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Przemek Tomalski

@tomalski.bsky.social

Res Prof Inst of Psychology, Polish Academy of Science, head of BabylabPAN, Warsaw, Poland I study infant neurocognitve development-body movement, attention, speech and social interactions. Views are mine.

82 Posts140 Follower153 Folgt
Simon Fisher@profsimonfisher.bsky.social · last mo.

Today marks the 25th anniversary (😯) of our publication on discovery of FOXP2. To commemorate, I’ll repost a few prior threads about the gene. Here’s my explainer of how we tracked down FOXP2 & implicated it in speech/language deficits, in the days before completion of the human genome project.🗣️🧬🧪👇

Simon Fisher@profsimonfisher.bsky.social · last yr.

Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350.... A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n 🗣️🧬🧪

Image shows the first two printed pages of the paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” by Cecilia Lai and colleagues, published in Nature in 2001 (volume 413, pages 519-523). The abstract reads as follows: Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7. We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.
Earl K. Miller@earlkmiller.bsky.social · last mo.

This is a two-fer: 1. IT cortex encodes not just what objects are, but also where they are. 2. Current AI does not work like IT cortex. www.cell.com/current-biol... #neuroscience

The macaque IT cortex but not current artificial vision networks encode object position in perceptually aligned coordinates

Yakubovskaya et al. show that motion adaptation shifts macaque IT population codes for object position in a direction that mirrors human perceptual mislocalization. Current feedforward, recurrent, and...

cell.com

Earl K. Miller@earlkmiller.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The moment-to-moment speed of alpha and beta brain waves sculps perception via predictive coding. Alpha and Beta Frequency Modulations in Motion Prediction Reveal Mechanisms of Predictive Coding in Perception. doi.org/10.1162/jocn... #neuroscience

Alpha and Beta Frequency Modulations in Motion Prediction Reveal Mechanisms of Predictive Coding in Perception

Abstract. Perception is an active process guided by prior knowledge and expectations, allowing the brain to optimize sensory processing and reduce uncertainty. Although modulations in alpha (7–13 Hz) ...

doi.org

BWJones@bwjones.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It is beyond the time point where people can claim ignorance of Musk’s behaviors. Anyone who uses his products, purchases anything from him is making a moral or ethical decision on where they stand on issues of neo Nazism, racism and fascism.

Max Berger@maxberger.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Elon Musk is a neo-Nazi, but most of the political and media establishment give him a pass—and continue to use his propaganda website. Incredible piece from @jamellebouie.net with the receipts.

International Congress of Infant Studies@infantstudies.bsky.social · 4mo ago

- @samanthaplate.bsky.social, Schneider, & Iverson (2026) find that infant vocal production ‘dips’ around walk onset & babies only begin coordinating vocalization with walking after 1 month of walking experience #DevPsySky #PsychSciSky #infancypapers onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Dips in Development: Learning to Walk Temporarily Disrupts Infant Vocalization

Infant development is a dynamic, cross-domain process. Infants acquire new skills, integrate them with well-established behaviors, and do so simultaneously. New skills can bolster development of exis...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Georg Weizsäcker@georgweizsaecker.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A strong recommendation 👇🏻 German Research Foundation @dfg.de describes the MAGA/AfD threat to science, and how one may prepare the defenses. Both the quiet and the loud ones. (Not specific to Germany and available in 🇬🇧 and 🇩🇪.)

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft@dfg.de · 4mo ago

How can we protect academic freedom against growing attacks? A new position paper issued by a DFG Senate working group outlines how the resilience of research and the research ecosystem can be strengthened – and how policymakers, industry and society at large can contribute: sohub.io/aziq

Image featuring a colourful, abstract swirl of paper on a dark blue background. Headline: Guidelines and Recommendations – Position Paper on Strengthening the Academic Freedom and Resilience of Research. Adobe Stock.
Danny Kingsley@dannykay68.bsky.social · 4mo ago

EXCELLENT: The Netherlands new OA policy seems to be well thought through obc.copim.pub/when-scaling... Policy explicitly recommends redirection & reallocation of funds from existing ‘big deal’ budgets towards community-driven alternatives, incl university-led diamond OA & Netherlands Uni Presses

When 'scaling small' becomes national policy

The Netherlands' new open access strategy echoes the principles the Open Book Collective was built on - 'scaling small' and community-led publishing

obc.copim.pub

Hugo Spiers@hugospiers.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Brenda Milner is a hero and 108!! She did a lot more than discover the hippocampus is linked to declarative memory, but that work is the most famous.

Admirable Women@admirablewomen.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Neuroscientist Dr. Brenda Milner is recognized as one of the fundamental founders of modern cognitive neuropsychology. She proved the hippocampus is essential for forming long-term "declarative" memory (facts, names & events). She was born #OTD in 1918--she's 108 years old today! #WomenInSTEM

A color photograph of Dr. Brenda Milner (born 1918), the pioneering British-Canadian founder of cognitive neuropsychology whose landmark work mapped localized memory in the human hippocampus. Seated and facing left, she engages an audience with an expressive, animated posture, both hands raised in gestural emphasis. Her short, silver-gray hair is styled back with soft volume, framing a deeply lined, intent face with a focused expression. She wears a tailored, dark navy and black textured tweed jacket over a simple cream blouse. A multi-strand necklace of dark, polished beads hangs around her neck, and a small, delicate pin is affixed to her left lapel. A flesh-colored over-ear microphone wire curves across her cheek. The dimly lit stage setting shows a blurred equipment in the background under subtle stage lighting, giving the composition a dynamic, scholarly atmosphere that highlights her enduring intellectual passion.
Earl K. Miller@earlkmiller.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Function is not tied to specific brain structures or time scales. The brain is not just a set of parts that each “do their own job”. Instead, networks are multifunctional and active across different speeds simultaneously. doi.org/10.1073/pnas... #neuroscience

Shared spatial and temporal principles govern connectome dynamics across timescales | PNAS

While the brain processes information at various speeds, little is known about how the functional connectome can concurrently support multiple spee...

doi.org

Professor John R. Hutchinson@johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Review of CH Waddington's influence on developmental biology and evo-devo: journals.biologists.com/dev/article/... includes supp info with his 50th birthday songs!

C.H. Waddington's lasting achievements in development and evolution

ABSTRACT. C.H. Waddington (1905-1975) was a British biologist and perhaps the major figure in developmental biology between the 1940s and 1960s. He is one of the few pre-molecular-age developmental bi...

journals.biologists.com

UM SRC@um-src.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Contrast sensitivity is a critical but underused measure of vision, linked to falls and loss of independence in older adults. Using @nhats-nsoc.bsky.social, Shu Yu et al identify a threshold where older adults begin experiencing visual disability—a benchmark for interpreting measures. myumi.ch/NXM3G

A Clinically Relevant Threshold of Impaired Contrast Sensitivity Among Older US Adults

This cohort study aims to identify a contrast sensitivity threshold associated with functional visual disability among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older in the US.

myumi.ch

January Weiner@january3.github.io · 5mo ago

Semyon Skrepetsky was an artist known for political paintings and happenings ridiculing putin and russian establishment. He was shot yesterday in Poland by "unknown" perpetrators who traveled there from Belarus. Read the alt text for explanations.

Przemek Tomalski@tomalski.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Good point re social media bans for children: we are unable to properly regulate them or addictive algorithms so we tens to opt for seemingly “easy” but extreme option of total social media ban for children. Are we really unable to force BigTech to accept tougher regulation?

Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore@sjblakemore.bsky.social · 5mo ago

SOCIAL MEDIA BANS! Last week, Professor Denis Mareschal, Dr Dusana Dorjee and I gave evidence to the Select Committee for Science, Innovation and Technology's Neuroscience and Digital Childhoods Inquiry. (Transcript/recordinG available on the UK Parliament website for anyone interested.) 1/4