iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Jesper Sjöström

Blake Richards @tyrellturing.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Two tenure track positions are open in Computer Science @mcgill.ca ! Secure Software mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill... Quantum Computing mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill... Come join our department, and live in the coolest city in North America! (Yeah, I stand by that.)

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Tenure-Track Faculty Position in Computer Science: Secure Software and Computer Systems

Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

01811

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

4/4 Our accompanying Editorial argues that one of the next challenges for the field is to begin systematically charting the plasticitome. I hope this collection will stimulate new ideas, collaborations, and discussion. Editorial: www.frontiersin.org/journals/syn...

frontiersin.org

Frontiers | Editorial: The diversity of the plasticitome

Synaptic plasticity is widely regarded as a key cellular substrate for learning, memory, and adaptive circuit function. For decades, research has centered on...

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

3/4 A central message emerges... Rather than asking whether the learning rule is Hebbian, homeostatic, anti-Hebbian, or something else, perhaps we should also ponder the overall context. Which synapse type changes how? Which circuit? What conditions? We refer to this diversity as the plasticitome.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

2/4 The 14 articles in the collection span molecular mechanisms, modelling, cortical and hippocampal circuits, neuromodulation, development, disease, and new high-throughput plasticity methods. Collectively, they capture the striking diversity of synaptic learning rules across the brain.

100

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

🧪1/4 Our Frontiers Research Topic "The Diversity of the Plasticitome" is now published. Many thanks to co-editors Christina Chou, Serena Dudek, Clive Bramham, and Hyungju Park, authors, reviewers, and the Frontiers editorial team who made this collection possible. www.frontiersin.org/research-top...

frontiersin.org

Frontiers | The diversity of the plasticitome

The plasticity of synaptic connections is critical to the functioning of local circuits as it is thought to underlie information processing and storage in th...

120

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

At #FENS2026? Come see my PhD student Sabine Rannio’s poster Tuesday morning! Distinct pre- and postsynaptic NMDAR pools govern different forms of cortical plasticity. 📍PS01-07AM-021, 09:30–13:00 I’ll be around too, so come say hi! Next, off to Tuscany for the Synaptic Transmission GRC.

040

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

3/ IBRO World Congresses bring together neuroscientists from around the globe and are a great venue for showcasing emerging ideas, fostering collaborations, and connecting across disciplines.

100

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

2/ Have an exciting area of neuroscience that deserves a spotlight? Consider organizing a symposium and helping shape the scientific program. Submission deadline: 31 July 2026

100

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

🧪🧠 1/ The call for symposia for the @ibroorg.bsky.social World Congress 2027 is now open! The meeting will take place in Cape Town, South Africa 🇿🇦, 13–16 September 2027.

131

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

7/ Huge credit to the very talented grad students Airi Watanabe and Connie Guo for the enormous amount of work behind this review. Very proud of what they put together. #Neuroscience #Astrocytes #SynapticPlasticity #LearningAndMemory

021

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

6/ The review also connects astrocyte biology with ideas from machine learning, dendritic computation, eligibility traces, sparse coding, and degeneracy in neural systems.

121

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

5/ One theme throughout the review is that biological learning may rely less on explicit synapse-by-synapse “blame assignment” and more on permissive control over where and when plasticity can occur.

121

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

4/ We discuss astrocytes as: • permissive gates for plasticity • integrators of contextual and neuromodulatory signals • regulators of local microdomains • potential contributors to biological solutions to credit assignment

121

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

3/ The review asks whether plasticity is better understood not purely as a neuron-neuron “two-body” interaction, but as a three-body problem involving pre-, post-, and astrocytic compartments.

121

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

2/ Classic views of learning focus on neuron-to-neuron synaptic changes. But astrocytes are increasingly implicated in synaptic regulation, neuromodulation, memory, and circuit dynamics across multiple spatial and temporal scales.

121

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

🧪 1/ Our review “The 3-Body Problem: How Astrocytes May Govern Plasticity” is now out in The Neuroscientist. We explore the idea that astrocytes help determine when & where synaptic plasticity is permitted, reframing the credit assignment problem in biological circuits. doi.org/10.1177/1073...

doi.org

The 3-Body Problem: How Astrocytes May Govern Plasticity - Airi Watanabe, Connie Guo, P. Jesper Sjöström, 2026

Learning and memory were long thought to be the domains of neurons and neural networks, but recent work across brain systems has established that astrocytes pla...

1146

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Absolutely delighted and incredibly proud to see my better half, Alanna Watt, appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science at McGill!!! 🎉 Also a very meaningful milestone: she is the first woman to serve as Dean of Science at McGill. A big moment for the Faculty, and a very exciting one for McGill ❤️

030

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

We evaluated the loading time of the syncytium in Watanabe iScience 2023 — after 15 min, neighboring astrocytes start to fill up. www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

cell.com

The developmental profile of visual cortex astrocytes

Neuroscience; Developmental neuroscience; Cellular neuroscience; Sensory neuroscience

021

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Great to question! Hard to answer without knowing what the target concentration at the synapse needs to be. If you start with tens of mM in the pipette, it could be a matter of seconds if you only need tens of microM at the synapse.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

8/ This work thus strongly supports the emerging tripartite synapse view of plasticity, advocated by others before us at different synapse types. Would love to hear what people think. #Neuroscience #STDP #Astrocytes #SynapticPlasticity

020

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

7/ Huge congrats to very talented grad students Airi Watanabe and Connie Guo for driving this, and Shawniya Alageswaran for key analysis!

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

6/ Bottom line: this is not a neuron-only rule. L5 PC tLTD is tripartite. Astrocytes act as active integrators that gate and shape plasticity.

100

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

5/ CB1 agonist (ACEA) mimics LTD, but only when astrocyte Ca2+ signaling is intact. So endocannabinoids appear to act via astrocytes in this circuit.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

4/ Push astrocytes the other way: Optogenetic Gq activation during tLTD induction flips plasticity toward potentiation. So, astrocytes do not just permit plasticity -- they set its sign.

200

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

3/ Disrupt astrocyte Ca2+ signaling (CalEx or BAPTA) → tLTD is gone. Delete CB1 receptors from astrocytes → tLTD is gone. Astrocytes are thus critically needed.

100

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

2/ tLTD is usually framed as a 2-factor rule: pre + post activity. But that picture is incomplete. We show a third player is required: astrocytes.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

🧪 1/ New preprint from the lab: L5 pyramidal cell tLTD requires astrocyte Ca2+ and CB1 signaling www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We revisit a classic STDP result in visual cortex

biorxiv.org

2187

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Huge congratulations to Sabine, Rafael, and the team. This work helps resolve long-standing controversy and provides a unified framework for understanding how NMDAR location shapes synaptic function and circuit organization. Feedback very welcome. 6/6

040

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Together, the results reveal a fundamental organizing principle: NMDAR signaling is not monolithic, but follows a compartment-specific logic governing distinct forms of cortical plasticity. 5/6

180

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Key findings: • Presynaptic NMDARs regulate transmitter release • Postsynaptic NMDARs are required for associative strengthening • A double dissociation in STDP governed by distinct NMDAR pools • Postsynaptic NMDARs support long-term stabilization of dendritic spines and circuit architecture 4/6

160

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

By combining: • immunogold EM • sparse genetic deletion • paired recordings we were able to causally dissect presynaptic vs postsynaptic NMDA receptor function in cortical microcircuits. 3/6

120

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

I’m proud to share this bioRxiv preprint led by Sabine Rannio, representing years of exceptionally careful and technically demanding work. It also features beautiful immunogold electron microscopy by Rafael Luján, providing ultrastructural resolution of NMDAR localization. 2/6

130

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

🧪🧠 New preprint: helping resolve a decades-long debate in synaptic plasticity NMDA receptors are central to Hebbian learning. Yet for >30 years, the existence and function of presynaptic NMDA receptors have remained controversial. 📄 doi.org/10.64898/202... 1/6

doi.org

15519

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

🧪 Excellent review unpacking where Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity converge, and where they diverge. A clear framework for reconciling synaptic stability with learning-related change. Delighted to see this in the 'Diversity of the Plasticitome' research topic.

0103

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

🧪 This is a great IBRO opportunity for early-career researchers in global mental health neuroscience. #NCAMH offers real capacity building, collaboration, and proposal support. Check out the info webinar. #EarlyCareerResearchers #MentalHealthResearch #GlobalNeuroscience

032

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

4/ 🚫 Also note • One nomination only • Cannot already be enrolled or working in Canada • Prior tri-agency funding at the same level = ineligible

120

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

3/ 🏛️ How it works • Candidates are nominated by Canadian institutions • Applicants cannot apply directly • Research must align with designated national priority areas

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

2/ 🌍 Key eligibility caveat You must currently be outside Canada with no Canadian institutional affiliation at the time of nomination.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

1/ 🎓 What’s on offer • PhD: $40K/year, up to 3 years • Postdoc: $70K/year, up to 2 years • International + returning Canadian researchers eligible

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

🧪🧵 Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards — now open 🇨🇦 A new federal program to attract outstanding PhD students and postdocs currently outside Canada (including Canadians abroad).

11613

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

McGill is proud to participate and welcomes interest from outstanding candidates currently based outside Canada.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

The program offers long-term funding and strong institutional support to build ambitious, high-impact research programs in Canada.

100

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

This prestigious, one-time tri-agency initiative supports world-leading researchers whose work addresses major national and global challenges.

110

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

🧪📣 McGill University is recruiting exceptional researchers through the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program. #McGillResearch #ImpactPlus #AcademicCareers #ResearchLeadership

12310

Jesper Sjöström @pjsjostrom.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Delighted to share that I’ve been elected to the IBRO US/Canada Regional Committee. Looking forward to working with colleagues across North America and beyond to support neuroscience training, collaboration, and community-building. #BrainResearch #IBRO #NeuroCommunity #McGill #RIMUHC

010