Small Brain Cognition Lab
@minibraincognition.bsky.social
We develop and use novel experimental and theoretical techniques and original ideas to study cognition and information processing in neural circuits: https://cognition.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/home
Very pleased that our recent paper doi.org/10.1038/s414... has been selected by QED Science for its “top 1%” preprint collection. the-one-percent.qedscience.com?selection=10... A kind recognition of our work on how tiny brains can achieve remarkably fast and precise visual processing.
QED — The most compelling preprints of 2025
the-one-percent.qedscience.com
doi.org/10.1038/s414... Vision is often modelled with tuned filters, noise and fixed bandwidth limits. But speed, dynamic range and hyperacuity need not be assumed. See how they emerge from real biophysics: quantal sampling, refractory dynamics, cellular motion and synaptic high-frequency jumping.
Heliox has made a podcast episode about our latest paper on how houseflies see and react so fast. It gives a nice, accessible overview of synaptic high-frequency jumping and why fly vision can outperform conventional expectations for biological neural systems. 🎧 www.buzzsprout.com/2405788/epis...
🪰 Why Houseflies See Faster Than AI - Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy 🇨🇦
📖 Read: https://helioxpodcast.substack.com/archive?sort=newThrough self-motion, flies efficiently translate image motion into temporally-precise, predictive high-speed vision.The humble, infuriating, ...
buzzsprout.com
I am very pleased to announce our upcoming Theo Murphy meeting at the Royal Society: Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence 21–22 September 2026 - Bristol, UK Registration deadline: 1 July Register here: lnkd.in/eGDAux-M #AI #AnimalCognition #Neuroscience
doi.org/10.1038/s414... Vision is often modelled with tuned filters, noise and fixed bandwidth limits. But speed, dynamic range and hyperacuity need not be assumed. See how they emerge from real biophysics: quantal sampling, refractory dynamics, cellular motion and synaptic high-frequency jumping.
New paper out today! Insect eyes do not just record images - they actively sample the world in rapid bursts. We show that this drives synaptic high-frequency jumping, reshaping visual signals to boost speed, timing and hyperacute vision during flight. doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Delighted to share our new review preprint: www.preprints.org/manuscript/2... Beyond Static Perception - showing how animals, neurons and synapses actively move to sample and compute information efficiently.
Updated version of our manuscript now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... We show how synaptic high-frequency jumping and morphodynamic sampling synchronise vision to high-speed behaviour in the housefly, extending visual bandwidth to ~1,000 Hz while minimising synaptic delays.
New paper by our group! 🧪🐝 Confirmation of the spread of "behavioural traditions" in groups - and between groups! - of bumblebees, using the string-pulling paradigm! With @procenko.bsky.social @larschittka.bsky.social and @minibraincognition.bsky.social . doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
Join us! 🧬🪰🎉🔬🧠 We are currently advertising a PhD project to study how the brains of #Drosophila and #zebrafish synchronise visual information processing. www.findaphd.com/phds/project... Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!
ASAB Interdisciplinary Workshop Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence sites.google.com/sheffield.ac... 4-5 September 2025: Extraordinary meeting - many thanks to HaDi for organising, and to all the speakers and participants! See you all next year in Bristol!
Flies keep their vision razor-sharp even at top speed: we found their synapses “jump” into higher frequencies during saccades, wiping out delays and boosting acuity. This self-sharpening trick shows how brains sync perception with rapid behaviour. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Synaptic high-frequency jumping synchronises vision to high-speed behaviour
During high-speed behaviour, animals must predict, detect, process, and respond synchronously to rapid environmental changes, including those caused by their own movements. How neural systems achieve ...
biorxiv.org
Call for Abstracts Extended! 🌟 Join us this September in Sheffield for 'Nature of Intelligence: Bridging Animal & Artificial Intelligence', an ASAB Interdisciplinary Workshop. @asab.org @sheffielduni.bsky.social #ArtificialIntelligence #AnimalCognition #Neuroscience I #AcademicWorkshop #ASAB
Our latest paper reveals how active vision via scanning dynamically refines spatiotemporal neural representations, enabling efficient pattern recognition in minimal systems. A step forward in understanding embedded cognition & AI www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/new-stu... #bee #ActiveVision #Neuromorphic
New study revealing bees' secret to super-efficient learning could revolutionise AI and robotics
A new discovery of how bees use their flight movements to facilitate remarkably accurate learning & recognition of complex visual patterns could mark a major change in how next-generation AI is develo...
sheffield.ac.uk
Exciting paper from our lab out today: New insights into how bees use flight movements—such as body, head, and eye wiggles—to actively support their brain’s pattern learning and recognition with remarkable accuracy could inspire advances in next-generation AI. elifesciences.org/articles/89929
A neuromorphic model of active vision shows how spatiotemporal encoding in lobula neurons can aid pattern recognition in bees
Active vision dynamically refines spatiotemporal neural representations, optimising visual processing through scanning behaviour and non-associative learning, providing insights into efficient sensory...
elifesciences.org
A new study submitted to BioRxiv: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Drosophila larval Odd neurons process innate and learned information to regulate chemotaxis behavior
Adaptive decision-making emerges from the integration of innate preferences and learned experiences to guide behavior. Using Drosophila larvae as a model, we investigated the neural circuitry underlyi...
doi.org
Announcing the ASAB Interdisciplinary Workshop: Nature of Intelligence – Bridging Animal & Artificial Intelligence 📍 University of Sheffield, UK 📅 4–5 September 2025 📝 Abstracts due: 1 July 🔗 Register & learn more: sites.google.com/sheffield.ac... #AnimalIntelligence #NeuroAI #BioRobotics @asab.org
Nature of Intelligence
NIBAI-2025: Nature of Intelligence, Bridging Animal and Artificial Intelligence Workshop Dates: 📅 Date: 4–5 September 2025 📍 Venue: The Diamond Building, University of Sheffield, UK 📝 Registration De...
sites.google.com
Our new preprint is live! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🐝🧪 “Bumblebee string pulling skill spreads between colonies under open diffusion conditions”! @procenko.bsky.social @minibraincognition.bsky.social @larschittka.bsky.social
Two studies submitted to BioRxiv: doi.org/10.1101/2023... doi.org/10.1101/2025...
A neuromorphic model of active vision shows how spatiotemporal encoding in lobula neurons can aid pattern recognition in bees
Bees' remarkable visual learning abilities make them ideal for studying active information acquisition and representation. Here, we develop a biologically inspired model to examine how flight behaviou...
doi.org
"Theory of Morphodynamic Information Processing: Linking Sensing to Behaviour" out today in Vision Research: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S... #VisionResearch #Morphodynamics #InformationProcessing #NeuralCoding
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me
This is amazing: it’s incredibly windy in the UK right now, so only about 10% of the National Grid is currently being powered by fossil fuels.
In 1676, Danish astronomer Ole Roemer (1644–1710) became the first person to measure the speed of light. He did so by timing eclipses of Io by Jupiter, which occurred later when earth was farther away from Jupiter than when it was closer. www.amnh.org/learn-teach/...
Ole Roemer Profile: First to Measure the Speed of Light | AMNH
Before Ole Roemer's 1676 discovery, scientists assumed that light could not be measured.
amnh.org
'Before there was arXiv, there was Joanne Cohn (...) She started an informal exchange of string theory manuscripts that eventually became the arXiv preprint server, which has since revolutionized the way scientists share ideas and announce findings.' pubs.aip.org/physicstoday...
Joanne Cohn and the email list that led to arXiv
A strong sense of community led an early-career string theorist to share preprints in a scientifically competitive environment.
pubs.aip.org
Genesis: high quality generative Physics engine, genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
Genesis
genesis-embodied-ai.github.io
If I cite a preprint, I am doing peer review. No editor needs to be involved. We don't need the high priests of Elsevier to sanctify this relationship.
Exciting news! Our holistic approach to neural information, "Theory of Morphodynamic Information Processing: Linking Sensing to Behaviour," has been accepted for publication in Vision Research! 🎉 Dive deeper into the work with our extended version here: preprints.org/manuscript/202308.1210/v2.
