Simone Papa
@simonepapa.bsky.social
Phd in Neuroscience (ETH) Neurobehavioural Dynamics Lab Neurobiology - Sapienza University | EMBL - Visual Systems Neuroscience; - Neurophysiology and functional neuroanatomy (Visuomotor System); - Computational Neuroscience (Modelling & ANN)
Honoured to receive the Genio Galateo Award 🧠🏅 For my MSc thesis in Neurobiology (EMBL & Sapienza). Receiving this recognition in my hometown is especially significant. Investing in young researchers, education, and science means investing in the future of our communities. #Neuroscience #research
Science, a pint, and a closer look at the brain 👁️🧠🍺 At, I attended a fascinating talk by Jenny Imhof on how eye-related signals can reveal motor performance. A great reminder of how informal events can make science engaging even for those who do it every day. #Neuroscience #SciComm #PintofScience
Exploring translational pediatric research 🧠🔬 Visited Forschungszentrum für das Kind at Kinderspital Zürich, where neuroscience, oncology, genetics, and precision medicine converge to improve care for children. Translational brain tumor research bridging lab and clinic. #Neuroscience #BrainTumor
Communicating science matters, doing it well matters more! At ETH Zürich’s workshop with Michel Büchel and Vinzenz Greiner, we explored how to turn research into clear, engaging stories. Not simplification, shaping the message. #CommunicationsAcademy #SocialMedia #Neuroscience
Metabolism Meets Mind 🔬🧠 Attended ETH Zürich D-HEST seminars on liver–brain axis, adipose signalling, and germline regulation. Talks highlighted how deeply interconnected physiology is, from metabolism to brain function and inheritance. #Neuroscience #Metabolism #SystemsBiology
Brains, Code & Circuits 🧠⚡ Attended Spring 2026 INI seminars (UZH/ETH): spiking learning, birdsong algorithms, neural development, neuromorphic LLMs. From global error to local dynamics, where neuroscience meets AI. Excited for what’s next! #Neuroinformatics #Neuromorphic #AI
Your Pupils, Your Mind 👁️🧠 Pupil size isn’t just light reflex: it tracks “pupil-linked arousal” shaped by neuromodulators (NA, ACh, 5-HT, orexin). The piece argues pupils are a 1D readout of multidimensional brain states. #Neuroscience #Arousal #Pupillometry #Orexin www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Neurobehavioral meaning of pupil size
Grujic et al. summarize the optical, neural, and behavioral consequences, as well as mechanisms, of pupil-linked arousal. They incorporate novel findings and identify gaps in the literature while prov...
cell.com
A perspective piece questions the #ArealizationParadigm (the idea of neatly bounded brain areas with single functions). Anatomical, genetic, and connectivity maps often disagree, and large-scale recordings suggest cognition is widely distributed. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #neuroscience
Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization - Nature Neuroscience
Parcellation of the cortex into functionally modular brain areas is foundational to neuroscience. Here, Hayden, Heilbronner and Yoo question the central status of brain areas in neuroscience from the ...
nature.com
I am pleased to share that I have commenced my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in Neuroscience at @ethz.ch Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich! #ETH #PhD #Neuroscience #DHest
A new Scientific Horizons article by Öykü Nur Kesek and Nicolas Hubacz explores how adolescent stress shapes the brain, alongside new insights into neuronal communication. Emerging links between mental health, neural development, and information processing. www.linkedin.com/pulse/mappin...
Mapping Stress in the Teenage Brain and How Neurons Communicate
Scientific Horizons is your gateway to expert-driven insights, uncovering the latest breakthroughs in healthcare, biotech and scientific research Mapping Stress in the Teenage Brain and Body: The Conn...
linkedin.com
Non-invasive temporal interference #stimulation can quiet deep epileptic networks. In MTLE patients, TI targeting the #hippocampus reduced seizure biomarkers and limited spread, with lasting effects beyond stimulation, offering a promising option for drug-resistant #epilepsy without surgery.
A new #Brain study shows cortico-basal oscillations track real-world movement in #Parkinson’s patients with #DBS. These rhythms change predictably during daily actions. Measuring brain signals in natural settings could enable adaptive, personalized stimulation beyond the clinic (Michael S Oku)
A colleague’s new study in #Biomolecules compares β- and γ-synuclein aggregation across vertebrates. It reveals species-specific differences in aggregation propensity and copper sensitivity, offering new insights into #synuclein dynamics and mechanisms. www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15...
A new #fluorescent sensor, iGluSnFR3, reveals #glutamate release at #synapses in real time 🧠✨ Developed by teams from the Allen Institute, HHMI, and UC San Diego, it makes the brain’s fastest signals visible, enabling deeper insight into how #neurons communicate across networks.
Season’s greetings from the microscopy world! A festive YFP-labeled neuron lights up an enlightened mouse brain from the Noé Rodriguez collection, with creative work by Stanislav Pelekhov (Ksena Longrin) Happy holidays! #microscopy #neuroscience #neuron
I attended “Spremuta di Cervelli” on #education and the future of learning, focusing on how #neuroscience and #AI intersect. The discussion explored how attention, memory, motivation, and emotion shape learning, and how algorithms may transform #teaching without losing sight of #brain complexity.
Over a year of #FluorescenceFriday showcased biology in true 3D, from intact human tissues to neural and immune networks, tumors, and vasculature. Structure, context, and relationships. In biology, context isn’t optional, it’s ground truth (Alpenglow Biosciences)
#Bioinformatics is a fast-growing market: $10.1B in 2022, projected to reach $18.7B by 2027 (13% CAGR) Growth is driven by public and private funding, while high equipment costs remain a barrier. Emerging markets offer major opportunities, and data security will define long-term winners.
Music improvisation rewires the brain in real time. Jazz studies show that creative freedom boosts auditory, motor coupling and salience networks, while structured tasks engage evaluative control systems. Creativity emerges from dynamic shifts. neurosciencenews.com/music-improv...
Music Improvisation Rewires the Brain in Real Time - Neuroscience News
Creativity is notoriously difficult to study as it unfolds, but musical improvisation offers a rare chance to watch spontaneous idea-generation in action.
neurosciencenews.com
This Thursday we’re hosting an event on #Education at the intersection of #neuroscience and #AI. We’ll explore how brains and algorithms learn through error, feedback, and adaptation, and what this means for attention, memory, teaching practices, and the future role of educators.
Researchers from the Allen Institute and Japan’s University of Electro-Communications used supercomputer Fugaku to simulate the full mouse cortex, 10M neurons and 26B synapses. Built on open data, this virtual brain lets scientists explore how disorders emerge. alleninstitute.org/news/one-of-...
A new study introduces high-plex spatial RNA imaging in a single round using color-intensity barcodes and standard microscopes, enabling scalable transcript mapping. Open textbook Principles of Light Microscopy, accessed over 44,000 times (Volodymyr Nechyporuk-Zloy). www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A new study shows motor cortex stimulation eases chronic pain not via motor circuits, but through non-motor networks in the precentral gyrus. nTMS mapping can target these regions precisely, enabling more personalized and effective treatments for pain. (Nicolas Hubacz, M.S) #ChronicPain #TMS
I attended “Brain Aging - How time shapes the brain,” exploring how aging alters memory, attention, and connectivity, while plasticity and circuit reorganization support resilience👨🦳🧠. #BrainAging
Attended the seminar “What can we learn from stochastic parrots?” at UPF Barcelona, great insights on LLMs and cognition (Jarosław R. Lelonkiewicz). Also visited IMIM’s Neurosciences Department, focused on mental and neurodegenerative disorders and the misuse of psychoactive substances. #neuro
New research finds the brain moves through five wiring epochs, with key shifts at ages 9, 32, 66, and 83. The biggest change in the early 30s ends adolescent-like connectivity and begins adult stability, shaping learning, cognition, and vulnerabilities. neurosciencenews.com/brain-aging-...
Your Brain Quietly Rewires Itself at 9, 32, 66 and 83 - Neuroscience News
Researchers identified five major phases of human brain wiring that unfold from birth to old age, marked by four major turning points at ages 9, 32, 66, and 83.
neurosciencenews.com
The inflammatory reflex shows how the brain regulates immunity through the vagus nerve: signals reach the spleen, activate T cells, and release acetylcholine to reduce TNF-α. Inflammation isn’t only chemical, it’s electrical, with the brain telling the immune system when to calm down (James Durham)
Researchers mapped the genetic architecture of the corpus callosum using an AI tool that detects it across MRI types. Studying 50k people, they identified genes shaping its size and links to neuropsychiatric disorders (by Anna Sara Liberati) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New work shows that temporarily silencing the amblyopic #retina can reopen visual pathways in adults. Restoration depends on T-type calcium channel–driven bursting, offering a potential therapy that avoids blocking the stronger eye (by Eveline Ruehlin). neurosciencenews.com/vision-resto...
