Sign in

Mark D Humphries

@markdhumphries.bsky.social
3.9K followers 288 following 121 posts

Theoretical systems neuroscientist. Author of “The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds”: tinyurl.com/ymwy9jrh Lab: humphries-lab.org Essays on the brain: drmdhumphries.medium.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Universities cannot expect researchers to take risks if they are repeatedly at risk of redundancy while losing professional services support, grappling with the gratuitous vagaries of home and international student number swings and both teaching and assessing in an age of unregulated AI.
520777
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Wrote this 9 years ago. Nine. medium.com/the-spike/th...
medium.com
The crimes against dopamine
For they be many and grievous
161
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Crimes against dopamine number 14,689: “Dopamine sites” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Dopamine sites: India and the world are discovering the thrill of shopping without buying
Dopamine sites mimic shopping’s thrill without the spending, turning the ritual of consumption into a digital game.
181
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Curse of the academic. Cogito ergo supercogito
010
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Yes. Though, like every undergrad project (and many papers) I review, I do feel compelled to ask: which error bars are those exactly?
140
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Amirreza Bahramani @amir137.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Four months ago, US sanctions shut Iranian students out of Neuromatch. So we built our own! 180+ students, 9 TAs, 14 mentors, and an incredible team made NeuroCONNECT happen. Proud to have been part of it. A reminder that sometimes, together, we can break the barriers and injustices imposed on us.
1246
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Carolina Rezaval @crezaval.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
We’re hiring two postdocs! Join our Lab @unibirmingham.bsky.social to uncover how the brain resolves behavioural conflicts. Deadline: 22 September 2026 @wellcometrust.bsky.social Please share! www.rezavallab.org
rezavallab.org
Home
​ ​Animals must make crucial behavioural choices on a minute by minute basis to survive in a changing environment. A long-standing enigma is, how are alternative options evaluated in the brain...
01711
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
David Robbe @davidrobbe.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Excited to share our new paper: "The Tower Foraging Park: A paradigm for studying cognitive and motor processes underlying behavioral flexibility in freely moving mice,". Out now in @cp-iscience.bsky.social 🧵1/9 www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
cell.com
The Tower Foraging Park: A paradigm for studying cognitive and motor processes underlying behavioral flexibility in freely moving mice
Biological sciences; Behavioral neuroscience; Laboratory animal science
33410
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Terrific piece from @mattperich.bsky.social on how to think about the dimensionality of neural activity Will be borrowing the excellent folding paper analogy… www.thetransmitter.org/neural-dynam...
thetransmitter.org
Dimensionality—neuroscience’s red herring?
Placing too much emphasis on a specific interpretation of dimensionality may lead neuroscience down the wrong path.
1154
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The Transmitter's summer reading list highlights upcoming neuroscience books and other notable titles from this year—with books by @romainbrette.bsky.social, @susanacarmona.bsky.social, @markdhumphries.bsky.social, David Susillo and more. #neuroskyence By @franciscorr25.bsky.social bit.ly/4qz0oXj
thetransmitter.org
The Transmitter’s reading list for 2026
Our summer reading list includes books on the Human Brain Project, the neuroscience of motherhood and the career of a Huntington’s disease researcher.
03113
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
New preprint from Jasper Teutsch & Rohan Rao in Abhi Banerjee's lab showing that switching from choice- to cue-driven behavioural strategies is driven by lOFC In collaboration with Silvia Maggi & I, using our Bayesian strategy analysis doi.org/10.7554/eLif... doi.org/10.64898/202...
doi.org
Distinct Orbitofrontal Feedback Signals Shape Sensory Behavioral Strategies during Flexible Learning
Animals adapt their behavior by integrating sensory evidence with prior experience and contextual information. Understanding how animals employ specific behavioral strategies to integrate these variab...
0112
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Help needed! I'm part of a team tasked with creating a 2nd year undergraduate module/course "Computational Skills for Psychologists" Its remit is the fundamentals of coding and good practice. Any advice from others who've done similar courses? (Assume no programming knowledge. Assume Python)
3107
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Thanks Nick. We've small advantage that these will be 2nd years, so will have had PsychoPy exposure already (as one might expect at Nottingham ;) Using that as the hook might well be the way in!
010
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Thanks Paula. Cohort size estimated at 70-80. May go higher. Teaching time limited: 4 hrs/week x 10 weeks = 40 hours total. Friction point noted!
000
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
thank you, that looks a terrific resource!
020
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Help needed! I'm part of a team tasked with creating a 2nd year undergraduate module/course "Computational Skills for Psychologists" Its remit is the fundamentals of coding and good practice. Any advice from others who've done similar courses? (Assume no programming knowledge. Assume Python)
3107
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
More nuanced take on the impending end of artisanal neuroscience thanks to the AI Industrial Revolution Thoughtful piece from Kenneth Harris One question - who are the Luddites in this analogy? www.thetransmitter.org/artificial-i...
thetransmitter.org
Mass-produced science is coming. What happens to scientists?
Artificial intelligence may soon enable researchers to generate high-quality science at a previously unimaginable speed.
0100
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
That is, I think, spot on
080
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
No 😁 sorry, that was probably too dry to come over in the post - “apparently” was doing a lot of heavy lifting…
140
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Kenji Lee @kenjilee.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Adding to all the takes on this, something that is missed and why I don't think AI will progress beyond research assistant in neuroscience is so much of the work is embodied. Not just in that "an LLM doesn't have a body" but so much of the knowledge is only gained through embodiment.
1112
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
It is *almost* like that, isn’t it?
040
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
At Cosyne, Chris Olah from Anthropic told us that neuroscientists had “3-4 years left to make a contribution” Why was not clear. Perhaps he was hinting at the below graph accompanying today’s Claude Science launch. Apparently we’ll all be obsolete soon.
164412
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The Group for Neural Theory is an enviable place to work. At the heart of Paris’s Left Bank, it’s a literal stone’s throw from the Pantheon And it has a remarkable training record On the occasion of its 20th birthday celebrations this week, here’s a further sample of its alumni… gnt20.github.io
1134
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Joao Barbosa @jbarbosa.org · 10/06/2026
So hyped for this! What a privilege to have spent 4 years in this little corner of Paris. GNT has had such a profound impact on the computational neuroscience community. Paris is one of the best places in the world to do neuroscience and the GNT has been fundamental to that Here's to 20 more years🍻
0112
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
p.s. GNT alumni - tag yourself in the replies!
000
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
…to the GNT’s founders, Boris Gutkin and Sophie Deneve, and its co-leads over the years, Christian Machens, Srdjan Ostojic, and Alex Cayco Gajic. Here’s to another 20 years!
100
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
More than 30 PhD and postdoc GNT alumni have started their own research groups – including me (humphries-group.org). So this thread is a huge thank you on behalf of myself and all its many trainees…
humphries-group.org
121
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Joao Barbosa’s group (jbarbosa.org) use machine-learning to develop theories of decision-making and working memory @jbarbosa.org
jbarbosa.org
Joao Barbosa
110
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Viola Priesemann’s (priesemann-group.github.io) studies how collective neural activity self-organizes to support information processing @violapriesemann.bsky.social
priesemann-group.github.io
Prof. Dr. Viola Priesemann
110
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Pedro Gonçalves’ group (goncalvesgroup.sites.vib.be/en) focuses on using machine learning to extract mechanistic insight from neural data @ppjgoncalves.bsky.social
goncalvesgroup.sites.vib.be
100
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Yuxiu Shao’s (shaonannan.github.io) similarly investigates how network structure and connectivity motifs determine population dynamics and behaviour
shaonannan.github.io
Yuxiu SHAO | Laboratory Jean Alexandre Dieudonné, NeuroMod Institute, Université Côte d'Azur
The Minimal Light is a simple and elegant jekyll theme for academic personal homepage.
100
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Francesca Mastrogiuseppe’s group (datascience.sissa.it/person/408/f...) studies how connectivity shapes computation in recurrent neural networks, especially the low-rank structure she helped pioneer
datascience.sissa.it
data-science
110
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The Group for Neural Theory is an enviable place to work. At the heart of Paris’s Left Bank, it’s a literal stone’s throw from the Pantheon And it has a remarkable training record On the occasion of its 20th birthday celebrations this week, here’s a further sample of its alumni… gnt20.github.io
1134
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The Group for Neural Theory is celebrating its 20th birthday this week with a party in Paris! gnt20.github.io One thing we’re celebrating is its remarkable training record A thread…
12810
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
p.s. GNT alumni - tag yourself in the replies!
131
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
A huge thank you to the GNT’s founders, Boris Gutkin and Sophie Deneve, and its co-leads over the years, Christian Machens, Srdjan Ostojic, and Alex Cayco Gajic. Here’s to another 20 years!
182
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
And then there’s me - humphries-group.org. Which is why I’m writing this thread, to say a huge thank you on behalf of myself and all of the GNT's many trainees…
humphries-group.org
121
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Renaud Jardri’s group (pro.univ-lille.fr/en/renaud-ja...) investigates the neural and computational mechanisms underlying hallucinations and delusional beliefs
pro.univ-lille.fr
Renaud Jardri - Université de Lille
Professeur des universités-praticien hospitalier
121
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Heike Stein’s (heikestein.github.io) also bridges dynamics and behaviour, emphasising data-driven modelling of neural and behavioural dynamics. @heikestein.bsky.social
heikestein.github.io
Welcome!
121
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Gabrielle J. Gutierrez’s (gabriellejgutierrez.com) examines how intrinsic neuronal properties and circuit connectivity give rise to neural computations.
gabriellejgutierrez.com
Gabrielle J Gutierrez
Computational Neuroscientist
151
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Lorenzo Fontolan’s group (www.inmed.fr/neural-compu...) studies the neural basis of flexible behaviour, especially the dynamical systems involved. @lorifonto.bsky.social
inmed.fr
Neural computation and dynamics | Inmed
Institut de neurobiologie de la méditerranée
141
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Fleur Zeldenrust’s group (fleurzeldenrust.nl) focuses on the biophysics of neural computation. @fleurzeldenrust.bsky.social
fleurzeldenrust.nl
Fleur Zeldenrust
I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Neurophysiology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. With a training in both Physics a...
131
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
In that time, more than 30 PhD and postdoc alumni have gone on to start their own research groups. Read on for a sample!
121
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The Group for Neural Theory is celebrating its 20th birthday this week with a party in Paris! gnt20.github.io One thing we’re celebrating is its remarkable training record A thread…
12810
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
And they are looking for people to join them - you, reading this Join here: mchini.github.io/con2phys/ind... Read their Transmitter piece for more: www.thetransmitter.org/reproducibil...
mchini.github.io
CON²PHYS: CONceptual CONsistency in ePHYS — CON2PHYS documentation
040
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
A few years ago a pioneering study showed 70 teams of neuroimagers analysing the same dataset couldn’t agree on answers to the same basic questions (my take on that study is below) Now another brave team are aiming to do the same test for systems neuroscience… medium.com/the-spike/se...
medium.com
Seventy Teams of Scientists Analysed the Same Brain Data, and It Went Badly
What the latest fMRI “crisis” means for the rest of science
160
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Andreas Horn @andreashorn.org · 30/05/2026
Tremor is highly heterogeneous, leading to a familiar clinical puzzle: with deep brain stimulation (DBS), we can sometimes suppress a patient's rest tremor almost completely, while action tremor remains bothersome. www.cell.com/cell-reports...
1318
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Liana Akobian @lakobian.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I had a peek at the workshop program today and it's PACKED with amazing talks
052
Reposted by Mark D Humphries
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
The Group for Neural Theory in Paris turns 20 this year Come help us celebrate! June 11-12 at ENS, Paris. Keynotes: @jpillowtime.bsky.social / Cristina Savin /Ashok Litwin-Kumar Talks from GNT alumni Register for free, by May 20th www.eventbrite.com/e/gnt-turns-...
eventbrite.com
GNT TURNS 20!
This workshop will celebrate 20 years of neural theory!
0288
Mark D Humphries @markdhumphries.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Particularly odd is when the paper Infers inputs to C elegans neurons from Ca2+ activity - then doesn’t check whether those connections exist in the connectome
140