Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 21h

Cool to see this out, congrats Malcolm!

Reposted by Ben Saunders

Malcolm Campbell @malcolmgcampbell.bsky.social · 26d

🚨Our preprint is online!🚨

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How do #dopamine neurons perform the key calculations in reinforcement #learning?

Read on to find out more! 🧵

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 23h

ATTN neuroscience PhD prospectives! University of Minnesota Graduate Program in Neuroscience www.neuroscience.umn.edu is hosting a virtual open house event on Oct 30th, register here: forms.gle/wz7e3UVdsyNi...

Also say hi at upcoming grad fairs. Learn about the program & meet students & faculty!

Phd recruitment flyer for the University of Minnesota Neuroscience graduate program. Visit neuroscience.umn.edu for more information

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Alicia Izquierdo @aliciaizquierdo.bsky.social · 23h

There is now strong, converging evidence that OFC neurons signal expected uncertainty. We manipulated probabilistic outcomes, and Zhang & Zhou changed reward delay and magnitude, finding OFC neurons dynamically modulate outcome-coding sensitivity based on variance www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Alicia Izquierdo @aliciaizquierdo.bsky.social · 7d

🎇 Excited to finally share JL Romero Sosa’s publication! Results are from single-cell imaging in different subregions of rat frontal cortex during ✨de novo learning. Spoiler: everything is not everywhere all at once www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Neural coding of choice and outcome are modulated by uncertainty in orbitofrontal but not secondary motor cortex - Nature Communications

Neural mechanisms underlying flexible learning and decision-making are not fully understood. Using single-cell calcium imaging, authors here found that neurons in orbitofrontal and secondary motor cortex exhibit complementary roles in reward learning, with neurons in the former exerting a sustained role in conditions of uncertainty.

www.nature.com

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah agree completely with “yes and” approach

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 1d

These are really cool studies. Though it's a bit of a shame the discussion is mostly about past studies being wrong or technically deficit. I think this work reframes/expands how to think about learning.

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks Tom!

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks Martha!

Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 1d

Really excited to have this paper accepted for publication now in @natcomms.nature.com - stay tuned for the final version and huge congrats to @margestelzner.bsky.social!!!!

Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · Aug 21

Very excited to share this major update to our paper delineating VTA GABA neuron encoding of valence and decision conflict. Studies led by the amazing @margestelzner.bsky.social. We leaned in here, taking the opportunity to add a lot of cool new data. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · 3d

“CDC will have lost its ability to detect outbreaks and respond to them. It will no longer be able to track diseases, in America and around the globe. That includes infectious threats like flu, foodborne illnesses, and Ebola, as well as chronic diseases and injuries.”
time.com/7325192/cdc-...

CDC ‘Not Functional’ After Trump Administration Orders Mass Firings

The layoffs targeted leaders in departments related to respiratory diseases, chronic diseases and global health.

time.com

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Kurt Fraser @kurtfraser.bsky.social · 5d

I apparently missed the announcement but happy to be in good company with other 2025 NARSAD young investigators! bbrfoundation.org/content/brai...

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Awards 165 Young Investigator Grants to Advance Mental Health Research | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

$11.4 million in two-year awards—selected from 895 applications—will fuel early-career breakthroughs in depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, and more.

bbrfoundation.org

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 5d

Really excited to have this paper accepted for publication in J Neuro @sfnjournals.bsky.social. This was the last of our "first" projects in the lab, started before COVID. So glad we got to see it through. Stay tuned for the final version.

Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · Sep 9

Excited to share this update to our paper investigating the role of superior colliculus inputs to the ventral midbrain in learning and movement. Studies led by the amazing Dr. @carlipoisson.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 5d

Huge congrats!!!!

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 6d

I am really glad that @jeremymberg.bsky.social wrote this. Everybody who cares about science, and about knowledge generation and civil society generally, should read and share with their favorite administrator.

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...

Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment

Leaders are underestimating the risks of not fighting back

open.substack.com

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 6d

Really cool, congrats y’all!

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Ann Kennedy @antihebbiann.bsky.social · 6d

Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.

A brief rundown...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A parabrachial hub for need-state control of enduring pain - Nature

Activity in a set of parabranchial neurons in the mouse brain is increased during chronic pain, predicts coping behaviour, and can be modulated by circuits activated by survival threats.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

davidweinshenker.bsky.social @davidweinshenker.bsky.social · 6d

Excited to share the Special Issue on "Stress and Addiction" in Addiction Neuroscience is now available. Huge kudos to guest editors Karl Schmidt and Anushree Karkhanis and all the authors who contributed. www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Addiction Neuroscience | Stress <-> Addiction | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier

Stress and drugs of abuse have a bidirectional relationship, such that stress is often seen as a driver of drug use, while at the same time drug use/abuse alters stress responses. Acute exposure to a ...

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Ishmail Abdus-Saboor @ishmailsaboor.bsky.social · 6d

I’m extremely honored to be a recipient of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award!

Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 6d

Congratulations to @ishmailsaboor.bsky.social on receiving the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, celebrating “scientists with outstanding records of creativity.” His lab will explore how the sense of touch can help build relationships. 🫶🧠💡

See zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/zuckerman-in...

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 12d

Yessss been waiting for this

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 20d

Reposting this information for our neuroscience graduate program virtual open house events with a fixed QR code - you can also register directly at this link - forms.gle/zJDcZBteMtsD...

Minnesota neuroscience graduate program virtual open house events October 6th and 30th.

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 13d

Congrats Beth!!!!

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Abby Polter @ampolter.bsky.social · 14d

Government shutdowns hit the DC area very hard. Consider throwing some money at Capital Area Food Bank-they are already struggling to keep up in the face of rising demand and food costs and reduced support. They will be busy in the days and weeks to come. give.capitalareafoodbank.org

Capital Area Food Bank Monthly

give.capitalareafoodbank.org

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Kurt Fraser @kurtfraser.bsky.social · 14d

Happy to play a small part in this really impressive effort to assess the strength of evidence for almost every phenomenon in associative learning. Heroic effort by Dominik Bach

PsyArXivBot @psyarxivbot.bsky.social · 14d

Benchmarks for Associative Learning Models: https://osf.io/qsgz8

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Reposted by Ben Saunders

Zach Pennington @zachtpennington.bsky.social · 15d

Excited to share that I landed my dream job!🎉🎉🎉 The Pennington Lab will be opening at the University of British Columbia in January 2026!
@ubcpsych.bsky.social @dmcbrainhealth.bsky.social

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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 15d

Yay congrats Zach!!

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