Always sad to leave MBL after our cycle at NS&B is over! We had an awesome time doing mini2p imaging with a @thorlabs.bsky.social system to look at cortical neurons in freely moving animals. Can't even see the scope in the lab pic, tiny but powerful! 💪🔬🐭 @nsb-mbl.bsky.social @mhigley.bsky.social

Many pro astrophysicists receive unsolicited letters from amateurs with new but subtly wrong physics theories, often about relativity and from retired engineers. This cute new paper is a perfect reply & I love how it uses cyclotrons & transponders & radar 🧪🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2605.21660

Relativity for Retired Engineers

We provide some guidance and examples to clear up common misconceptions about special relativity. These misconceptions often come from trying to express the truths of special relativity in Newtonian t...

arxiv.org

Often a brake, sometimes a gas pedal. The neurotransmitter GABA typically inhibits brain activity. But in a new study published in #Neuron, researchers in the @mhigley.bsky.social lab show that GABA may, in certain circumstances, enhance neuronal activity.

The Brain’s Braking System Can Sometimes Become a Gas Pedal, Study Finds

A neurotransmitter known to quiet activity in the brain can sometimes do the opposite, researchers find, offering implications for psychiatric treatment.

medicine.yale.edu

Spatiotemporally dynamic noradrenergic regulation of cortical networks https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.11.724286v1

Do brain circuits really sit in a 'soup' of neuromodulators? Are neurons like soggy bits of bread soaked in signaling factors? Is the whole brain just squelching around in one big pool of warm modulators?

You know GABA as an inhibitor, but that’s not all! We found that tonic GABAergic signaling, mediated by SST-interneurons and alpha5-type receptors, paradoxically facilitates dendritic calcium signals! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

SST interneurons facilitate dendritic calcium signaling via tonic activation of α5-GABA receptors

Brain activity is highly regulated by GABAergic activity, which can suppress neuronal excitability and synaptic integration. Tonic GABAergic conductan…

sciencedirect.com

Excited to share our lab's new website, designed by @stellatecomms.bsky.social They perfectly captured the spirit of the lab, our efforts to bridge different areas of neuroscience, and the amazing team that does such cool science every day! Please check it out... higleylab.org

Higley Lab | Yale University

Bridging molecular, cellular, and systems neuroscience. We study neural circuits from synaptic boutons to cortical networks in behaving animals.

higleylab.org

A throwback to illustrations we created for @zurisullivan.bsky.social and the Sullivan Lab — three illustrations, three color stories, one cohesive visual identity. 🧠🦠 🎨 More work on our website: stellatecomms.com/creative-portfolio | via @stellatecomms.bsky.social

New preprint from the lab! Stefan Sun and @q-perrenoud.bsky.social collaborated to look at how sensory experience affects the adult cortex. Using ephys and 2-photon imaging, they found that varied visual experience reorganizes dendrite-targeting inhibitory circuits in V1.

See our latest - collab with @jess-cardin.bsky.social, led by @andrewmoberly.bsky.social. We combined mesoscopic and 2p imaging to show that learning-dependent plasticity of ACh release in visual cortex drives enhanced visual representations and conditioned behavior. 1/5 tinyurl.com/3cfea6df

Learning-dependent cholinergic plasticity reconfigures cortical circuit dynamics

Neuromodulation by acetylcholine (ACh) plays a critical role in reshaping neural dynamics in the neocortex as a function of development, behavioral state, and learning [1][1]–[6][2]. Prior work sugges...

biorxiv.org

Has anyone found info on the NIH proposed budget in the Senate bill under discussion today?

On this day 2 years ago, I was heading out on my first job interview (at my current institution)! I was so freaking nervous. To those setting out on that journey this month, have confidence! You made it this far. You are a rockstar. Now show them how bright you shine!

...and tonight, cookies!

Score! Our local seafood shop had fresh eel! Dinner's looking good tonight!

Unbelievably thankful for being able to work alongside such a supportive, smart, enthusiastic group of scientists! Happy Holidays from the Higley Lab!

Alrighty, who's ready for a 5 hour swim meet (where my son participates for a total of 3 minutes)?

📢The YC-SCAN² has awarded 14 grants 💰 to researchers, including @yaleneuro.bsky.social's Nicola Micali & @mhigley.bsky.social 👨‍🔬🥼, for their work focused on understanding the impact of cannabinoids on neurodevelopment! Read More Here 👇

@pjenkinslab.bsky.social and I wrote a review on the axon initial segment. We tried our best to discuss the state of the field and provide our perspective (and resolution for) some current sticking points. Hope it's useful! doi.org/10.1152/phys...

Axon Initial Segment Structure and Function in Health and Disease | Physiological Reviews

At the simplest level, neurons are structured to integrate synaptic input and perform computational transforms on that input, converting it into an action potential (AP) code. This process-converting synaptic input into AP output-typically occurs in a specialized region of axon termed the axon initial segment (AIS). The AIS, as its name implies, is often contained to the first section of axon abutted to the soma and is home to a dizzying array of ion channels, attendant scaffolding proteins, intracellular organelles, extracellular proteins, and, in some cases, synapses. The AIS serves multiple roles as the final arbiter for determining if inputs are sufficient to evoke APs, as a gatekeeper that physically separates the somatodendritic domain from the axon proper, and as a regulator of overall neuronal excitability, dynamically tuning its size to best suit the needs of parent neurons. These complex roles have received considerable attention from experimentalists and theoreticians alike. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of the AIS and its role in neuronal integration and polarity in health and disease.

doi.org

Super cool new work from lab led by Hadas Benisty and Dan Barson. Time-varying cross-correlations between cortical areas/cells provide unique info about fluctuations in mouse behavior, similar or greater than that present in activity fluctuations. Check it out: rdcu.be/dsrzd

Cardin/Higley labs out for dinner at SFN! A few folks missing, but great to meet up outside work!

Hi All- Just welcoming myself to this here community after arriving from “the other place”. Hoping the (neuro)science community keeps growing!!