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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 4h

Well said!

Reposted by Nicole Rust

Shahab Bakhtiari @shahabbakht.bsky.social · 4h

💯

A good bit of uncertainty, and actually two types:
1) Low probability of success (in grants and projects) and
2) Epistemological uncertainty about what matters most (information asymmetry)

These two combined drive a large part of the anxiety and over-commitment that prof jobs involve. 1/3

Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 5h

Understanding how the constraints of the job line up with what each of us want & need is important. The fact that there's a good bit of uncertainty thrown in is what makes explicitly working through that exercise hard, I suspect; eg "Could I thrive/survive if I spent my time ...???". /2

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 5h

For most of us, I suspect we just roll with it, following our gut instincts to draw us toward doing more of X and less of Y. (The good side of emotions!).

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 5h

Understanding how the constraints of the job line up with what each of us want & need is important. The fact that there's a good bit of uncertainty thrown in is what makes explicitly working through that exercise hard, I suspect; eg "Could I thrive/survive if I spent my time ...???". /2

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 5h

I like the framing that emerges from this conversation: "Professor is a great job as along as I can ..." The answer will vary, but it's hard to imagine it taking the form "... spend 80% of my time dealing with human subjects boards and writing grants that have low probability of success." /1

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 5h

I see your point, 💯. I also think there's more flexibility than many profs take advantage of. e.g., I've long admired that you do a lot of data analysis (I do too); not everyone does. Some admin is unavoidable. But having a big team vs small; being close to data vs far; that's up to a professor.

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 6h

Fear for me not! I’m developing a course on Emotion & Mood through the lens of dynamical systems. It’s going to be great.

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 6h

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Elusive Cures

A neuroscientist’s bold proposal for tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time—brain and mental illnesses

press.princeton.edu

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 6h

Nice piece today in The DP about Elusive Cures - including the astute observation of a student that it will be difficult for me to return to teaching Intro to Neuroscience (at least how I had been teaching it before 🫢).

www.thedp.com/article/2025...

Psychology professor discusses new book, neurological research at Penn Libraries talk

During the event, Rust discussed a new method for researchers to change their processes and successfully discover cures to brain conditions.

www.thedp.com

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Maia Szalavitz @maiasz.bsky.social · 17h

next week! www.swiny.org/2025/07/octo...

October 21: An Evening With Addiction Expert Maia Szalavitz

Science Writers in New York invites you to join us for a conversation with journalist and author Maia Szalavitz, who writes about drugs, addiction and public policy.

www.swiny.org

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Nora Bradford @norabradford.bsky.social · 19h

"What is the point of science journalists if we’re just recapitulating the content that is in a press release without interrogating it? If we are little more than the machines we are so terrified of, what is the point...the standard we walk past is the standard we accept" !!!

Jack Ryan 🙏🧪 @jacksonwryan.com · 1d

If science journalism is going to survive genAI (and Jen, from Corporate), we're going to have to do a lot more than rewrite press releases 🧪

What The **** Is The Point Of Us Then?

Are we better than the machines or not?

nobreakthroughs.substack.com

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 1d

How wonderful. Congrats all around!

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 1d

Exciting!

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Alison Adcock @ralisonadcock.bsky.social · 1d

Motivations are like emotions about (what we know about) possible outcomes. Sometimes incentives spur urgency to act, other times to comprehend. Neuromodulatory systems reflect these motivational moods and shape memories. Out now w @jiahou-poh.bsky.social!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Motivation as Neural Context for Adaptive Learning and Memory Formation

Our memories shape our perception of the world and guide adaptive behavior. Rather than a veridical record of experiences, memory is selective. An accumulating body of work suggests that motivational ...

www.annualreviews.org

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d

I almost wonder whether we need some system for denoting human-appearing behaviour (like lying and cheating) while identifying it as not really that. A special font? An "AI" subscript? As it is, people can get very confused by such talk.

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 1d

It's a fascinating twist on the problem of measuring emotions in nonhuman animals - in that case, we don't know because we can't ask; in the case of AI we can ask but we don't know. We need better language for all of it (w/out being too obscure).

www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...

Emotion research has a communication conundrum

In 2025, the words we use to describe emotions matter, but their definitions are controversial. Here, I unpack the different positions in this space and the rationales behind them—and I invite 13…

www.thetransmitter.org

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Nora Newcombe @noranewcombe.bsky.social · 12d

Really interesting approach to mood regulation!
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Wearable patch reduces cravings for alcohol and drugs — Harvard Gazette

First year of recovery is “immensely challenging,” researchers note. New device could be a difference maker.

news.harvard.edu

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 2d

@zeronoiselab.bsky.social (or anyone): Any thoughts?

Also: I'm curious to know how much biofeedback matters for the effects of resonance based breathing beyond just slow breathing (6 times / minute))?

Like here: there's no biofeedback
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...

Frontiers | Resonance-Paced Breathing Alters Neural Response to Visual Cues: Proof-of-Concept for a Neuroscience-Informed Adjunct to Addiction Treatments

Conscious attempts to regulate alcohol and drug use are often undermined by automatic attention and arousal processes that are activated in the context of sa...

www.frontiersin.org

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 2d

Interesting indeed. Thanks for the pointer!

Now that I've had a chance to read it ... I wonder how much of this is about the gadget & biofeedback vs. just the breathwork alone? Either way, a 64% reduction is great. (But breathwork is free).

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41032322/

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback for Substance Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial - PubMed

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05454657.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 3d

As always, I hope we can celebrate trainee wins! Yours are especially well deserved.

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 3d

The vibe feels a bit dour (alas). What small (or big!) wins can you muster a celebration for this week?

I got knocked down by complex data, but I've managed to half stand again. I also learned a lot in @yaelniv.bsky.social 's lab meeting. (Computational Psychiatrists are heros! Wow it's hard).

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 4d

MIT Rejects the Compact!
I am so proud.
"The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief ...

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Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · 4d

That is the type of formidable challenge we’re up against, indeed. And we want not just to understand, but control in meaningful ways (eg to treat brain dysfunction). Fortunately, the brain is ~ RNNs that efficiently compute, control and balance themselves (not seizing spaghetti). That’s leverage.

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Reposted by Nicole Rust

Ann Kennedy @antihebbiann.bsky.social · 5d

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 Nicole Rust

Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · 4d

My HPLC was definitely overlooked

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery

The future of science will be written by humans and machines together. Awards should reflect that reality.

www.nature.com

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