Matthijs Dorst
@mattneuro.dorst-lab.org
Neuroscientist in Oslo. Former Editor. Mucking about with Voltage Imaging and patching. Aiming for a mix of fun, science, and funny science. Trying to be kind. He/him. https://dorst-lab.org/
Made it to Klaipéda and the baltic sea. Tomorrow, I'll take the ferry back to Sweden. But today, I got to enjoy Curonian Spit National Park (Kuršių nerijos nacionalinis parkas), where I snapped this photo in the absolutely sweltering heat. Too bad I didn't bring my own swimming trunks!
Just walked into an old soviet nuclear missile silo, and immediately lost all cell reception. Absolutely dream location for some patch-clamp electrophysiology! 🧠
Twenty kilometers of Latvian dirt roads were a bit much, but we've made it back onto pavement and to Lithuania! #motosky
Anyone else's Google Scholar gone entirely bonkers? It's started adding random acknowledgements and copyright statements ("Copyright© 2021 by the author (s). Published here under license by the...") as my research articles. And deleted my most cited article. Maybe not great to rely on Google here.
The local gulls in #Tallinn have apparently learned to beg tourists for food. I am sure this will end well.
Made it to Helsinki! Apparently I am not the only motorcyclist taking the ferry to Tallinn today. So many cool bikes!
Hey neuroscientists, do you have a story about a time when journalism has improved your science? If so, I'd love to include it in my next op-ed. 🧠
"I'm going to ask Santa for a research grant!" "Huh? You still believe in research grants?"
DEFINITELY in moose country! #Sweden #motosky (I think technically they're elk, but I never figured out the difference)
Matthijs Dorst@mattneuro.dorst-lab.org · last wk.First stop on my roadtrip; I think I may be in moose country... #Sweden #motosky
Two-photon calcium imaging. What makes for good data? How can we optimize experiments to get good data? New post labrigger.com/blog/2026/07... and new free web apps from @filip-tomaska.bsky.social (1/8)
I feel this is not widely known, but if you are reviewing, you can generally include others in the process. But always check with the editor first to avoid conflicts of interest, or accidentally asking an excluded reviewer. This includes PhD students and postdocs, as well as relevant colleagues.
Richard Bentall #FPBE@richardbentall.bsky.social · 2w agoI never use AI to write reviews, of course, but I pass my reviews to Claude to check. It bothers me that I might unwittingly write unfair review (I have been in receipt of many) so I like to get a 2nd opinion. Occasionally Claude spots a mistake (eg me not noticing correction for mult comparisons).
I don't know man; one day you're hip and young, the next you have a drawer where you keep various lengths of wire.
Write an (academic) horror story in six words: "The coffee machine has been removed"
When the editor of Science writes soemthing you agree with ±90%, for which he'll surely face stiff headwinds from the AI bros you dispise, but you pile on of because "?utm_source=chatgpt.com" (which OBV funny), you have to ask yourself whether you're trying to affect change or in a culture war.
While we do most of our recordings with a 1P system, we decided to check what these dopamine axons looked like under @koenvervaeke.bsky.social's 2P microscope. Makes for a darn pretty picture!
Matthijs Dorst@mattneuro.dorst-lab.org · 4w agoHappy #FluorescenceFriday! When investigating striatal cholinergic neurons, it's a good idea to check what dopamine is doing. So, @livija-sarauskyte.bsky.social put an axon-expressing GCaMP8s in midbrain dopamine neurons, and imaged dorsal striatum during a simple task. So much going on! 🧠
Scenes like these feel like they belong in some cute Japanese anime; but it's right here in Oslo! The lab decided to hike up Vettakollen for lunch today; it was lovely, if not a smidge warm.
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! When investigating striatal cholinergic neurons, it's a good idea to check what dopamine is doing. So, @livija-sarauskyte.bsky.social put an axon-expressing GCaMP8s in midbrain dopamine neurons, and imaged dorsal striatum during a simple task. So much going on! 🧠
Very cool to see this work by Maxime! I knew he was also investigating ChIN recurrent inhibition, and while we originally found some local feedback from TH interneurons, that never captured the full circuit. Awesome to see they found an extrastriatal source! 🧠
bioRxiv Neuroscience@biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · last mo.Long-range inhibitory control of cholinergic network dynamics in the striatum. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.29.735329v1
We've had one fire alarm yes, but what about *second* fire alarm? I did not pick a great day for surgeries...
If you ever think you're procrastinating much: me and six co-authors just put the finishing touches on a review we've been writing since September '25, which has a deadline of [checks notes] the day after tomorrow. 🧠
Weirdest thing happened recently: a new #Hamilton syringe cracked and broke (top). I had never seen this before, so I emailed them about it. A week later, a brand new one unexpectedly showed up! Now that's the kind of customer service that makes me happy to buy from them again.
🇪🇸 Meet #FENS at the #FENS2026 Booth! 🧠 The booth will be in the Exhibition Hall throughout the #FENSForum to answer all your questions about FENS. 🌟 Visit our partner and member society walls and enjoy the activities we have prepared for you! 👉 buff.ly/DzoOFXX
