Ross Williamson
@rswilliamson.bsky.social
Scottish neuroscientist (Assistant Professor @ University of Pittsburgh). Likes brains, books, maths, and music. Avid endurance runner and cyclist.
How does the #brain maintain stable sound representations sound despite variable background noise? This study by Omedas & @rswilliamson.bsky.social identifies a functional division across #auditory cortex layers, linking noise-invariance to deep-layer pathways. #AcademicSky plos.io/45a1TRI
Whooooooo - congratulations to the indomitable @meenakshiasokan.bsky.social!!!!!!
Leading Edge Fellows Program@leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · 2mo agoWe are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/
Excited to share a new paper from our lab, just in time for Easter, where we characterize how arousal modulates different excitatory cell-types in the auditory cortex! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Pupil-linked arousal heterogeneously modulates cell-type–specific sensory processing
Two-photon imaging and pupillometry reveal how arousal modulates excitatory neuron subtypes in auditory cortex.
science.org
Excited to share some new work from my lab, where we rigorously characterize differences between L5 and L6b extratelencephalic neurons in the auditory cortex!
biorxiv.org
Yes! Beautiful new work from a dream team!
Benjamin Cowley@benjocowley.bsky.social · 6mo agoDNN models of the brain are getting bigger. Are we replacing one complicated system in vivo with another in silico? In new work, we seek the *smallest* DNN models of visual cortex, balancing prediction with parsimony. It turns out these compact models are surprisingly small! rdcu.be/e5H8G
Absolutely incredible work from the legendary SVD himself @stephenvdavid.bsky.social
Stephen David@stephenvdavid.bsky.social · 6mo agoCall it #ExplainableAI or just making sense of complexity. We establish a direct link between DNNs fit to #AuditoryCortex and more intuitive subspace models from the 2000s. Congrats @jeremewingert.bsky.social @satyaparida.bsky.social & Sam Norman-Haignere! #NeuroAI #SensoryNeuroscience rdcu.be/e5gLY
Just in time for Xmas! Check out some new work from my lab looking at noise-invariant representations in excitatory cell-types! Congrats to Tommy Suarez-Omedas! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Canonical cortical architecture supports the emergence of noise-invariant auditory representations
Neurons in the auditory system must represent behaviorally relevant sounds in the presence of background noise (BN) to support noise-invariant perception and behavior. Although primary auditory cortex...
biorxiv.org
Check out our posters at #SfN25 on Tuesday AM! We have lots to share and would love you all to stop by!
Dream rig acquired. My life is now going to be defined in terms of pre- and post-Boogie.
Awesome! Really beautiful stuff. Congrats all!
Estelle in ‘t Zandt@eintzandt.bsky.social · 10mo agoSuper excited to share the first part of my thesis work! Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠 tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
YES! GO @markhisted.org!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Science and Freedom Alliance - SAFA@safa-science.bsky.social · 11mo agoFederal workers are speaking out on how the Trump regime is harming Americans: "We stand here today at a moment of the greatest assault of our lifetimes on our freedoms. The US Constitution is being shredded... We are here to call on Congress to stand up and stop it." youtu.be/uw1KwIBgrCw?...
Thank you @rswilliamson.bsky.social from University of Pittsburgh for giving a wonderful seminar at @erasmusmc.bsky.social about his exciting work on #auditory #corticofugalprojections. We thoroughly enjoy the discussion and hope you had a great time in the beautiful city of Rotterdam.
Really excited to share the latest work from my lab, where we identify how distinct cortical projections differentially encode sensory category and choice.
A cortical output channel for perceptual categorization
Perceptual categorization allows the brain to transform diverse sensory inputs into discrete representations that support flexible behavior. Auditory cortex (ACtx) has been implicated in this process,...
biorxiv.org
RIP Ozzman. At least you and Randy Rhoads can rock out together now.
Our next profile is here! Dr. Melissa Caras studies the neurophysiological mechanisms of auditory perceptual learning. Follow the link to listen and learn more! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202... #WomenInNeuroscience #StoriesOfWiN
Dr. Melissa Caras — Stories of WiN
studies the neurophysiological mechanisms of auditory perceptual learning.
storiesofwin.org
The Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund thanks @rswilliamson.bsky.social, @megyounger.bsky.social, and @sungsoo.bsky.social for presenting their research at the recent Klingenstein Fellowship Awards in Neuroscience Conference. 📷 : SimonProPhoto
New work from the lab highlighting the differential effect of arousal on distinct excitatory projections!
bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · last yr.Pupil-linked arousal differentially modulates cell-type-specific sensory processing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.09.658645v1
Go work with Pierre! He is the business!
Pierre Apostolides@pfapostolides.bsky.social · last yr.(Plz repost) I’ve been receiving some good news lately and will be hiring at all levels to expand the lab. Please get in contact if you are interested in reinforcement learning, neural plasticity, neural circuit dynamics, and/or hearing rehabilitation. pierre.apostolides @ umich .edu Tyvm
Beautiful new work from @anbuhlk.bsky.social! Go join her new lab!
Kelsey Anbuhl@anbuhlk.bsky.social · last yr.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/...
"What makes an artificial system a good model of intelligence?" Researchers at CMU are addressing this question with a focus on artificial brain models. Read more about how the proposed "NeuroAI Turing Test" offers a standard benchmark to develop "truly brain-like AI"! arxiv.org/abs/2502.16238
Incredible new work from the legendary @caroline-runyan.bsky.social. Congrats to all!
Caroline Runyan@caroline-runyan.bsky.social · last yr.Check out our new paper, that reveals both the striking generality of cortical circuit organization, but also what we think are key differences in the scales of local excitatory and inhibitory networks across cortical areas. www.jneurosci.org/content/45/1...
Congrats @audreydrotos.bsky.social and @robertsneuro.bsky.social!!!!!! Happy that we got a chance to contribute!
Audrey Drotos, PhD 🧠 🔬@audreydrotos.bsky.social · 2y agoOur new work investigating multiplexing and mixed selectivity in auditory inferior colliculus neurons is up on bioRxiv 🎉 doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Happy to announce some exciting new funding from @kavlifoundation.bsky.social to investigate brain-wide projections using holographic opto with Greg Handy and Anne Takesian!
Sculpted Light in the Brain
New Kavli Exploration Awards in neuroscience will advance photonic technologies
kavlifoundation.org
If you are an auditory neuroscientist attending ARO 2025, please check your inbox for an important survey from ARO regarding strategies for safety and inclusion at the MWM this year in Florida. 🧠 👂 🏳️🌈
Super excited to share the first preprint from my lab, looking at auditory cortical necessity and categorical learning. This one has been cooking for a while and has really set the stage for several other ongoing projects in the lab (stay tuned)! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
