Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialEric Denovellis @eric-denovellis.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I wanted to highlight the work of Alison Comrie et al. that recently came out in Neuron and I don’t think it is getting enough attention: paper: cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(26)00674-4 #neuroskyence 24220
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialAdrian Roggenbach @a-roggenbach.bsky.social · 24/08/2026⚠️PREPRINT ALERT⚠️ How can we better understand distributed brain activity across temporal and spatial scales? In this collaborative project, we combined ultra-flexible electrodes with two-photon imaging to illuminate brain-wide neural dynamics. Link: doi.org/10.21203/rs.... 1/8 13211
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialAndrew MacAskill @macaskillaf.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Congrats @jespass.bsky.social on her new paper! PFC is widely thought to talk to HPC via nucleus reuniens - but no one has tested if this actual connectivity exists. Turns out it's wired to block it: PFC inputs to reuniens contact only neurons projecting back to PFC, not ones projecting to HPC. 🧪🧠📈biorxiv.orgNucleus reuniens is organised as parallel circuits rather than a prefrontal-hippocampal relayInteractions between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HPC) are crucial for flexible and memory guided behaviour. Because there are no direct projections from PFC to HPC, it is widely presu... 15417
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialbioRxiv Neuroscience @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 17/08/2026Nucleus reuniens is organised as parallel circuits rather than a prefrontal-hippocampal relay www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 081
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialAbraham Zelalem Vollan @azvollan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Now in Science: How does the brain’s navigation system allocate its limited representational resources during behavior? We found that grid cells sweep toward locations of interest, providing a potential mechanism for allocating spatial attention in the cognitive map.🧵 science.org/doi/10.1126/... 512150
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialThe Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Kevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social talks to Timothy Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social about which neural systems the field has genuinely cracked. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/computationa...thetransmitter.orgSuccess stories from computational neuroscienceKevin Mitchell talks with Timothy Behrens about ring attractors, the role of innate structure, and an expanded view of cognitive maps. 03815
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialThe Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 06/08/2026For 30 years, neuroscientists have argued about whether theta sweeps are just passive sensing, or something closer to planning. So which is it? #neuroskyence By @natmesanash.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/memory/new-f...thetransmitter.orgNew findings begin to resolve theta sweep debateTheta sweeps have been mired in controversy for decades, but the emerging consensus view suggests that they function in attention and goal direction. 0289
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialStanley Heinze @stanley-heinze.bsky.social · 30/07/2026New preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Nearly a decade after starting the project, the first major results from our comparative connectomics work is online! Comparing the head direction circuits of the central complex in bees, ants and flies, recapitulating >300million years of evolution. 615963
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialHelen 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.socialbiorxiv.orgGenerative replay across hippocampal-neocortical circuitsTo 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 ... 413463
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialTim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 24/07/2026This is a spectacular paper 0192
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialOpen Neuroscience @open-neuroscience.com · 07/07/2026📜 Project Showcase 🛠️ pyControl: Open source, Python-based, behavioural experiment control. 👩💻 🧑💻 Developed by Thomas Akam 👀 To learn more about it: open-neuroscience.com/en/post/pyco... #OpenSoftware #OpenScience #OpenSource 183
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialAntonioFR @antferrui.bsky.social · 06/07/2026Our work on goal-directed theta sweeps is out! We found two different types of theta sweeps in the rat hippocampus. During random foraging, left-right alternating sweeps dominated (Vollan, 25). However, during memory-guided navigation sweeps pointing to hidden goal locations emerged with learning. 25221
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Beautiful! Hippocampal theta sweeps are biased towards sampling more promising futures 🧹📍 050
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialAlon Baram @alonbaram.bsky.social · 29/06/2026How does the human brain extract abstract structure from experience? We show that sensory-independent relational representations emerge in mPFC over several days. Work with @mgarvert.bsky.social and @behrenstimb.bsky.social now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social: www.cell.com/current-biol... 211640
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialMathias Sablé-Meyer @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Good scientist, terrible designer? We feel you. Inspired by MetBrewer, the palette chooser for the connoisseurs, @sandra-neuro.bsky.social and I present EraBrewer: great looking colours for us Swifties! github.com/mathias-sm/E... cran.r-project.org/web/packages... 1144
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 15/06/2026This makes some fun experimental predictions ... 👀📈 @lpriestley.bsky.social 060
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialTim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 11/06/2026This is one of the coolest things I have been involved with. Truly flexible navigation in mice. Real insight into how mPFC computes the plans. Great fun to see what PFC is doing with those hippocampal theta sweeps. From the awesome @peterdoohan.bsky.social and (now on bsky) @thomasakam.bsky.social 0201
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialMohamady El-Gaby @melgaby.bsky.social · 11/06/2026This paper is so cool that it’s finally convinced @thomasakam.bsky.social to join Bluesky 0193
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 12/06/2026But! @sandra-neuro.bsky.social & co at SWC are working on mini2p recordings on similarly rich cognitive tasks, where we'll be able to link function to detailed anatomy. We share your intuition that these are likely anatomically/genetically distinct cell types :) watch this space! 010
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 12/06/2026We didn't get consistent sampling of superficial & deep cells across subjects in this dataset (mostly layer 5 by our best estimates). 110
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialThomas Akam @thomasakam.bsky.social · 11/06/2026This project builds on work establishing the behaviour done at Champalimaud in Lisbon with @michaelfsp.bsky.social, Beatriz Godinho, Christian Machens, and @ruimcosta.bsky.social : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgFlexible route planning and rapid structure learning by mice in complex environmentsAction selection using predictive models of the environment plays a fundamental role in human and animal behaviour, yet is poorly understood at circuit and algorithmic levels. Spatial navigation is an... 1268
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialKris Jensen @kristorpjensen.bsky.social · 11/06/2026It has been super fun to work on this, where we learned that: 1) Mouse PFC is needed for model-based override of habits. 2) Separate PFC populations encode a 'policy' and the current 'value'. 3) The policy and value codes alternate theta sweeps towards the goal. ...and much much more! 03912
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026All data, analysis code & relevant docs are publicly available. Ready for anyone to start making their own discoveries 💡 See code & data availability section of manuscript :) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgStructured and flexible representations in medial-frontal cortex support goal-directed navigationHumans and animals plan actions to achieve goals in worlds that are complex and continually changing. While planning is critically dependent on the prefrontal cortex in humans, little is known about i... 0112
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Finally, a big thank you to all our co-authors Yaqing Chen, Beatriz Godinho, @charlesdgburns.bsky.social, Xiao Qin, Josie Emery, Ryan Cini, Mark Walton + everyone in the Akam and Behrens labs across SWC & Oxford for their support! 150
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026We think these dynamics suggest a theta-paced computation for making goal-directed decisions: future positions sampled by the hippocampal formation get evaluated by their distance-to-goal in mFC to update a representation of behavioural policy 📍📏⤵️ 7/7 150
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Both codes came together within theta oscillations, each sweeping from further to closer to the goal, but at a systematic offset 🔄 6/7 171
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026The second was flexible, and useful for evaluating possible futures: a population code for shortest-path distance-to-goal 5/7 140
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026The first resembled an efficient representation of the animals’ current behavioural policy: built from neurons tuned to conjunctions of maze place and movement direction 4/7 141
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Mice used knowledge of maze structures to navigate efficiently, and in mFC we found two neural representations carrying this structured knowledge… 3/7 130
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026We thought the medial frontal cortex (mFC) might be important, and show that it is using optogenetic inhibition⚡️ 2/7 130
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 11/06/2026How do brains plan actions towards goals? To get at this question we studied mice navigating complex mazes as goals changed on every trial 🧵 Work with @thomasakam.bsky.social @behrenstimb.bsky.social @kristorpjensen.bsky.social now on BioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 411846
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialHelen Barron @helencbarron.bsky.social · 13/03/2026Today! 13:15–16:15 poster session #cosyne26 @sumedhanalluru.bsky.social 092
peterdoohan.bsky.social @peterdoohan.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Come see what grid cells do on complex mazes tonight at #cosyne2026 :) @charlesdgburns.bsky.social 030
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialMathias Sablé-Meyer @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social · 22/01/2026Excited to see this Version Of Record of my work out in @elife.bsky.social! elifesciences.org/articles/106... We investigate the mental representation of geometric shapes in adults and children using fMRI and MEG. Each figure has a video of me explaining the figure: go and read it, or read below. 14415
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialBlake Russell @neurorussell.bsky.social · 26/01/2026Out today in Neurophotonics, we show that cross-talk between the imaging laser and opsin in all-optical experiments can affect response dynamics beyond what has been accounted for. Imaging conditions subthreshold for evoking spikes can accelerate opsin desensitization: doi.org/10.1117/1.NP...doi.org 135
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialPortugues Lab @portugueslab.bsky.social · 02/01/20261/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich. 15926
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialSebastijan Veselic @sebves.bsky.social · 15/11/20251/ Excited to share that our symposium review covering cognitive mapping in the PFC just came out in the Journal of Neuroscience: www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...jneurosci.orgCognitive Maps in the Prefrontal CortexThe prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for our ability to rapidly and flexibly adapt our behavior in new environments based on our previous experience. Despite its importance, the neural substrates a... 1129
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialMathias Sablé-Meyer @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social · 14/11/2025Come join us at #SfN25 for the minisymposium "Cognitive Maps in the Prefrontal Cortex"! Saturday, Nov 15, 2:00-4:30pm, Room SDCC 6CF www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171... We will explore how the PFC represents structured relationships across species and how this supports flexible behavior. 1278
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialBlake Russell @neurorussell.bsky.social · 15/10/2025🚨New pre-print!🚨 Can we truly independently read and write neuronal activity at the same time using all-optical techniques? Here we show that even two-photon imaging over large fields of view with low dwell time per cell can bias neural dynamics! Read on for some potential fixes: (1/5)biorxiv.orgDesensitization of opsin responses during all-optical interrogation depends on imaging parametersSignificance The combination of two-photon calcium imaging and two-photon optogenetic stimulation, termed all-optical interrogation, provides spatial and temporal precision when recording and manipula... 252
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialHelen Barron @helencbarron.bsky.social · 06/10/2025** We have up to TWO funded PhD positions available in our lab!! Apply below to find new ways to enhance memory👇 Pls retweet ** Deadline: 2nd December 1. Cross-species closed-loopTMR: tinyurl.com/bddu4tp6 2. TUS and TMR in humans: tinyurl.com/jjws5ctj Happy to chat to interested applicants.tinyurl.comEnhancing memory using cross-species closed-loop Targeted Memory Reactivation | mrcbndu 15046
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialSimon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 04/10/2025Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350.... A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n 🗣️🧬🧪 49136
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialManfredi Castelli @manfredic.bsky.social · 02/10/2025I’m pleased to share our new paper, “Hippocampal ripple diversity organizes neuronal reactivation dynamics in the offline brain”, out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social ! With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics 47128
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialKris Jensen @kristorpjensen.bsky.social · 24/09/2025I’m super excited to finally put my recent work with @behrenstimb.bsky.social on bioRxiv, where we develop a new mechanistic theory of how PFC structures adaptive behaviour using attractor dynamics in space and time! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 922286
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialDeng Pan @dengpan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025🚨We believe this is a major step forward in how we study hippocampus function in healthy humans. Using novel behavioral tasks, fMRI, RL & RNN modeling, and transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), we demonstrate the causal role of hippocampus in relational structure learning. 213247
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialBen Kanter @beneuroscience.bsky.social · 26/06/2025Our new paper out now in Science explores how neural activity in the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) *drifts* over time - and *jumps* at key boundaries - to help organize events in memory. 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Here's a quick summary of what we found 🧵👇science.orgEvent structure sculpts neural population dynamics in the lateral entorhinal cortexOur experience of the world is a continuous stream of events that must be segmented and organized at multiple timescales. The neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unknown. In this work, we... 911336
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialThe Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 26/05/2025Large-scale projects run the risk of stifling scientific independence. Instead, let’s explore alternative mechanisms of collaboration, writes @neuralreckoning.bsky.social. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/funding/neur...thetransmitter.orgNeuroscience needs to empower early-career researchers, not fund moon shotsLarge-scale projects run the risk of stifling scientific independence. Instead, let’s explore alternative mechanisms of collaboration. 313444
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialHelen Barron @helencbarron.bsky.social · 13/05/2025*** Come join us !! We are recruiting !! *** How does the brain generate beliefs that go beyond direct experience? How do these mechanisms go awry in psychosis? The Barron lab tinyurl.com/bdf4drjf @MRCBNDU @NDCNOxford are recruiting a new postdoc tinyurl.com/ut4vbwt4 to work in mouse modelstinyurl.comBarron Group | mrcbnduOur group investigates how cells and circuits in the brain work together to perform computations that support memory. Using a wide range of technical approaches, we investigate how these computations ... 23031
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialMohamady El-Gaby @melgaby.bsky.social · 09/05/2025This is not to be missed. You’ll spend your day trying to make RNNs psychotic. And we’ll pay you for it! 0124
Reposted by @peterdoohan.bsky.socialEuropean Commission @ec.europa.eu · 05/05/2025"Science is an investment. We will put forward a new 500 million package for 2025-2027 to support the best and the brightest researchers and scientists from Europe and around the world." — President @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu at the ‘Choose Europe for Science' event at La Sorbonne 🇫🇷 35963301
