trump administration's proposal to reclassify career civil service employees--including at NSF and NIH--as "at-will" political appointees. Read the @fabbs.org comment here and submit your own: fabbs.org/news/2025/06...
fabbs.org
FABBS Responds to Proposed ‘Schedule F’ Rule – FABBS
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently proposed a new rule which claims to “increase career employment accountability.” FABBS previously reported on
021
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Mike Frank @mcxfrank.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
If you haven't been looking recently at the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science (oecs.mit.edu), here's your reminder that we are a free, open access resource for learning about the science of mind. Today we are launching our new Thematic Collections to organize our growing set of articles!
OECS thematic collections.
10413183
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Thanks @davideagleman.bsky.social for bringing me on Inner Cosmos to talk about the cognitive neuroscience of movies!
040
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Chad Freidrichs' documentary, The Cinema Within, got a very nice review in the @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/m...
nytimes.com
Three Great Documentaries to Stream
020
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Jon Freeman @freemanjb.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
🚨 A new rule would let career scientists like NSF/NIH program officers be replaced by political appointees Already 14,000+ public comments, deadline is Friday 📣 Comments can be short. Courts consider them—and scientists with NSF/NIH experience are especially impactful Speak up! shorturl.at/WKuBj
25533508
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Thoughtful comment by @lkfazio.bsky.social about how to pivot.
010
Jeff Zacks @jzacks.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
In this op-ed, Alondra Nelson provides dramatic new facts about the current federal science crisis and gives a cogent argument for transparent administration of federally mandated science and information institutions and for protecting congressionally mandated procedures:
1126
Reposted by Jeff Zacks
Jeremy Yoder says no war @jbyoder.org · 09/05/2025
Bears repeating that Congress has not passed a budget or any other legislation that has asked the NSF to do this downsizing, they're dismantling the agency in anticipation of cuts that as of yet have no basis in law
517495