We really need to move beyond dichotomizing brain function. Allostasis vs cognition, prediction vs feedforward, categorical representation vs dimensional processing. Arguing that the brain is “for” or “not for” something can’t be the best way to build insight-generating evolutionary frameworks.

Neuroskeptic@neuroskeptic.bsky.social · 3mo ago

This seems like a false dichotomy. Yes, the purpose of the brain surely is allostasis. Like all organs, it exists because it helps us survive & reproduce. The brain justifies its energy paycheck by helping us find food, water, safety etc. But cognition is *how* it does that!

My new piece out in Scientific American!

Scientific American@sciam.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Separate brain processes cope with moment-to-moment versus big-picture experiences, which helps explain how parenting both increases and decreases aspects of well-being

Join us for the UNC Developmental Psychology Ph.D. Program Info Session! 🎓 Learn about curriculum, funding, application tips, and life in Chapel Hill from faculty and students. 🗓️ Oct 26 | 1–2:30 PM EST 🔗Register: tinyurl.com/uncdevpsych #UNC #PhD #DevelopmentalPsychology

📢 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.

study emotion? sections of this are a v worthwhile read. no paywall. useful reminder that not everyone falls neatly into BET v constructionism buckets researchgate.net/publication/255522683_The_duration_of_affective_phenomena_or_emotions_sentiments_and_passions

(PDF) The duration of affective phenomena or emotions, sentiments and passions

PDF | On Jan 1, 1991, Nico H. Frijda and others published The duration of affective phenomena or emotions, sentiments and passions | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

researchgate.net

Our new study in Emotion! Parents report higher satisfaction yet lower daily happiness- the 'parenting paradox'. So in the transition to parenthood, how do we study well-being? We studied how new fathers adapt by examining meaning/purpose and brain connectivity. psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

🧠Out now in @ohbmofficial.bsky.social ! 🧠 We scanned 32 first-time dads (~8 mos postpartum) while they watched videos of their baby, an unfamiliar baby, their romantic partner, and an unfamiliar woman…1/8 doi.org/10.1002/hbm....

My Baby Versus the World: Fathers' Neural Processing of Own‐Infant, Unfamiliar‐Infant, and Romantic Partner Stimuli

First-time fathers processed own-infant stimuli in mentalizing, emotion regulation, and reward processing regions, and posterior midline responses tracked with bonding and parental stress. Whole-brai....

doi.org

Whole neighborhoods in Los Angeles just burned down months ago. Home owners are desperate to rebuild. Yet ICE is rounding up day laborers from HOME DEPOT - a place where construction crews hire short term help. The goal is to inflict maximum cruelty on a city already hurting.

Large-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...

Neuroscience needs to empower early-career researchers, not fund moon shots

Large-scale projects run the risk of stifling scientific independence. Instead, let’s explore alternative mechanisms of collaboration.

thetransmitter.org

Loved being a part of this amazing article on how affective neuroscientists are grappling with conceptualizing mixed emotions! www.salon.com/2025/03/23/m...

Why feeling mixed emotions can actually be healthy

Simultaneous joy and rage aren't contradictions — they're part of a spectrum of emotional intelligence

salon.com

Excited to share that dissertation work is published in Human Brain Mapping! Self-selected nostalgic music engaged the DMN, reward network, and MTL in younger and older adults. With @assalh.bsky.social, @jonaskaplan.bsky.social, Petr Janata, and Talia Ginsberg onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Music‐Evoked Nostalgia Activates Default Mode and Reward Networks Across the Lifespan

Music-evoked nostalgia activates the default mode network, reward network, medial temporal lobe, and supplementary motor regions of the brain more than non-nostalgic but familiar music that sounds mu....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com