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Simone Papa

@simonepapa.bsky.social
380 followers 451 following 236 posts

Phd in Neuroscience (ETH) Neurobehavioural Dynamics Lab Neurobiology - Sapienza University | EMBL - Visual Systems Neuroscience; - Neurophysiology and functional neuroanatomy (Visuomotor System); - Computational Neuroscience (Modelling & ANN)

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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Communicating sensitive science 🧬🔬 At the LERU Workshop in Paris, we explored transparency, ethics and dialogue around animal research & NAMs. A key takeaway: sensitive science should be understandable, contextualised and open to informed discussion. #SciComm #LERU #OpenScience
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Exploring Scientifica 2026 at ETH Zürich 🔬🧠 From neuroscience and animal cognition to AI and emerging technologies, a chance to step beyond our own fields and rediscover scientific curiosity. Especially enjoyed Laura Bégon-Lours’ talk on brain-like chips. #Scientifica2026 #SciComm
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Honoured to receive the Genio Galateo Award 🧠🏅 For my MSc thesis in Neurobiology (EMBL & Sapienza). Receiving this recognition in my hometown is especially significant. Investing in young researchers, education, and science means investing in the future of our communities. #Neuroscience #research
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Science, a pint, and a closer look at the brain 👁️🧠🍺 At, I attended a fascinating talk by Jenny Imhof on how eye-related signals can reveal motor performance. A great reminder of how informal events can make science engaging even for those who do it every day. #Neuroscience #SciComm #PintofScience
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Exploring translational pediatric research 🧠🔬 Visited Forschungszentrum für das Kind at Kinderspital Zürich, where neuroscience, oncology, genetics, and precision medicine converge to improve care for children. Translational brain tumor research bridging lab and clinic. #Neuroscience #BrainTumor
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Communicating science matters, doing it well matters more! At ETH Zürich’s workshop with Michel Büchel and Vinzenz Greiner, we explored how to turn research into clear, engaging stories. Not simplification, shaping the message. #CommunicationsAcademy #SocialMedia #Neuroscience
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Metabolism Meets Mind 🔬🧠 Attended ETH Zürich D-HEST seminars on liver–brain axis, adipose signalling, and germline regulation. Talks highlighted how deeply interconnected physiology is, from metabolism to brain function and inheritance. #Neuroscience #Metabolism #SystemsBiology
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Brains, Code & Circuits 🧠⚡ Attended Spring 2026 INI seminars (UZH/ETH): spiking learning, birdsong algorithms, neural development, neuromorphic LLMs. From global error to local dynamics, where neuroscience meets AI. Excited for what’s next! #Neuroinformatics #Neuromorphic #AI
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Your Pupils, Your Mind 👁️🧠 Pupil size isn’t just light reflex: it tracks “pupil-linked arousal” shaped by neuromodulators (NA, ACh, 5-HT, orexin). The piece argues pupils are a 1D readout of multidimensional brain states. #Neuroscience #Arousal #Pupillometry #Orexin www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
cell.com
Neurobehavioral meaning of pupil size
Grujic et al. summarize the optical, neural, and behavioral consequences, as well as mechanisms, of pupil-linked arousal. They incorporate novel findings and identify gaps in the literature while prov...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
A perspective piece questions the #ArealizationParadigm (the idea of neatly bounded brain areas with single functions). Anatomical, genetic, and connectivity maps often disagree, and large-scale recordings suggest cognition is widely distributed. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #neuroscience
nature.com
Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization - Nature Neuroscience
Parcellation of the cortex into functionally modular brain areas is foundational to neuroscience. Here, Hayden, Heilbronner and Yoo question the central status of brain areas in neuroscience from the ...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
I am pleased to share that I have commenced my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in Neuroscience at @ethz.ch Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich! #ETH #PhD #Neuroscience #DHest
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
A new Scientific Horizons article by Öykü Nur Kesek and Nicolas Hubacz explores how adolescent stress shapes the brain, alongside new insights into neuronal communication. Emerging links between mental health, neural development, and information processing. www.linkedin.com/pulse/mappin...
linkedin.com
Mapping Stress in the Teenage Brain and How Neurons Communicate
Scientific Horizons is your gateway to expert-driven insights, uncovering the latest breakthroughs in healthcare, biotech and scientific research Mapping Stress in the Teenage Brain and Body: The Conn...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Non-invasive temporal interference #stimulation can quiet deep epileptic networks. In MTLE patients, TI targeting the #hippocampus reduced seizure biomarkers and limited spread, with lasting effects beyond stimulation, offering a promising option for drug-resistant #epilepsy without surgery.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
A new #Brain study shows cortico-basal oscillations track real-world movement in #Parkinson’s patients with #DBS. These rhythms change predictably during daily actions. Measuring brain signals in natural settings could enable adaptive, personalized stimulation beyond the clinic (Michael S Oku)
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
A colleague’s new study in #Biomolecules compares β- and γ-synuclein aggregation across vertebrates. It reveals species-specific differences in aggregation propensity and copper sensitivity, offering new insights into #synuclein dynamics and mechanisms. www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
A new #fluorescent sensor, iGluSnFR3, reveals #glutamate release at #synapses in real time 🧠✨ Developed by teams from the Allen Institute, HHMI, and UC San Diego, it makes the brain’s fastest signals visible, enabling deeper insight into how #neurons communicate across networks.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Season’s greetings from the microscopy world! A festive YFP-labeled neuron lights up an enlightened mouse brain from the Noé Rodriguez collection, with creative work by Stanislav Pelekhov (Ksena Longrin) Happy holidays! #microscopy #neuroscience #neuron
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
I attended “Spremuta di Cervelli” on #education and the future of learning, focusing on how #neuroscience and #AI intersect. The discussion explored how attention, memory, motivation, and emotion shape learning, and how algorithms may transform #teaching without losing sight of #brain complexity.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Over a year of #FluorescenceFriday showcased biology in true 3D, from intact human tissues to neural and immune networks, tumors, and vasculature. Structure, context, and relationships. In biology, context isn’t optional, it’s ground truth (Alpenglow Biosciences)
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
#Bioinformatics is a fast-growing market: $10.1B in 2022, projected to reach $18.7B by 2027 (13% CAGR) Growth is driven by public and private funding, while high equipment costs remain a barrier. Emerging markets offer major opportunities, and data security will define long-term winners.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Music improvisation rewires the brain in real time. Jazz studies show that creative freedom boosts auditory, motor coupling and salience networks, while structured tasks engage evaluative control systems. Creativity emerges from dynamic shifts. neurosciencenews.com/music-improv...
neurosciencenews.com
Music Improvisation Rewires the Brain in Real Time - Neuroscience News
Creativity is notoriously difficult to study as it unfolds, but musical improvisation offers a rare chance to watch spontaneous idea-generation in action.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
This Thursday we’re hosting an event on #Education at the intersection of #neuroscience and #AI. We’ll explore how brains and algorithms learn through error, feedback, and adaptation, and what this means for attention, memory, teaching practices, and the future role of educators.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Researchers from the Allen Institute and Japan’s University of Electro-Communications used supercomputer Fugaku to simulate the full mouse cortex, 10M neurons and 26B synapses. Built on open data, this virtual brain lets scientists explore how disorders emerge. alleninstitute.org/news/one-of-...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
A new study introduces high-plex spatial RNA imaging in a single round using color-intensity barcodes and standard microscopes, enabling scalable transcript mapping. Open textbook Principles of Light Microscopy, accessed over 44,000 times (Volodymyr Nechyporuk-Zloy). www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
A new study shows motor cortex stimulation eases chronic pain not via motor circuits, but through non-motor networks in the precentral gyrus. nTMS mapping can target these regions precisely, enabling more personalized and effective treatments for pain. (Nicolas Hubacz, M.S) #ChronicPain #TMS
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
I attended “Brain Aging - How time shapes the brain,” exploring how aging alters memory, attention, and connectivity, while plasticity and circuit reorganization support resilience👨‍🦳🧠. #BrainAging
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Attended the seminar “What can we learn from stochastic parrots?” at UPF Barcelona, great insights on LLMs and cognition (Jarosław R. Lelonkiewicz). Also visited IMIM’s Neurosciences Department, focused on mental and neurodegenerative disorders and the misuse of psychoactive substances. #neuro
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
New research finds the brain moves through five wiring epochs, with key shifts at ages 9, 32, 66, and 83. The biggest change in the early 30s ends adolescent-like connectivity and begins adult stability, shaping learning, cognition, and vulnerabilities. neurosciencenews.com/brain-aging-...
neurosciencenews.com
Your Brain Quietly Rewires Itself at 9, 32, 66 and 83 - Neuroscience News
Researchers identified five major phases of human brain wiring that unfold from birth to old age, marked by four major turning points at ages 9, 32, 66, and 83.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
The inflammatory reflex shows how the brain regulates immunity through the vagus nerve: signals reach the spleen, activate T cells, and release acetylcholine to reduce TNF-α. Inflammation isn’t only chemical, it’s electrical, with the brain telling the immune system when to calm down (James Durham)
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Researchers mapped the genetic architecture of the corpus callosum using an AI tool that detects it across MRI types. Studying 50k people, they identified genes shaping its size and links to neuropsychiatric disorders (by Anna Sara Liberati) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
New work shows that temporarily silencing the amblyopic #retina can reopen visual pathways in adults. Restoration depends on T-type calcium channel–driven bursting, offering a potential therapy that avoids blocking the stronger eye (by Eveline Ruehlin). neurosciencenews.com/vision-resto...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
I attended a talk on how dopamine prediction-error mechanisms mirror the way modern algorithms learn, anticipate, and shape our desires. We explored the links between reward, addiction, daily habits, and AI-from chocolate to notifications and emerging algorithmic “bubbles”. #BrAIns #Dopamine
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Stunning work from the Lichtman Lab & Google Connectomics: a true 3D EM reconstruction of a single cortical neuron, with every yellow dot marking a synapse. AI tools trace thousands of spines, revealing the micro-architecture of cortical computation. One cell, an entire universe (Nicolas Hubacz)
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Science communication is getting easier. Francois El-Dahe used NotebookLM to generate an infographic from their paper on microglia in zebrafish brain repair, no edits, just minutes of work. For those of us who aren’t designers, AI finally lets ideas take visual form. #SciComm #AItools
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Mind and body form one system. As Gabor Maté shows, emotional stress shapes our physiology, from PTSD-linked illness to the systemic burdens that raise autoimmune risk. Trauma lives in the body,and understanding this is key to somatic, science-based healing. #trauma www.instagram.com/p/DO3e75kAZxD/
instagram.com
Trauma + Somatics on Instagram: "The mind and the body are one inseparable system. Dr. Gabor Maté explains that our emotions, nervous system, and immune system are all part of a single, integrated ne...
The Trauma and Somatics (T+S) Practitioner Certificate Program teaches you to work directly with the physiological imprints of trauma, including those shaped by systemic pressures. Join our next cohor...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Joined “Brain Rot, Digital Infodemia Consumes Attention”: a look at how the brain struggles with fragmented info while AI systems exploit attention. A dive into how constant connectivity reshapes creativity, knowledge, and free thought. Attention, dopamine overload and memory effects. #BrainJuice
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
New research shows your brain doesn’t respond the same way throughout the day. Neural excitability and learning capacity follow daily rhythms shaped by adenosine, creating “windows” when the brain is most primed to adapt. neurosciencenews.com/synaptic-pla... #daily #neuroscience #adapt
neurosciencenews.com
Brain Learning Power Peaks at Specific Times of Day - Neuroscience News
A new study reveals that the brain’s responsiveness and capacity for learning shift with the time of day, governed by molecules like adenosine that link metabolism, sleep, and neural signaling.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
#AI is shifting from chatbots to systems that act. Autonomous agents, edge models, multimodal AI, scientific FMs, generative robotics, and new hardware will remake every industry. The question is no longer what AI can say, but what it will build, fix, and discover next (Aaron Lax)
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
A rare neuron type that dies under chronic stress turns out to control brain blood flow and neural activity. Losing these cells sharply reduces circulation, suggesting stress may play a direct role in dementia-related brain changes. neurosciencenews.com/stress-demen... #dementia #stress #neuro
neurosciencenews.com
Stress Undermines Brain Circulation, Increases Dementia Risk - Neuroscience News
Researchers found that a rare class of neurons—type-one nNOS neurons—plays a central role in regulating brain blood flow and coordinating neural activity in mice.
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
A 2016 study created #bio-hybrid intelligence by guiding turtles with human EEG via a brain-computer interface, linking thought to instinct without implants. Now applied to pigeons, rats, and robots, it explores co-adaptive human-machine systems and the future of bio-cognitive control (Aaron Lax)
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
A first-gen Ph.D. student shares how, growing up with parents denied higher education during China’s Cultural Revolution, she discovered research only at 20. Despite initial fears of being behind, she closed the gap, a journey to be proud of. scim.ag/4oVYFsZ #CelebrateFirstGen
scim.ag
From homeless to Ph.D.: How I found my way into research
“For much of my scientific training I feared I was behind my peers,” this grad student writes
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
MIT researchers developed miBrains, 3D human brain tissue models integrating all major brain cell types. Grown from donors’ stem cells, gene-editable, and scalable, they help study brain biology and diseases like Alzheimer’s in ways previous models couldn’t. #miBrains #Alzheimer’s #Cells
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
James Watson, a renowned molecular biologist and one of the Nobel Prize winners for discovering the structure of DNA, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to a statement from his former employer. cnn.it/47LZuNU #DNA #JamesWatson #Biology
cnn.it
James Watson, famous geneticist and Nobel Prize co-winner in the structure of DNA, dies at 97 | CNN
James Watson, a renowned molecular biologist and one of the Nobel Prize winners for discovering the structure of DNA, died Thursday after a brief illness, according to a statement from his former empl...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Today we honor Marie Skłodowska Curie, born #OnThisDay 1867: the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person awarded Nobels in two different scientific fields. A true pioneer in science and a lasting inspiration (TheNobelPrize) #MarieCurie #NobelPrize #WomenInScience
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Just attended the second talk in a series on whether a neuroscientist could truly understand a microprocessor 🧠💻 Diving deeper into brain–chip connectomics and how this comparison reveals the limits and biases of our scientific approach. Insightful and thought-provoking. #microprocessor #brain
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
🌐 What Can Be Built with the Right Network When great minds connect, ideas turn into impact. At #SingularitySystems, building where intellect meets innovation, where the impossible becomes inevitable. The future belongs to those who build it together (Aaron Lax) #Innovation #AI #Leadership
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
🧠 Your Brain Is Plastic, every thought and action rewires it Change isn’t impossible, it’s biological. 🌱Music, travel, laughter, sleep, and connection all shape new neural pathways,turning growth into a daily habit. Image Credit - tjpower (ig) #Neuroplasticity #BrainHealth #Mindset #MentalWellness
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
🌍 Data Science - The Silent Engine Behind the Modern World (PikuDataIQ) From your fitness app to Google Maps and Netflix, it’s not magic, it’s data science quietly shaping daily life. 📊 Blending math, ML & human logic, it turns data into decisions that power industries and cities⚙️ #DataScience #AI
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
🐝 Using a cognitive bias paradigm, researchers in Science reveal positive affective contagion, a key element of empathy, in bumble bees. Even insects can share emotional states, tracing the roots of social cognition deep in evolution. 🌿 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #Neuroscience #Behavior
scim.ag
Positive affective contagion in bumble bees
Affective contagion, a core component of empathy, has been widely characterized in social vertebrates but its existence in any invertebrate is unknown. Using a cognitive bias paradigm we demonstrate p...
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Simone Papa @simonepapa.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
🧠 Cognition as the real competitive edge. A McKinsey article calls for shifting from technical to cognitive governance, embedding human mental models, bias awareness & ethics into #AI adoption (Eveline Ruehlin) www.mckinsey.com/capabilities... #GenAI #Bias #Cognitive #Ethics #FutureOfWork
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