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)
Just out in Nature an extraordinary paper by @sergiuppasca.bsky.social and his team who genetically altered mice & transferred organoids derived from human neural cells into the cortex. @anilseth.bsky.social and I explore the ethical implications in a forthcoming commentary.
Happy to share the version of record of our locus coeruleus paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Prior thread on some of our discoveries in this study: bsky.app/profile/jere...
Topographic structure and function of locus coeruleus noradrenaline neurons - Nature
Dorsal and ventral noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus form topographic subpopulations whose projection patterns and activity encode choice switching, reward-prediction errors and disregard o...
nature.com
Jeremiah Cohen@jeremiahycohen.bsky.social · 5mo agoDelighted to share our discoveries about one of the brain's neurotransmitter systems: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Together with colleagues at the @alleninstitute.org, we have learned a lot about a tiny cluster of neurons in the brainstem locus coeruleus (LC) that releases norepinephrine (NE). 1
If there are any PhD hopefuls on here, I wanted to share a few thoughts on your timeline for the upcoming admissions cycle, with apps due starting mid-November. What should you be doing right now? ✔️ Generating a list of schools ✔️ Reaching out to possible recommenders 🧵!
We should probably stop treating the number of things someone has produced as a proxy for how much thinking they have done.
There’s a lot of terrible things going on but this is a genuinely great thing.
Ada Palmer@adapalmer.bsky.social · 3w agoA tetanus-diphtheria vaccine that doesn’t need a fridge has passed its first human trial. UK scientists reformulated a licensed shot using trehalose, the sugar that lets desert plants survive without water, keeping it stable for up to two years at 30°C. Gavi buff.ly/1kNIUHB #ShareGoodNewsToo
The Department of Psychology at University of Minnesota seeks an Assistant Professor working on computational approaches related to cognition and/or perception (broadly). This would be in my area of the department and I’m happy to answer any questions. Posting : hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...
Careers
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Computational Approaches to Perception and/or CognitionDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of Minnesota, College of Liberal ArtsThe Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities announces a search for an outstanding scholar to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position focused on computational approaches to perception and/or cognition. This full-time position in the Department’s Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CAB) Training Program will begin in Fall 2027.Applications are invited from researchers who would extend or complement our historic strengths in combining experimental and computational approaches to perception and cognition. Examples of desired research topics include, but are not limited to, computational approaches in human and/or non-human animal models to study perceptual function and sensory loss, learning, motivation, emotion, and/or higher cognition. While we expect the primary appointment to be in our CAB area, there is potential for cross-affiliation with other departmental areas.The appointment will be 100%-time over the nine-month academic year (late-August to late-May) and will be made at the rank of tenure-track assistant professor, depending on qualifications and experience and consistent with collegiate and University policy. Salary and start-up packages are competitive. The successful applicant should have and is expected to maintain a strong research program, advise graduate students from a variety of different backgrounds, and teach undergraduate and graduate courses, including core courses within the graduate training program. A strong record of teaching and mentorship is desired. The individual will also be expected to contribute to the service needs of the department, college, university, and profession.A successful candidate's application will demonstrate scholarly distinction, a record of publications, teaching commitment and, if applicable to the research program and the candidate’s career stage, evidence of success in securing and/or pursuing extramural funding.Applicants are invited to review the Workload Principles and Guidelines for Regular Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as the Standards for Promotion and Tenure in the Department of Psychology.
google.com
This is REALLY important. “Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.” They want you to think you’re alone. You’re not. #ClimateCrisis
Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same
That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll....
sherwood.news
When I was a medical resident in India in the 90s, I rarely saw kids with measles. And I did not see much of polio or diphtheria or whooping cough either None of this was luck It was because childhood vaccination coverage in that region of India was high, and vaccines were highly effective
More relevant today than expected, but found ourselves explaining that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism last night to a waitress. Explaining Wakefield's motivations ($$$) makes more sense than statistics or biological facts, we found
Proud to share the first of a series of papers on “Picture a ‘Black in Neuro’ Scientist.” A thoughtful perspective on how mentorship is a reciprocal ecosystem and a necessary institutional investment! academic.oup.com/oons/article...
Mentorship as a Mechanism for Equity, Retention & Scientific Innovation in Neuroscience-related Careers
Abstract. Despite rapid advances in neuroscience, Black scientists remain persistently underrepresented across training and career stages, reflecting struc
academic.oup.com
If you have so much work to do that you feel you need AI in order to get it all done: you don't. You need a union.
Please share--the Shansky lab is currently recruiting at all levels to work on an NIH-funded project investigating sex differences in the neural circuits that drive defensive behaviors. The official job ad isn't yet up, but interested folks can contact me as instructed here www.shanskylab.com/join
Join — Shansky Lab
The lab at our end-of-semester field day
shanskylab.com
Scientists have created the first comprehensive map of the human vagus nerve, tracing thousands of individual nerve fibers stretching from the lower brain stem to all major organs. https://scim.ag/457X63m
Major highway of the human nervous system gets a complete road map
First comprehensive map of the vagus nerve may point to more precise stimulation therapies
scim.ag
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 · 2mo agoMajor 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 · 2mo 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!
