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Phil Deming

@phildeming.bsky.social
442 followers 290 following 92 posts

I study emotion, psychopathy, and the brain. Postdoc in psychology at Northeastern University. On the academic job market. Ph.D. in psychology at University of Wisconsin-Madison. philipdeming.com

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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
@ssspsychopathy.bsky.social @ssspstudents.bsky.social
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Our proposal also unites seemingly disparate strands of study and prior theory - it's compatible with theories that center emotion and those that center attention as the primary sources of dysfunction. Lastly, we highlight new research directions and treatment routes that stem from our theory. /8
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
The paper starts with the anatomy of the brain's allostatic-interoceptive system and eventually dives down to the level of cortical layers. This introduces neuroanatomical units that have so far been ignored in the search for brain mechanisms of psychopathy. 7/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
We also argue for moving to idiographic approaches - studying individuals brains regulating individual bodies in context. 6/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
There's no need to infer 'fear' from the skin conductance response. It will be more fruitful to use this measure to better understand how the brain is preparing the body to meet the demands of the current moment. 5/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
But we argue that reverse inference is unnecessary. Instead, when we measure activity of the brain, heart, lungs, etc., we are simply taking a snapshot of the brain's allostatic process. And this may actually be a more useful and translatable framework for interpreting data. 4/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This is a novel hypothesis that I think challenges some assumptions common to the field. Those assumptions are: 1. A person's mental state can be inferred from measures of biology (this is called reverse inference). 2. Group-level results will generalize to individuals. 3/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
We make this argument base on 20+ years of MRI data, which show altered white matter, functional connectivity, and task-based activity within the brain's 'allostatic-interoceptive system.' 2/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
New paper: We argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception - the process by which the brain senses the internal conditions of the body and regulates those conditions in a context-appropriate manner. w/ @clare-shaffer.bsky.social 1/ doi.org/10.1016/j.av...
doi.org
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 08/07/2026
Monday, July 13th is the LAST DAY that you can leave a public comment on Russell Vought's science-destroying OMB Grant Proposal. Join us from 2 - 3PM ET to learn what comes next, hear from experts, and learn how the proposal will affect you. Register at the link in our bio or go here:zurl.co/tH8hn
The graphic displays an image of Russell Vought and the logos of Stand Up for Science, teh American Association of University Professors, and the American Federation of Teachers. The graphic reads: "VIRTUAL & ACCESSIBLE, REGISTRATION LINK IN BIO! OMB DEADLINE DAY, Monday, July 13th, 2 - 3PM ET, The Fight is Just Beginnig, Learn what comes next in the fight, Hear from scientists, experts, and MoCs, Learn how the proposal will effect you".
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Stephanie Noble @sneuroble.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
So glad to finally share work years in the making! What started with fMRI effect size benchmarks ended up showing that conventional study planning detects ~half of expected brain effects, suggesting more distributed processes than the lit shows (+ new methods for mass univ effect/power estimation)
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Today, our #SCIMaP team released an impact analysis of the White House proposed FY 2027 NIH and NSF budgets. Bottom-line: if enacted, cuts to science and medical research would lead to $35B in economic losses and 150,000 lost jobs in communities all across the US. scienceimpacts.org 🧵
Landing page for scienceimpacts.org
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
I'll be attending the SSSP conference in a few weeks and would love to discuss our work with anyone interested. @ssspsychopathy.bsky.social @ssspstudents.bsky.social 6/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Finally, in our view, focusing on allostasis would change how we study psychopathy - challenging common assumptions at the heart of theory and study, opening new research directions, and suggesting new treatment avenues. 5/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
We also see our theory as a bridge between prior theories, which are often thought to be incompatible. It turns out, we're repeating some of what has been said before about psychopathy... but we're specifying a novel underlying brain system and centering allostasis. 4/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
But the evidence on brain alterations in psychopathy is highly heterogeneous. We review this heterogeneity and offer two possible explanations that complement our allostatic perspective. 3/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
We make predictions for how allostatic dysfunction may produce symptoms of psychopathy, like shallow affect, lack of remorse, and aggression. 2/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Updated preprint: @clare-shaffer.bsky.social and I synthesize brain evidence to argue that psychopathy is a disorder of allostasis and interoception (regulating and sensing the body, respectively). 1/ doi.org/10.31234/osf...
doi.org
OSF
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Athena Akrami @athenaakrami.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Academic friends, It's beyond heartbreaking to watch what's unfolding in Iran & the region. A few of us drafted an open letter calling for protection of civilians & of educational, research, medical & cultural institutions. Please read & sign if you agree: sites.google.com/view/protect... #IranWar
sites.google.com
Protect Academic Life in Iran
We, the undersigned academics and researchers from around the world, express our profound concern over recent military strikes on Iran, the retaliatory responses, and the reported impact on civilian l...
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
That said, I agree with Dr. Marsh's point that we need to develop treatments for people with psychopathy, and that doing so will benefit the individuals themselves and not just the people they harm. 5/end
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
It's worth refuting the amygdala narrative because I think there's a more interesting story emerging from the data. That is, people with psychopathy show dysfunction in a distributed brain system. IMO, that system is responsible for sensing and regulating the body. 4/ doi.org/10.31234/osf...
doi.org
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Critically, this included studies of fear conditioning and emotion processing, which many neuroscientists think of as the 'bread and butter' of the amygdala (sometimes called the brain's 'fear center' - I disagree with this, but I digress). 3/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Notably, the article cites a couple of papers that have found smaller/less active amygdalae in relation to psychopathy. When we reviewed 134 brain studies of psychopathy, we found this relationship was not consistent. Most studies found no relationship. 2/ doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Using this article to shamelessly promote my own work. Dr. Marsh states that people with psychopathy show "pretty consistent differences in an area of the brain called the amygdala." My own work shows otherwise. 1/
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SSSP @ssspsychopathy.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
The Abstract submission date has been extended to 15 December 2025. We look forward to more of your best work being submitted for our SSSP 2026 conference. @ssspstudents.bsky.social psychopathysociety.org/page/Upcomin...
psychopathysociety.org
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to share my latest research with @urneuroscience.bsky.social. @drnathanasmith.bsky.social and everyone were great hosts - our conversations will certainly shape my research going forward. Read my research here: doi.org/10.31234/osf... doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I'm very excited to share my research with the Rochester neuroscience community!
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Alex Galvez-Pol @alexgalvezpol.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
New preprint: "Bodily Rhythms Gate Action–Perception Coupling" Cardiorespiratory cycles gate when it's best to sense & act on the world, shaping when precision peaks Active sensing + Interoception + Active inference 🧠 🔗 bit.ly/3MinQIi w/ @micahgallen.com; Lucas Naranjo; @jameskilner.bsky.social
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Here are our lab's recent papers on interoception and allostasis. www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
cell.com
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
The authors review evidence that the primary function of the brain, supported by distributed neural systems, is the predictive regulation of physiology (i.e., allostasis). An example from Alzheimer’s ...
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Enjoyed this read on the growing field of #interoception neuroscience. Of course, I was also excited to see the article twice cited our lab's recent work, spearheaded by Jiahe Zhang and @jtheriault.bsky.social. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/s...
nytimes.com
Mapping the Sense of What’s Going On Inside
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Mara Mather @maramather.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Neat that my review of Zhang et al.'s "Cortical and subcortical mapping of the human allostatic–interoceptive system using 7 Tesla fMRI" was quoted in this Research Briefing. It was one of my favorite papers I reviewed in 2024! rdcu.be/eOlTT by Jiahe Zhang, @lisafeldmanbarrett.com and others
rdcu.be
Evidence from 7 Tesla fMRI of intrinsic network supporting allostasis in the human brain
Nature Neuroscience - Functional connectivity analyses using ultra-high precision 7 Tesla functional MRI identified a unified system for allostasis and interoception that included more than 96% of...
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
This looks like a super useful for anyone doing fMRI work. Congrats to @halleeshearer.bsky.social, @sneuroble.bsky.social, @alexkfischbach.bsky.social and their team!
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Julia Moser @drjuliamoser.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
🚨 New preprint on the first infant 7T MRI project in North America! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We showcase that by leveraging 7T for infants, we can improve data quality and thereby facilitate precision functional mapping in early development.
biorxiv.org
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
#interoception #neuropapers
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Sensing and regulating the body may be core functions of the brain. For more on this, check out our other recent paper here: www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
cell.com
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
The authors review evidence that the primary function of the brain, supported by distributed neural systems, is the predictive regulation of physiology (i.e., allostasis). An example from Alzheimer’s ...
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
The system contained several hub regions (with connections to multiple other networks), suggesting this system may serve as the backbone of brain function.
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Check out our new paper, where we used 7T fMRI to map out a brain system central to sensing and regulating the body! Based on prior animal studies - which tracked white matter traveling to/from the body - we mapped this system from cerebral cortical networks down to subcortex and brainstem nuclei.
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Alex Fischbach @alexkfischbach.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
To kick things off, I’m organizing a monthly “how-to” workshop series ft. leading scientists who will share practical/technical skills w/ the global SP-SIG community. If you or anyone you know is interested in participating, please reach out! @ohbmtrainees.bsky.social @ohbmofficial.bsky.social
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Rebecca Boehme @rebeccaboehme.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Psychedelics alter neurovascular coupling, which means we need to critically re-evaluate fMRI findings of acute psychedelic effects #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism alters neurovascular coupling and differentially affects neuronal and hemodynamic measures of brain function - Nature Neuroscience
Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI studies of psychedelics.
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Stephanie Noble @sneuroble.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
That’s right—open neuro AND behavioral (+ESM) data! So looking forward to the cross-field conversations about methods! 🧠✨
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
@ssspsychopathy.bsky.social @ssspstudents.bsky.social
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Long story short: Viewing the brain as a regulatory organ (aimed at maintaining the body's organ systems) will change how we study and attempt to treat psychopathy. /end
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Highlights: we outline the allostatic-interoceptive system by diving into the neuroanatomy we review MRI evidence related to psychopathy we grapple with heterogeneity across studies and offer possible explanations we discuss how this view might shift research on psychopathy and aggression 3/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
To make this argument, @clare-shaffer.bsky.social and I pieced together evidence from MRI studies that measured white matter connectivity, functional connectivity, and task-based activity. We found dysfunction of the brain's allostatic-interoceptive system. 2/
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Psychopathy - a devastating disorder that upends victims' lives - may be best understood as a disorder of allostasis (the brain regulating the body) and interoception (the brain sensing the body). New preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf... 1/
doi.org
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SSSP @ssspsychopathy.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
We are now inviting submissions for the 11th biennial meeting of SSSP that will be held at the Dallas Marriott Downtown in Dallas, TX, USA on May 6-9th, 2026. The deadline for submissions is December 1st, 2025. Please see tinyurl.com/352zbztk for submission guidelines.
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John Holbein @johnholbein1.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
In response to anti-DEI legislation in the states, universities have started to hire more white male faculty. This increase starts before bills are signed into law. Universities appear to be anticipating anti-DEI legislation and preemptively hiring more white men.
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Phil Deming @phildeming.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
The brain constantly senses and regulates the body. These sensory and regulatory signals are not merely background signals of interest only to physiologists. Instead, these 'allostatic' signals are central to neural and cognitive function. Great new work from our lab led by @jtheriault.bsky.social.
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Anthony Vaccaro @agvacca.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
📢 I'll be recruiting a PhD student in Developmental Psychology for 2026 at UNC Chapel Hill! Student will be co-mentored with Dr. Eva Telzer at the Winston Center. Interests in naturalistic fMRI/fNIRS, developmental affective neuro, and behavioral addictions would be great fits.
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