Excited to share the latest work from the lab—a true tour de force led by @nbaumgar.bsky.social. TLDR: We report a novel endogenous mechanism whereby cycling ovarian hormones alter threat memory expression through state-dependent recruitment of the lateral septum to the memory ensemble. 🧵⬇️

bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The lateral septum orchestrates state-dependent modulation of associative threat memory dynamics across the ovarian hormone cycle https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.28.702128v1

In the emotional rollercoaster that was the last year, writing up this manuscript with @ewhizabeth.bsky.social has been a bright spot. I'm thrilled to share the bulk of my postdoctoral work in this preprint.

bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The lateral septum orchestrates state-dependent modulation of associative threat memory dynamics across the ovarian hormone cycle https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.28.702128v1

Out now: Favila, Capece Marsico et al. 2025, Nature Communications: Using longitudinal deep-brain imaging, we report that amygdala interneurons exhibit complex and heterogeneous plasticity during associative learning, at both the single-cell and population level. 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Heterogeneous plasticity of amygdala interneurons in associative learning and extinction - Nature Communications

In this study, the authors uncover how diverse inhibitory interneurons in the amygdala flexibly contribute to fear and safety learning, revealing a key role for inhibition in emotional memory and adap...

nature.com

Attn all human MRI/fMRI folks! The Dept of Psychology at Northeastern University is hiring a new Director of the NU Biomedical Imaging Center at the level of Associate or Full Professor. Bonus: you'll have the best Chair EVER 😉 Full ad here: northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/...

Alexa Jo will be giving her ✨very first✨ conference presentation from the lab at this morning's poster session - go say hi and check out her super cool project! Then, pop over to Nina's talk at the "Circuit Regulation of Fear and Extinction Learning" Nanosymposium this afternoon. #SfN25

Beth Lucas@ewhizabeth.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The lab is presenting at #SfN2025 Come check out the amazing science being conducted by postdoc Nina Baumgartner @nbaumgar.bsky.social and grad student Alexa Jo Tellez! I am also recruiting a postdoc so please spread the word. #neuroskyence

Be sure to check out Nina's poster at the Early Career Poster Session today! She was awarded the Trainee Professional Development Award, generously supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund @bwfund.bsky.social! She's got a 🔥🔥🔥 scientific story that we are sending off for publication soon. #SfN2025

Beth Lucas@ewhizabeth.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The lab is presenting at #SfN2025 Come check out the amazing science being conducted by postdoc Nina Baumgartner @nbaumgar.bsky.social and grad student Alexa Jo Tellez! I am also recruiting a postdoc so please spread the word. #neuroskyence

Come by my poster and nanosymposium talk if you'll be at SfN this week!

Beth Lucas@ewhizabeth.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The lab is presenting at #SfN2025 Come check out the amazing science being conducted by postdoc Nina Baumgartner @nbaumgar.bsky.social and grad student Alexa Jo Tellez! I am also recruiting a postdoc so please spread the word. #neuroskyence

🎉 Join us on Monday for the best party of the year! The Cai-Tye Collective is throwing a bash at #SfN25 and everyone is invited! 🎉 November 17, 9pm at Parq Nightclub in San Diego. See you all there!

The lab is presenting at #SfN2025 Come check out the amazing science being conducted by postdoc Nina Baumgartner @nbaumgar.bsky.social and grad student Alexa Jo Tellez! I am also recruiting a postdoc so please spread the word. #neuroskyence

ATTN: Two faculty positions are available in my department (neuroscience) at the University of Minnesota. This is a general search with no topic focus. November 20th application deadline. Apply here: hr.umn.edu/jobs/Find-Job Assistant Prof job code: 364920 Associate/Full Prof job code: 364921

My lab trainees are excited to present at the SBN Online Research Symposium - hope to see you other hormone enthusiasts there too!

SBN on Bluesky@sbn-bsky.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Last chance to submit to SBN's second annual Online Research Symposium! Today! Well, midnight tonight, technically...

My promotion is officially official today! Many thanks my trainees who make science so fun and rewarding, to my colleagues for their mentorship and camaraderie, to my letters writers for their time and support, and to my husband for continuous support in this often crazy career.

Someone at the power hour brought up peak science twitter. I miss that too. Towards building/maintaining the GRC-Amygdala community, here is a starter pack with attendees. Please add folks who are attending!! go.bsky.app/13BbBW9

Everything Abby says here is spot on. It is hard to explain to people outside science how deeply existential this all is for us, what it feels like to have your whole world turned inside out. Check on your friends and colleagues, folks. We are not OK.

Abby Polter@ampolter.bsky.social · last yr.

I am thinking a lot today about how heavy things feel in my world of faculty doing scientific research. There's the immediate chaos and panic about our ability to pay people and continue our research. But there's also a deeper grief at watching everything get bulldozed for no reason

We have been conducting calcium imaging in Rspo2+ neurons in the amygdala, which are reported to encode negative valence. I am totally obsessed with the Rspo2-Cre mouse line! Look at the stream of axons leaving the amygdala to their final destinations! #FluorescenceFriday #Neuroskyence

So happy (and relieved!) to receive funding for a new project investigating estradiol regulation of inhibitory microcircuits for valence processing in the amygdala! Difficult to share when many of my colleagues' grants are being terminated, but maybe this news will bring some folks hope ✨

New paper from the lab! Do you pay close attention to what your research animals are eating? If you are interested in behavior, development, or reproductive physiology – you should! 🧵 ⬇️ tinyurl.com/yc356mpr

Dietary phytoestrogens recalibrate socioemotional behavior in C57Bl/6J mice in a sex- and timing-dependent manner

Estrogens are potent regulators of socioemotional behavior across species. Ubiquitous in human and animal diets, plant-derived phytoestrogens (PE) bin…

tinyurl.com

Come see us this morning #ACNP2024 - We have a 🔥 line up!

Keri Martinowich@martinowk.bsky.social · 2y ago

Details on our Wed AM panel, "Molecular, Cellular and Behavioral Diversity of Lateral Septum Function" #ACNP2024

Using #FluorescenceFriday to highlight a specialized population of neurons in the lateral septum that may comprise a hormone-sensitive memory engram to suppress conditioned fear responses when females are in the high hormone phase of the reproductive cycle. Interested? Come see my talk at #ACNP2024!

In honor of this place livening up I'm going to do something scary and share some of my more recent #neuroskyence themed lino prints! This is a personal fave based off of a pun of mushroom dendritic spines I've had in my head for ages

I have begun to curate a list of #neuroendocrinologists (and allied research areas) on this site so we can begin to link up and form a community with critical mass. Let me know if you have any suggestions for additions or would like to be removed from the list. 🤓🧠 bsky.app/profile/did:...

Lotta scientists moving over here today! Welcome! 🧪

Legal is making me take down this graphic from my website and also delete the words "our laboratory is committed to diversity, inclusion, and work-life balance" to comply with the new DEI ban going into effect October 1. Crestfallen - should I just delete the website? Feels like a no-win situation.

Andrew Hardaway@andrewhardaway.bsky.social · 2y ago

The only people "winning" right now are lawyers racking up billable hours while we stumble over words because some conservative assholes wanna wage a culture war in academia.

I could not let #PostdocAppreciationWeek conclude without giving due praise to @nbaumgar.bsky.social. She is a creative and rigorous scientist, patient mentor, and beautiful person. She makes the lab a better place, and I am so grateful that she chose me as her mentor.

Our most amazing summer student not only gathered exciting new data for a new research direction in the lab but also made this graphic about our lab’s research 😍

Celebrating our 2 year anniversary at UAB! 🥳

Fun fact: estrogen-havers experience migraines at about twice to 4 times the rate of people not running on estrogen. Overwhelmingly, women are the ones who experience migraines, just like auto-immune disorders, and this explains why migraines are not considered a disability. SSDI does not list it

Every day the gap widens between the profound dignity and worthiness of women’s lives and the contempt and indifference with which the law treats them.

OK buddies! 🗣️🗣️🗣️ This is the year!: hoping to publish (preprints soon!), and I’ll be hitting the faculty job market! 🧠🔥   To help, I made a website. 🙃🙃🙃 Please consider me for a talk/presentation, and maybe even hire me…? 😬🔬😬🔬😬 www.travisgoode.com

Travis D. Goode, Ph.D.

Travis D. Goode, Ph.D.

travisgoode.com