Dr. Aparna Shah 🧠 👩🔬
@neuromusings.bsky.social
Music, Food and Science Junkie | Grad School Survivor | Collegiate Assistant Professor @VTNeuro | She/Her (aka Neuro_musings from the site formerly known as Twitter)
Very proud of the special issue of Animal Behaviour I worked on with @wascherclaudia.bsky.social and @nicolakoyama.bsky.social on addressing biases in animal behaviour. Thanks to all authors- plenty of cool papers to read. Here's our editorial: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @asab.org
sciencedirect.com
A really interesting finding from this study was a dissociation between affect & motivation: Stress induction increased self-administration despite the drug not actually helping people cope with the stress: no improvement in positive or negative affect (vs placebo)
Siri Leknes@sirileknes.bsky.social · last wk.Major paper out: A heroic* demonstration that even acute stress increases drug intake in healthy people *4-session 2x2 RCT with ~4 oxycodone injections in 66 volunteers - with repeated blinded 2-panel stress/control inductions (ReSST) 1/🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s44...
I joined the Sohal lab with one major hypothesis: psychedelic drugs can be powerful psychiatric treatments, depending on underlying neurobiology. Indeed, psilocybin restored cognitive flexibility in one circuit model of dysfunction, but not another! Then, we had to find out how! 🧠🍄🧪
Vikaas Sohal@vikaassohal.bsky.social · 4w agoNew preprint led by @christineliu.art! How do psychedelics improve cognitive flexibility? Psilocybin prevents inflexibility caused by aberrant mesocortical error signaling (but not inflexibility due to other mechanisms); this is tied to plasticity of PFC-MD neurons: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
“If the government hadn’t funded research into desert lizard venom, we wouldn’t know about semaglutide…If research scientists hadn’t studied how bees optimize nectar foraging within a colony, we wouldn’t have the algorithm that assigns internet traffic” www.publicnotice.co/p/michael-kr...
The new "science golden age" looks suspiciously like a grift
Trump wants to run scientific research like his family business.
publicnotice.co
"This appears to be a long document ... save time by reading a summary" my biggest goal in life was to get paid for reading long documents leave me alone !!
Psychology paper studying undergraduates: “We need to confront the fact that our subjects are WEIRD and results may not generalize” Systems Neuroscience paper studying one inbred mouse strain: “Here is how the mammalian brain works.”
📣 It's Roll Call time! Kick off #BINW26 by introducing yourself! Share a selfie or short video telling us who you are, what you do, and the future you're helping reimagine. 🧠 Tag us and use #BINRollCall so we can celebrate our amazing community! Tag 3 BIN members you'd like to see join Roll Call ✨
SEATTLE friends: Cat-in-real-life alert! I am in Seattle this week and decided to host a small (limited spots) Psychology of Software Teams happy hour this thursday July 30th, 4-6pm. RSVP here for location & to secure a spot: luma.com/lxcmtn68
The Psychology of Software Teams: Seattle happy hour edition · Luma
Let's talk about being more human in tech! Join a small group for a happy hour meetup talking about getting better psychology in our software and technical…
luma.com
I have two preprints out (and under review/revision) and another coming soon (linked below), and I go up for tenure next spring. So if your department is looking for a speaker - call me! (Actually do not. Email me. I am a millennial and unexpected phone calls give me anxiety). 🧪
#ProcB in @bbc.co.uk | Reassuring body contact promotes social tolerance in bonobos and chimpanzees: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Great Apes kiss and cuddle to keep the peace, says study
Hugging before stressful events may be an ancient way of building trust, say scientists studying apes.
bbc.co.uk
Early-career neuroscientist? Learn how to turn your science into policy impact. Join former SfN Early Career Policy Ambassadors for this webinar on advocacy, science communication, and connecting with policymakers. Aug 6, 1–2PM EDT. 🔗: vist.ly/5c99k
🎉 We’re celebrating #PeerReviewWeek with a Review-a-thon! Gather your lab, classroom, department, or community to review preprints or datasets as a team, in any language or research field. You can win a prize to support your Club's activities! Learn more & register by Aug. 31: bit.ly/Review-a-thon
💼 Your neuroscience career can take you anywhere. Join #NeuroCareers at #BINW26 for "Becoming a Global Asset in Neuroscience," a career panel on building skills, expanding your network, and making an impact worldwide. 🗓 July 31 | 🕛 12–1:30 PM ET Registration is open now!
Probably more helpful to think of them not so much as “Canadian wildfires” but rather “climate change wildfires currently consuming Canada”
MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86 news.mit.edu/2026/mit-pro... #neuroscience
MIT Professor Susumu Tonegawa, renowned molecular biologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 86
Susumu Tonegawa, a renowned MIT professor of biology and neuroscience and a Nobel laureate, has died at the age of 86. His discovery of how the immune system generates many different antibodies earned...
news.mit.edu
JOIN US TODAY! With @aaup.org and @aft.org
Stand Up for Science!@standupforscience.net · 4w agoMonday, July 13th is the LAST DAY that you can leave a public comment on Russell Vought's science-destroying OMB Grant Proposal. Join us from 2 - 3PM ET to learn what comes next, hear from experts, and learn how the proposal will affect you. Register at the link in our bio or go here:zurl.co/tH8hn
People who spiral out overusing LLM chatbots are really just experiencing the kind of brain-damaging stream of unconditional validation that’s always been the norm for the hyper-wealthy, which explains a lot.
Jon Hendry@jonhendry.bsky.social · last mo.Worse than Twitter, private discussions (text, email, whatever) among like-minded wealthy lunatics who are all surrounded by yes-men who talk like ChatGPT in maximum ass-kissing mode.
Want to understand the new OMB rules and why many researchers are concerned? @rossenator.bsky.social put together an outstanding video series: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... She also compiled advocacy resources: github.com/rrosslab/Pol... Please like and repost so they reach a wider audience!
Take Action for Science and Public Health - YouTube
youtube.com
“When mayors in other cities ask me how #Copenhagen afforded to invest in its cycling networks, I ask them how on earth they have been able to afford highway projects. We invested in bike lanes because that was the cheapest option.” What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution.
Copenhagen Cycling Revolution: Lessons for Cities
Close to two-thirds of the city’s residents commute by bike to school or work every day.
theprogressplaybook.com
Happy #MicroscopyMonday! This live image captures a larval sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) that refracts light like a gemstone. The vibrant, true-color image highlights the organism’s birefringence. Imaged by @shribak.bsky.social) and @karenecheverri.bsky.social from the MBL’s Bell Center.
Came across this resource and wanted to share it. Please share broadly!! www.becominghealthyher.com
BecomingHealthyHer — Tools for women to lead their own health
Open-access tools that help women prepare for appointments, speak up, and stay ahead — the 3 P's of health communication.
becominghealthyher.com
🚨 out at @apsrjournal.bsky.social 🚨 ➡️ We ran a large media literacy experiment to fight misinformation ➡️ 13,500 students, 583 villages in Bihar, India ➡️Created custom misinfo curriculum of 4 months ➡️Partnered w the government to roll it out as an official course in classrooms hopeful findings👇🏽
Quote with a fictional band that is not Spinal Tap
Andy Dwyer Sings 'The Pit' in Parks and Rec
ALT: Andy Dwyer Sings 'The Pit' in Parks and Rec
static.klipy.com
Zeb Larson@zeblarson.bsky.social · 3mo agoQuote with a fictional band that is not Spinal Tap
