Two large-scale electrophysiologyical studies of psilocybin's effects in mice, from @alleninstitute.org @torbenott.bsky.social and others. Should be a treasure trove of data for those interested in perceptual effects of #psychedelics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
📢Applications remain open for our part-time, online MSc/PGDip in Sleep Medicine! Interested? Book an information session on June 25 (12pm and 7pm UK time): www.scni.ox.ac.uk/forms/inform... 🔗And visit our website: www.scni.ox.ac.uk/study-with-us
𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧! ESRS is pleased to announce the launch of the ESRS-CSRS Exchange Programme - 10 ESRS early-career members will be selected to attend and present at the 18th Annual CSRS Conference, Zhengzhou, 28–30 August 2026. Full details and eligibility criteria here: lnkd.in/d-dQ-Wzf
"As a new open-access journal within the Journal of Sleep Research family, JSR Sleep Biomedicine has the chance to become a distinguished home for work across the biology and medicine of sleep, especially studies that are mechanistic, translational, and technically adventurous."
Vlad Vyazovskiy @vyazovskiy.bsky.social · 4mo ago📢Applications are still open for our part-time, online MSc/PGDip in Sleep Medicine, designed to fit around the schedules of busy clinicians and researchers! Interested? ℹ️Visit our website and sign up for an information session on May 7 (12pm & 7pm UK time): www.scni.ox.ac.uk/study-with-us
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cortical firing dynamics during micro-arousals vary with sleep/wake history and micro-arousal duration - Scientific Reports
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is not uniform but characterized by brief intrusions of wake-like brain activity and increased muscle tonus known as micro-arousals or brief awakenings. Although mi...
nature.com
Yes! Let's have more discussion about the big things holding back neurosci so we can rally to find solutions. I agree with @suthanalab.bsky.social that silos across species in both measures and the uptake of results into theories is on the "big problems" short list. What do you see as solutions?
Nanthia Suthana@suthanalab.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe biggest problem holding neuroscience back right now isn’t data or tools, thanks in large part to the BRAIN Initiative. It’s fragmentation across species. I wrote this to hopefully spark discussion around an issue that can only be solved as a community👇 www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...
Our paper with @vyazovskiy.bsky.social showcasing research conducted at @ox.ac.uk @oxforddpag.bsky.social is out! We describe the effects of the psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT on brain states and sleep via EEG, LFP & freely moving oculometry. Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s42... #EEG #neuroskyence
Vigilance state dissociation induced by 5-MeO-DMT in mice - Communications Biology
Administration of 5-MeO-DMT produces a dissociated brain state in mice, characterized by global slow-wave activity alongside behavioral wakefulness and marked pupil dilation.
nature.com
Preprint alert: If sleep is the cousin of death, torpor must be its fraternal twin. Yet, daily torpor is surprisingly dynamic when zooming in on the slow fluctuations in motility, brain activity, and temperature. Read (and see👀) more on bioRxiv! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Is torpor a quiescent state? Periodic motility and transient brain activation during daily torpor in Djungarian hamsters
Torpor is a hypometabolic state employed by many mammalian and non-mammalian species to cope with harsh environments. When exposed to a short photoperiod, Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) enter daily torpor with body temperatures dropping as low as 15 degrees Celcius. Despite the widely-held notion that torpor is a form of deep sleep, torpid animals are not completely inactive but exhibit occasional movements reflected in an increase in EMG tone. Little is known about these EMG events during torpor and whether they have a functional role during the torpid state. We here analysed EEG, EMG, and brain temperature data from Djungarian hamsters, and used an automatic detection algorithm to identify periods of EMG activation during spontaneous daily torpor. The hamsters exhibited regular periods of motility that were invariably initiated during a decline in brain temperature and were followed by a brain temperature increase. The frequency of EMG events exhibited a negative correlation with brain temperature, such that lower brain temperature was associated with a higher frequency of EMG events. In addition, EMG events were associated with a pronounced increase in EEG power, especially between 9.5-15.5 Hz, which often started with an EEG pattern similar to an evoked potential preceding the increase in the EMG activity. On the contrary, micro-arousals during normothermic NREM sleep were associated with a decrease in EEG power, a decrease in brain temperature and were of shorter duration than torpor EMG events, indicating that the two phenomena may serve different purposes. We speculate that periodic motility associated with increased brain activity during torpor may play a role in thermoregulation, and help retain vigilance to potentially mitigate predation risk during this hypometabolic state. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Novo Nordisk Foundation, https://ror.org/04txyc737, NNF23OC0082427 Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, JP21zf0127005 BBSRC, BB/X008711/1 MRC, MR/V013238/1 Wellcome Trust, https://ror.org/029chgv08, 227093/Z/23/Z Rhodes Trust, Rhodes Scholarship University of Oxford, https://ror.org/052gg0110, Clarendon Scholarship
biorxiv.org
Is torpor a quiescent state? Periodic motility and transient brain activation during daily torpor in Djungarian hamsters www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Thanks to all the attendees and presenters at the annual Neuroscience@Nottingham event of @uniofnottingham.bsky.social and @ntuneuro.bsky.social Special thanks to our external speakers: Peggy Series (Edinburgh) and Vlad Vyazovskiy (Oxford, @vyazovskiy.bsky.social) sites.google.com/view/nottsne...
N@N 2026
Bringing Nottingham's neuroscience community together
sites.google.com
NTU Neuro@ntuneuro.bsky.social · 8mo ago🧠 Great turnout at the Neuro @ Notts Annual Event between NTU & UoN! Excellent talks from Martina (extracellular vesicles in ageing) and Elisa (in vitro BBB models), plus posters from Jessica, Zak & Jack. Neuroscience is thriving in Nottingham! #NTU #SHiMR #research #neuroscience #Neuro@Notts
A commentary on reptile sleep, with recommendation from @anitaluthi.bsky.social @labluthi.bsky.social
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 8mo agoA new comparative study of seven lizard species, including chameleons and bearded dragons, finds an ancient sleep rhythm conserved over millennia. By Lauren Schenkman www.thetransmitter.org/sleep/snoozi...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals - Nature Neuroscience
Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping our understanding of the ev...
nature.com
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Simultaneous stomach-brain electrophysiology reveals dynamic coupling in human sleep
Sleep involves continuous communication between the brain and body, yet the dynamics of peripheral signals during human sleep remain poorly understood. Here we tested whether gastric electrophysiology...
biorxiv.org
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Convergent Control of NREM Sleep and Anesthesia by Prefrontal Layer 5 Extratelencephalic Neurons
The cortical mechanisms governing the transition from consciousness to unconsciousness remain poorly understood. While most cortical neurons are suppressed during NREM sleep and anesthesia, we identif...
biorxiv.org
Colombo et al., Plos Biology, "Hemispherotomy leads to persistent sleep-like slow waves in the isolated cortex of awake humans" journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Hemispherotomy leads to persistent sleep-like slow waves in the isolated cortex of awake humans
Hemispherotomy is a neurosurgical procedure for treating refractory epilepsy by disconnecting a significant portion of the cortex. This study shows that the isolated cortex exhibits EEG patterns resem...
journals.plos.org
Very nice to see my TEDx Porto talk is out! How #privacy can save your life. For more on privacy, get the #book - Privacy Is Power. #AIEthics www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPR...
How privacy can save your life | Carissa Véliz | TEDxPorto
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtube.com
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41055995/
The locus coeruleus maintains core body temperature and protects against hypothermia during dexmedetomidine-induced sedation - PubMed
Activating the <i>adra2a</i> receptors of the brain's norepinephrine (NE) system produces NREM-like sleep and hypothermia. Dexmedetomidine (DEX), a selective α2 receptor (<i>adra2a</i>) agonist, is an...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Psychedelic compounds directly excite 5-HT2A layer V medial prefrontal cortex neurons through 5-HT2A Gq activation - Translational Psychiatry
Translational Psychiatry - Psychedelic compounds directly excite 5-HT2A layer V medial prefrontal cortex neurons through 5-HT2A Gq activation
nature.com
𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝! Due to the high volume of requests, the deadline for Sleep Europe 2026 symposia submissions has been extended to 15 Oct 2025. This is your opportunity! Submit here: https://esrs.eu/sleep-congress/symposia/ #ESRS #SleepEurope2026
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Smartphone behavior is suppressed during bursts of wake slow wave
Real-world behavior unfolds as a continuous flow of actions over time. One possibility is that this continuous flow is enabled by a seamless stream of cortical activity. However, emerging evidence sug...
biorxiv.org
The search for the mechanisms cortical regulation of sleep continues. Latest collaborative work suggests that part of the answer lies in the cortex. By switching cortical neurons on and off, we could change how much sleep animals got — and even the quality of that sleep. doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Vlad Vyazovskiy @vyazovskiy.bsky.social · 12mo agowww.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Bidirectional modulation of sleep and wakefulness via prefrontal cortical chemogenetics
The drive to sleep is inescapable but its biological substrate remains largely elusive. Until recently, the search for sleep centres in the mammalian brain focussed on subcortical neurons that promote...
biorxiv.org
🆕 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀: A comprehensive analysis examining the phenomenological boundaries between #OutOfBodyExperience and #LucidDreams has been published in our research topic "𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱". 🧠 #ConsciousnessResearch www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Frontiers | Distinguishing out-of-body experiences from lucid dreaming: a phenomenological analysis
Despite extensive discussions, a consensus is lacking on whether out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and lucid dreams (LDs) should be considered as distinct categ...
frontiersin.org
🧠 The official website of the Neuroscience of Dreaming Summer School (4–8 May 2026, IMT School, Lucca, Italy) is now live: nodsummerschool.imtlucca.it 👉 Check out the confirmed speakers + our program overview. Detailed schedule and registration coming soon!
in the spirit of the recent #psychedelic GRC which is heretofore known as the 'WOODSTOCK OF PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE' I propose a new definition in which every psychedelic is 'classical'!! open.substack.com/pub/zendudes...
A proposed classification of psychedelics
"Move over Beethoven"
open.substack.com
