Gouki Okazawa
@gouki-okazawa.bsky.social
PI at Institute of Neuroscience, CAS, Shanghai. Studying neural mechanisms of object recognition and decision making. Previously, PhD in Japan, postdoc at NYU https://okazawagouki.github.io/
New reviewed preprint from @elife.bsky.social! Led by Han Zhang, we tested monkeys on 10+ object concept classification tasks and compared their behavior to humans and deep networks. Monkeys learned diverse categorization rules fast... elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
A battery of image classification challenges reveals shared and distinct object categorization behavior across monkeys, humans, and deep networks
elifesciences.org
Excited to share our new review in Trends in Neuroscience with Gouki Okazawa @gouki-okazawa.bsky.social : "The 'neat' and 'messy' in task-dependent neural geometry and computation" where we reviewed what we know about the 'task-manager' in the brain. A thread 👇
New review with Cheng Xue at U Chicago @cxue.bsky.social in Trends Neurosci@cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social! We discuss the neural geometry of task-dependent computation: disentangled encoding, RNN modeling, switch cost, etc. www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
The ‘neat’ and ‘messy’ in task-dependent neural geometry and computation
To solve diverse real-world tasks, the brain must flexibly switch between task rules and adjust computations. Recent advances in analyzing neural data and modeling neural networks have revealed their ...
cell.com
The ‘neat’ and ‘messy’ in task-dependent neural geometry and computation by Cheng Xue @cxue.bsky.social & Gouki Okazawa @gouki-okazawa.bsky.social www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
Made an AI-curated primate ephys literature database covering ~10000 papers with recording brain regions and target functions. Maybe useful for something. okazawagouki.github.io/NHPLit/repor...
From the top of my head, here some recent ones: "Two views on the cognitive brain" by @johnwkrakauer.bsky.social, @dlbarack.bsky.social "Reconstructing computational system dynamics from neural data with recurrent neural networks" by @durstewitzlab.bsky.social et al 1/3
Nikolas Karalis@nikolaskaralis.bsky.social · 5mo agoI’m building a foundational reading list for our lab (systems & circuit neuroscience, compneuro, modeling, neuromodulators, population coding etc.). I’d like to crowdsource recommendations. Which review(s) would you consider mandatory reading for the next generation of researchers?
The basal ganglia output is often framed as a motor gate: corticostriatal circuits select an action, then GPi/SNr-thalamus helps release it. In humans, we find this same pathway carries cognitive variables embedded in movement signals—and even produces learning-relevant signals after feedback. 1/10
biorxiv.org
Final paper of my PhD 🤗 www.nature.com/articles/s44... There is growing interest in how cognitive control may improve value-based decision making. However, we find that a recent paper overestimated the role of control in their task, leading to erroneous interpretations of dACC recordings.
Misspecified models create the appearance of adaptive control during value-based choice - Communications Psychology
In a new computational analysis of previous work, this study shows that a control-free mechanism better accounts for value-based decisions than an account that assumes top-down control invigorating th...
nature.com
A mesoscale optogenetics system for precise and robust stimulation of the primate cortex www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
A mesoscale optogenetics system for precise and robust stimulation of the primate cortex
Li et al. present a microLED-based mesoscale optogenetic system for centimeter-scale, million-pixel primate cortical stimulation. Optogenetically evoked saccades with accurate retinotopic organization...
cell.com
Task-similarity dependent reconfiguration of compositional modules and geometry in frontal cortex www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Task-similarity dependent reconfiguration of compositional modules and geometry in frontal cortex
Task rules critically shape how neural populations encode information and generalize across cognitive demands, yet the mechanisms linking rule structure, neural dynamics, and behavior remain poorly un...
biorxiv.org
Population-level temporal decoding and dynamical structure in frontostriatal circuits during decision making www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Population-level temporal decoding and dynamical structure in frontostriatal circuits during decision making
Perceptual decisions unfold over time, requiring neural circuits to evaluate sensory evidence, track elapsed time, and commit to an action. To investigate how these computations are distributed across...
biorxiv.org
30 days to the launch of Elusive Cures! I learned so much writing it, and I want to share it. For the next 30 days, I'll post brain & mind research breakthroughs on odd days, and highlight unmet needs on even ones. #ElusiveCures30 First breakthrough: /1 press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Elusive Cures
A neuroscientist’s bold proposal for tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time—brain and mental illnesses
press.princeton.edu
Sharpened visual memory representations are reflected in inferotemporal cortex www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Sharpened visual memory representations are reflected in inferotemporal cortex
Humans and other primates can robustly report whether they’ve seen specific images before, even when those images are extremely similar to ones they’ve previously seen. Multiple lines of evidence sugg...
biorxiv.org
Deep bidirectional interplay between sensory integration and latent rule discovery www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Deep bidirectional interplay between sensory integration and latent rule discovery
The ability to decipher the structure of sensory input is crucial for building an accurate internal model of one’s environment. Humans can not only extract and integrate the sensory properties of stim...
biorxiv.org
Calling all science advocates!! Carlos Brody+ are creating a searchable database of tangible science benefits, and they need you. publicusaresearchbenefits.com They are asking for suggestions - from brief to lengthy. The database is state-searchable, so all 50 states. Please spread the word!
Searchable database of tangible benefits that federally-funded research gave us.
A crowd-sourced site. Health and Well-being. National Security. Prosperity.
publicusaresearchbenefits.com
Happy to share our new paper exploring how the brain might represent decision confidence. A population representation of the confidence in a decision in the parietal cortex: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports...
A population representation of the confidence in a decision in the parietal cortex
At the end of a decision based on evidence accumulation, the neural representation of the accumulation is invariant across decisions. Zylberberg and Shadlen show, nonetheless, that accuracy can be dec...
cell.com
Excited to share my latest work just out in @pnas.org! This NIH MOSAIC K99-funded project identifies a top-down cortical circuit—from cingulate to auditory cortex—that supports auditory perceptual performance in challenging listening conditions: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The cingulate cortex facilitates auditory perception under challenging listening conditions | PNAS
We often exert greater cognitive resources (i.e., listening effort) to understand speech under challenging acoustic conditions. This mechanism can ...
pnas.org
A preprint from our lab. Trying something new. "Object categorization based on abstract concepts by monkeys, humans, and vision models" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Object categorization based on abstract concepts by monkeys, humans, and vision models
Viewing an object in the external world evokes a rich variety of concepts associated with it in the human mind, such as whether it is animate or not, man-made or not, big or small, and countless other...
biorxiv.org
We are hiring a PhD student to study the neural mechanisms underlying flexible decision-making and individual variability. Please apply and spread the word!
Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain (SIDB)@sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social · last yr.The Pagan lab is advertising for a 3.5 year fully funded PhD studentship to start in 2025 within SIDB at Edinburgh University, investigating the neural mechanism underlying flexible decision-making. 🗓️Deadline: 4 April 2024 👇Find out more and apply now: sidb.org.uk/phds/study-o...
We are presenting two exciting projects tonight at #Cosyne2025! 🧠🧑🔬 [1-032] Changes in tuning curves, not neural population covariance, improve category separability in the primate ventral visual pathway [1-112] Comparing image representations in terms of sensitivities to local distortions
A landmark Computational Neuroscience book for our times, from basic principles to whole-cortex modelling of cognition, NeuroAI and Computational Psychiatry. This is one of Xiao-Jing's major achievements. Years of dedicated work from a master of the field.
Nicole Rust@nicolecrust.bsky.social · last yr.As our community increasingly shifts toward embracing the complexity of the brain, this new book by Xiao-Jing Wang will be an essential go-to. He is among a small, prescient group that embraced important ideas before the rest of us. Here he unpacks them. 1/2 www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/1...
This is very interesting, NHP doing a drawing task. Neural representation of action symbols in primate frontal cortex www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neural representation of action symbols in primate frontal cortex
At the core of intelligence is proficiency in solving new problems, including those that differ dramatically from problems seen before. Problem-solving, in turn, depends on goal-directed generation of...
biorxiv.org
Please spread the word!! We are accepting applications for the Cold Spring Harbor Asia Computational and Cognitive Summer School in Suzhou, China. Dates: June 29 to July 20 of 2025. Application deadline: March 31. #computationalneuroscience. For the top three reasons to attend, see thread below:
Latency of vlPFC face selectivity is 30-40ms! Fast face-selective responses in prefrontal face patches of the macaque www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Fast face-selective responses in prefrontal face patches of the macaque
Mergan et al. conducted an fMRI-guided electrophysiology study in macaque prefrontal face patches. They found that, although receptive fields and basic selectivity in these face patches resemble those...
cell.com
Task structure tailors the geometry of neural representations in human lateral prefrontal cortex www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Task structure tailors the geometry of neural representations in human lateral prefrontal cortex
How do human brains represent tasks of varying structure? The lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) flexibly represents task information. However, principles that shape lPFC representational geometry remai...
biorxiv.org
Robust encoding of stimulus–response mapping by neurons in visual cortex www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Robust encoding of stimulus–response mapping by neurons in visual cortex | PNAS
Neural activity in sensory cortex is modulated by behavioral and cognitive factors, and this modulation is thought to contribute to the selection o...
pnas.org
"Beginning February 2025, JNeurosci will permit submission of supplemental materials."😮 www.jneurosci.org/content/info...
Information for Authors | Journal of Neuroscience
jneurosci.org
I was wondering what's a good review of evidence accumulation/DDM as a primer for students with no background and found this would be very good. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Sequential Sampling Models in Cognitive Neuroscience: Advantages, Applications, and Extensions | Annual Reviews
Sequential sampling models assume that people make speeded decisions by gradually accumulating noisy information until a threshold of evidence is reached. In cognitive science, one such model—the diff...
annualreviews.org
Finally moved here. Hope to enjoy science news and chat in a warm community again.