Aaron Milstein
@neurosutras.bsky.social
Computational neuroscientist studying learning and memory in health and disease. Dad, yogi, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University.
Pinned
Aaron Milstein
@neurosutras.bsky.social
· May 27
New #NeuroAI #compneurosky preprint! To better understand how target-directed learning works in the brain, we sought to engineer an artificial neural network capable of solving complex image classification tasks that comprises only experimentally-supported biological building blocks. (1/15)
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
There's new guidance with respect to #foreignawards at #NIH. Please share with your networks. #foreignsubs #funding
November 26, 2025 at 9:47 PM
There's new guidance with respect to #foreignawards at #NIH. Please share with your networks. #foreignsubs #funding
This field is on fire. So many cool methods these days. Happy Thanksgiving friends!
In search for the invisible: motor inhibition in monkey premotor cortex and its RNN replicas https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690225v1
November 27, 2025 at 3:31 AM
This field is on fire. So many cool methods these days. Happy Thanksgiving friends!
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
How prior experience biases new learning for generalization? new preprint is out:
1) behavioral and hippocampal generalization co-emerged in a novel context.
2) BTSP was involved in forming cross-context stable representations, as well as aligning novel neural dynamics to familiar subspace.
1) behavioral and hippocampal generalization co-emerged in a novel context.
2) BTSP was involved in forming cross-context stable representations, as well as aligning novel neural dynamics to familiar subspace.
Memory traces bias new learning for hippocampal generalization https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690297v1
November 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
How prior experience biases new learning for generalization? new preprint is out:
1) behavioral and hippocampal generalization co-emerged in a novel context.
2) BTSP was involved in forming cross-context stable representations, as well as aligning novel neural dynamics to familiar subspace.
1) behavioral and hippocampal generalization co-emerged in a novel context.
2) BTSP was involved in forming cross-context stable representations, as well as aligning novel neural dynamics to familiar subspace.
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Andrea is one of over 170 U.S. citizens who have detained by ICE. It should never have happened, and we will hold Kristi Noem and the Trump Administration accountable.
November 25, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Andrea is one of over 170 U.S. citizens who have detained by ICE. It should never have happened, and we will hold Kristi Noem and the Trump Administration accountable.
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
🚨new paper: the head-direction circuit as a model of primary thalamocortical system. Check this out 👇
kudos to @adrian-du.bsky.social for the huge amount of work put into this opinion piece, starting with the beautiful figures comparing the different thalamocortical systems 🤩
kudos to @adrian-du.bsky.social for the huge amount of work put into this opinion piece, starting with the beautiful figures comparing the different thalamocortical systems 🤩
Really excited to share this Opinion piece we've been working on with fellow head-direction cell geeks @apeyrache.bsky.social @desdemonafricker.bsky.social and (bsky-less?) Andrea Burgalossi! While head-direction cells pop up in many cortical regions, we think that one of them is quite unique (1/8)
The postsubiculum as a head-direction cortex
The organisation of thalamocortical networks follows a conserved structure. Traditionally, these are divided into primary sensory systems that receive…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 15, 2025 at 9:39 PM
🚨new paper: the head-direction circuit as a model of primary thalamocortical system. Check this out 👇
kudos to @adrian-du.bsky.social for the huge amount of work put into this opinion piece, starting with the beautiful figures comparing the different thalamocortical systems 🤩
kudos to @adrian-du.bsky.social for the huge amount of work put into this opinion piece, starting with the beautiful figures comparing the different thalamocortical systems 🤩
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Neural dynamics outside task-coding dimensions drive decision trajectories through transient amplification https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.20.689599v1
November 22, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Neural dynamics outside task-coding dimensions drive decision trajectories through transient amplification https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.20.689599v1
Sorry, WTAF?
Well, this is chilling AF.
The Department of Education is suing Penn (in their quest for "combat antisemitism") requesting detailed information about Jewish faculty and staff.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
1/2
The Department of Education is suing Penn (in their quest for "combat antisemitism") requesting detailed information about Jewish faculty and staff.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
1/2
storage.courtlistener.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Sorry, WTAF?
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Simulation-based inference has really become a commonly used tool for parameter inference across many fields and applications. We (finally...) got together to write a tutorial introduction and guide to (hopefully) help users get started and navigate the different methods and diagnostics!
Simulation-based inference (SBI) has transformed parameter inference across a wide range of domains. To help practitioners get started and make the most of these methods, we joined forces with researchers from many institutions and wrote a practical guide to SBI.
📄 Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2508.12939
📄 Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2508.12939
Simulation-Based Inference: A Practical Guide
A central challenge in many areas of science and engineering is to identify model parameters that are consistent with prior knowledge and empirical data. Bayesian inference offers a principled framewo...
arxiv.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Simulation-based inference has really become a commonly used tool for parameter inference across many fields and applications. We (finally...) got together to write a tutorial introduction and guide to (hopefully) help users get started and navigate the different methods and diagnostics!
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Every member of Congress and frankly every American should denounce what Trump did today in suggesting members of Congress be executed.
It shouldn't even need to be said, but apparently does: it is beyond the pale for anyone to suggest such things, let alone the president of the united states.
It shouldn't even need to be said, but apparently does: it is beyond the pale for anyone to suggest such things, let alone the president of the united states.
November 21, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Every member of Congress and frankly every American should denounce what Trump did today in suggesting members of Congress be executed.
It shouldn't even need to be said, but apparently does: it is beyond the pale for anyone to suggest such things, let alone the president of the united states.
It shouldn't even need to be said, but apparently does: it is beyond the pale for anyone to suggest such things, let alone the president of the united states.
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Who are civil servants and mission-oriented.
It is a Bad Thing to put NIH under control of political appointees and the president. It is breaking what made NIH great.
It is a Bad Thing to put NIH under control of political appointees and the president. It is breaking what made NIH great.
November 20, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Who are civil servants and mission-oriented.
It is a Bad Thing to put NIH under control of political appointees and the president. It is breaking what made NIH great.
It is a Bad Thing to put NIH under control of political appointees and the president. It is breaking what made NIH great.
BTSP in V1
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Plateau potentials are instructive signals for behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity in the neocortex
Learning occurs via the adjustment of synaptic weights across a variety of timescales. The mechanisms supporting these processes, from single-shot to iterative learning, are unclear. The prevailing mo...
www.biorxiv.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:50 PM
BTSP in V1
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
BTSP in V2
Rapid neocortical network modifications via dendritic plateau potential induced plasticity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.19.689338v1
November 20, 2025 at 11:46 PM
BTSP in V2
High school students? How about Cabinet appointees
I wanna invent time travel and then require every high school student to take a class called "All The Shit We Fixed Before You Got Here" where they tour smog-filled US cities, polio wards, pre-vaccine hospitals, buildings with no safety regulations, kids working in mines, etc.
November 19, 2025 at 9:04 PM
High school students? How about Cabinet appointees
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
We also have a review out in JNeuro on the topic with @neurosutras.bsky.social, Tom O'Dell, Anant Jain, @clopathlab.bsky.social and Mark Sheffield.
Physical copies available at @sfnjournals.bsky.social booth.
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Physical copies available at @sfnjournals.bsky.social booth.
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity: A Burst in the Field of Learning and Memory
Hebbian synaptic plasticity is currently the main framework to relate neuronal activity, network structure, and learning and memory. However, recent experimental and computational modeling studies hav...
www.jneurosci.org
November 17, 2025 at 7:25 PM
We also have a review out in JNeuro on the topic with @neurosutras.bsky.social, Tom O'Dell, Anant Jain, @clopathlab.bsky.social and Mark Sheffield.
Physical copies available at @sfnjournals.bsky.social booth.
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Physical copies available at @sfnjournals.bsky.social booth.
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Trump’s HHS put me on “non-disciplinary” admin leave today. This was retaliation for speaking up. Moves like this are designed to silence us. Let’s not let.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Dteoop/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Dteoop/
I guess I am hitting a nerve, because they just put me on admin leave.
TikTok video by Jenna
www.tiktok.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Trump’s HHS put me on “non-disciplinary” admin leave today. This was retaliation for speaking up. Moves like this are designed to silence us. Let’s not let.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Dteoop/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Dteoop/
The loss of SNAP, the doubling of premiums, the cancelled flights, the furloughed workers were all the result of GOP House being intentionally out of session. The Senate Democrats got cold feet because we all need to fly home and buy turkeys for Thanksgiving. Everyone lost.
November 10, 2025 at 3:27 AM
The loss of SNAP, the doubling of premiums, the cancelled flights, the furloughed workers were all the result of GOP House being intentionally out of session. The Senate Democrats got cold feet because we all need to fly home and buy turkeys for Thanksgiving. Everyone lost.
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
bluesky branding refresh unveiled
November 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
bluesky branding refresh unveiled
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
My kids have measles and my SNAP benefits were cut. But at least those cashiers at Walmart aren’t writing “they/them” on their name tags anymore.
November 8, 2025 at 2:53 AM
My kids have measles and my SNAP benefits were cut. But at least those cashiers at Walmart aren’t writing “they/them” on their name tags anymore.
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
Submitted a paper revision today. Project started in 2021. Received positive constructive addressable reviews this August. This paper is the best of my career. Working with postdoc @argalloni.bsky.social has been the most rewarding scientific relationship of my career.
November 8, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Submitted a paper revision today. Project started in 2021. Received positive constructive addressable reviews this August. This paper is the best of my career. Working with postdoc @argalloni.bsky.social has been the most rewarding scientific relationship of my career.
Join us for a BTSP mini symposium Tuesday morning of SfN:
Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity: Phenomenology, Mechanisms and Role in Learning and Memory
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity: Phenomenology, Mechanisms and Role in Learning and Memory
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
November 8, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Join us for a BTSP mini symposium Tuesday morning of SfN:
Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity: Phenomenology, Mechanisms and Role in Learning and Memory
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity: Phenomenology, Mechanisms and Role in Learning and Memory
www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
Want to see what a Neuromatch course is like…on your own time? Our full course materials are freely available for anyone to explore, anytime.
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
November 6, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Want to see what a Neuromatch course is like…on your own time? Our full course materials are freely available for anyone to explore, anytime.
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
While the live courses include team projects, TAs, and learning pods, the content itself is always open.
➡️ neuromatch.io/open-educati...
Reposted by Aaron Milstein
q.e.d Science
Critical Thinking AI for constructive criticism and science evaluation
qedscience.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:22 PM
