Nicolas Gravel
@nicog.bsky.social
postdoctoral researcher at UNICOG, NeuroSpin neuroimaging and visual neuroscience https://nicogravel.github.io/
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
🐛📢🐛New paper alert! Lovely review of caterpillar sensory ecology led by @samjakeengland.bsky.social (@humboldt-foundation.de fellow) with friends and colleagues @rochellemeah.bsky.social @benitoexplains.bsky.social and Callum McLellan!
🐛⚡🐛👁️🐛🤝🐛👃🐛
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🐛⚡🐛👁️🐛🤝🐛👃🐛
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The sensory ecology of caterpillars - Journal of Comparative Physiology A
Caterpillars (larval Lepidoptera) are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily significant taxa on Earth. As both feeders and food, they shape the dynamics of enumerate ecosystems on land. Key ...
link.springer.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
🐛📢🐛New paper alert! Lovely review of caterpillar sensory ecology led by @samjakeengland.bsky.social (@humboldt-foundation.de fellow) with friends and colleagues @rochellemeah.bsky.social @benitoexplains.bsky.social and Callum McLellan!
🐛⚡🐛👁️🐛🤝🐛👃🐛
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🐛⚡🐛👁️🐛🤝🐛👃🐛
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
"Welcome to my What Stream, whoa-whoa-oh..."
November 6, 2025 at 7:16 PM
"Welcome to my What Stream, whoa-whoa-oh..."
gaze centers 🧐
Gee, thanks for this "clarifying" diagram~
November 6, 2025 at 8:17 PM
gaze centers 🧐
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
The highest quality MRI of living child brains. 0.5 mm resolution makes all the difference, our manuscript is on bioRxiv
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We have #ARC DP funding for 2026 to 2028!
If you are interested in child brain anatomy and development, we are looking for PhD students!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We have #ARC DP funding for 2026 to 2028!
If you are interested in child brain anatomy and development, we are looking for PhD students!
Paediatric MRI: High-Resolution in vivo 3T Methods
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool for investigating the brain in vivo but is limited by image resolution and scan artefact. In paediatric research, these limitations are compounded b...
www.biorxiv.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:52 AM
The highest quality MRI of living child brains. 0.5 mm resolution makes all the difference, our manuscript is on bioRxiv
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We have #ARC DP funding for 2026 to 2028!
If you are interested in child brain anatomy and development, we are looking for PhD students!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We have #ARC DP funding for 2026 to 2028!
If you are interested in child brain anatomy and development, we are looking for PhD students!
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
This was a fabulous, once in a lifetime colloquium -- and now the videos are available in high quality on the College de France web site @college-de-france.fr
www.college-de-france.fr/fr/agenda/co...
With talks by Edvard Moser, Nancy Kanwisher, Liz Spelke, Manuela Piazza, Luca Bonatti and more!
www.college-de-france.fr/fr/agenda/co...
With talks by Edvard Moser, Nancy Kanwisher, Liz Spelke, Manuela Piazza, Luca Bonatti and more!
November 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This was a fabulous, once in a lifetime colloquium -- and now the videos are available in high quality on the College de France web site @college-de-france.fr
www.college-de-france.fr/fr/agenda/co...
With talks by Edvard Moser, Nancy Kanwisher, Liz Spelke, Manuela Piazza, Luca Bonatti and more!
www.college-de-france.fr/fr/agenda/co...
With talks by Edvard Moser, Nancy Kanwisher, Liz Spelke, Manuela Piazza, Luca Bonatti and more!
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
Guest, O. & Martin, A. E. (2025). Are Neurocognitive Representations 'Small Cakes'?. PhilSci-Archive. philsci-archive.pitt.edu/24834
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
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bsky.app/profile/oliv...
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October 23, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Guest, O. & Martin, A. E. (2025). Are Neurocognitive Representations 'Small Cakes'?. PhilSci-Archive. philsci-archive.pitt.edu/24834
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
4/n
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
4/n
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
this figure from 1944 is cited as the first topoplot, from Koiti Motokawa. in an era where only handful of EEG channels across space were used, he measured the mean alpha amplitude for 90 points across the scalp. ❗
(compiling a presentation about the evolution of topoplots, cool stuff out there 🙂)
(compiling a presentation about the evolution of topoplots, cool stuff out there 🙂)
July 1, 2025 at 7:27 PM
this figure from 1944 is cited as the first topoplot, from Koiti Motokawa. in an era where only handful of EEG channels across space were used, he measured the mean alpha amplitude for 90 points across the scalp. ❗
(compiling a presentation about the evolution of topoplots, cool stuff out there 🙂)
(compiling a presentation about the evolution of topoplots, cool stuff out there 🙂)
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
1/8 Numerical cognition in birds
They handle quantities, proportions, simple arithmetic, etc.
The numerical cognition of birds is similar (sometimes superior) to that observed in primates, which represents an astonishing evolutionary convergence.
(paper) www.nature.com/articles/s44...
They handle quantities, proportions, simple arithmetic, etc.
The numerical cognition of birds is similar (sometimes superior) to that observed in primates, which represents an astonishing evolutionary convergence.
(paper) www.nature.com/articles/s44...
October 18, 2025 at 5:44 PM
1/8 Numerical cognition in birds
They handle quantities, proportions, simple arithmetic, etc.
The numerical cognition of birds is similar (sometimes superior) to that observed in primates, which represents an astonishing evolutionary convergence.
(paper) www.nature.com/articles/s44...
They handle quantities, proportions, simple arithmetic, etc.
The numerical cognition of birds is similar (sometimes superior) to that observed in primates, which represents an astonishing evolutionary convergence.
(paper) www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
The authors review evidence that the primary function of the brain, supported by distributed
neural systems, is the predictive regulation of physiology (i.e., allostasis). An
example from Alzheimer’s ...
www.cell.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:54 PM
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
The 2nd CogBases Workshop is this 4 & 5 Nov at Institut Pasteur!
We'll discuss the latest in open science methods for analysing brain imaging data. Registration free, but mandatory
neuroanatomy.github.io/cogbases-2025/
@k4tj4.bsky.social @cmaumet.bsky.social @bthirion.bsky.social @demw.bsky.social
We'll discuss the latest in open science methods for analysing brain imaging data. Registration free, but mandatory
neuroanatomy.github.io/cogbases-2025/
@k4tj4.bsky.social @cmaumet.bsky.social @bthirion.bsky.social @demw.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 10:33 AM
The 2nd CogBases Workshop is this 4 & 5 Nov at Institut Pasteur!
We'll discuss the latest in open science methods for analysing brain imaging data. Registration free, but mandatory
neuroanatomy.github.io/cogbases-2025/
@k4tj4.bsky.social @cmaumet.bsky.social @bthirion.bsky.social @demw.bsky.social
We'll discuss the latest in open science methods for analysing brain imaging data. Registration free, but mandatory
neuroanatomy.github.io/cogbases-2025/
@k4tj4.bsky.social @cmaumet.bsky.social @bthirion.bsky.social @demw.bsky.social
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
Cannot believe we're doing IQ is sensible yet again but of course we are; 🧵 by me for non experts to get to grips with what's up here
Yup. Please educate yourself @historyweaver2.bsky.social here's some accessible places to start youtu.be/8wcSSLo9TIs?...
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Stephen Jay Gould on Intelligence Tests (IQ), the Nature - Nurture Controversy 1995
YouTube video by betapicts
youtu.be
September 24, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Cannot believe we're doing IQ is sensible yet again but of course we are; 🧵 by me for non experts to get to grips with what's up here
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
Awkward as it might look, sideways locomotion might have fueled the diversification of crabs and allowed them to conquer new habitats. That story and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
September 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Awkward as it might look, sideways locomotion might have fueled the diversification of crabs and allowed them to conquer new habitats. That story and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
On trial averaged vs single trial: "Trial-averaged population decoding of task-related signals has given us many fundamental insights. But, through averaging, it can make neural population dynamics seem like a calm, stately progression towards logical outcomes ...
September 20, 2025 at 10:50 PM
On trial averaged vs single trial: "Trial-averaged population decoding of task-related signals has given us many fundamental insights. But, through averaging, it can make neural population dynamics seem like a calm, stately progression towards logical outcomes ...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
Friday’s AIND JC lead by Shawn Olsen and I on the Brody lab preprint ran 90+ min, unusual. Nice paper, spirited discussion. Make a clear argument that to grasp behavior we need multiregional, multi-neuron, simultaneous single-trial data. Below quotes from the paper.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brain-wide coordination of decision formation and commitment
Neural correlates of a subject’s upcoming choice in decision making tasks are remarkably widespread throughout the brain, but how these brain-wide signals are coordinated remains unknown. Do brain reg...
www.biorxiv.org
September 20, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Friday’s AIND JC lead by Shawn Olsen and I on the Brody lab preprint ran 90+ min, unusual. Nice paper, spirited discussion. Make a clear argument that to grasp behavior we need multiregional, multi-neuron, simultaneous single-trial data. Below quotes from the paper.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
A cautionary tale for PhD's from lower-income countries who are on "stipends": often regarded as disposable, their vulnerability (precarious access to healthcare, social security, etc...) makes them prime targets for a "flexible" form of abuse that hides in plain sight. Let us not normalize this👇
"The day the paper was published should have been a moment of pride. Instead, it felt like a quiet erasure." #ScienceWorkingLife https://scim.ag/4p3eH5g
August 30, 2025 at 11:51 AM
A cautionary tale for PhD's from lower-income countries who are on "stipends": often regarded as disposable, their vulnerability (precarious access to healthcare, social security, etc...) makes them prime targets for a "flexible" form of abuse that hides in plain sight. Let us not normalize this👇
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
Back on June 23rd I posted a .pdf of a piece on AI hype that I had written 37 years ago. Here it is transcribed in my blog, with some commentary on two of the things that I said in 1988 had been overhyped in 1949 and 1962. rodneybrooks.com/ai-great-exp...
AI: great expectations – Rodney Brooks
rodneybrooks.com
August 11, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Back on June 23rd I posted a .pdf of a piece on AI hype that I had written 37 years ago. Here it is transcribed in my blog, with some commentary on two of the things that I said in 1988 had been overhyped in 1949 and 1962. rodneybrooks.com/ai-great-exp...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
We should be launching large-scale projects to save the biosphere. Instead rich idiots are putting all of our resources into propping up stochastic parrots.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides
www.theguardian.com
August 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM
We should be launching large-scale projects to save the biosphere. Instead rich idiots are putting all of our resources into propping up stochastic parrots.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
the "Developmental Plasticity and Evolution" book by Mary Jane West-Eberhard is very enlightening in this respect
academic.oup.com/book/40908?l...
academic.oup.com/book/40908?l...
Developmental Plasticity and Evolution
Abstract. The first comprehensive synthesis on development and evolution: it applies to all aspects of development, at all levels of organization and in al
academic.oup.com
August 7, 2025 at 12:33 PM
the "Developmental Plasticity and Evolution" book by Mary Jane West-Eberhard is very enlightening in this respect
academic.oup.com/book/40908?l...
academic.oup.com/book/40908?l...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
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To predict the behaviour of a primate, would you rather base your guess on a closely related species or one with a similar brain shape? We looked at brains & behaviours of 70 species, you’ll be surprised!
🧵Thread on our new preprint with @r3rt0.bsky.social , doi.org/10.1101/2025...
To predict the behaviour of a primate, would you rather base your guess on a closely related species or one with a similar brain shape? We looked at brains & behaviours of 70 species, you’ll be surprised!
🧵Thread on our new preprint with @r3rt0.bsky.social , doi.org/10.1101/2025...
July 27, 2025 at 5:26 PM
1
To predict the behaviour of a primate, would you rather base your guess on a closely related species or one with a similar brain shape? We looked at brains & behaviours of 70 species, you’ll be surprised!
🧵Thread on our new preprint with @r3rt0.bsky.social , doi.org/10.1101/2025...
To predict the behaviour of a primate, would you rather base your guess on a closely related species or one with a similar brain shape? We looked at brains & behaviours of 70 species, you’ll be surprised!
🧵Thread on our new preprint with @r3rt0.bsky.social , doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
A leaping Red-ruffed Lemur…
📍 Vakona Lemur Island, Andasibe, Madagascar.
#Madagascar #Primates #NaturePhotography
📍 Vakona Lemur Island, Andasibe, Madagascar.
#Madagascar #Primates #NaturePhotography
July 16, 2025 at 5:29 AM
A leaping Red-ruffed Lemur…
📍 Vakona Lemur Island, Andasibe, Madagascar.
#Madagascar #Primates #NaturePhotography
📍 Vakona Lemur Island, Andasibe, Madagascar.
#Madagascar #Primates #NaturePhotography
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
buff.ly/oPzafOc
🪜 🎓 📜 🍎 ♀️ 👩🏾🔬 👩🏼🔬 👩🏾🎓 #PhDSky #Blackademia #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #MeToo #HigherEd #PhDChat #TimesUpHigherEd
🪜 🎓 📜 🍎 ♀️ 👩🏾🔬 👩🏼🔬 👩🏾🎓 #PhDSky #Blackademia #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #MeToo #HigherEd #PhDChat #TimesUpHigherEd
Banning NDAs in universities is only the first step toward a better research culture - Impact of Social Sciences
The UK government is moving to ban non-disclosure agreements being used to silence employees who have suffered harassment or discrimination. Such a ban has already come into place in higher…
blogs.lse.ac.uk
July 20, 2025 at 3:43 PM
buff.ly/oPzafOc
🪜 🎓 📜 🍎 ♀️ 👩🏾🔬 👩🏼🔬 👩🏾🎓 #PhDSky #Blackademia #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #MeToo #HigherEd #PhDChat #TimesUpHigherEd
🪜 🎓 📜 🍎 ♀️ 👩🏾🔬 👩🏼🔬 👩🏾🎓 #PhDSky #Blackademia #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #MeToo #HigherEd #PhDChat #TimesUpHigherEd
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
So many people in the academic system have no clue just how fragile the residence permits of many international students and researchers are (and make little effort to learn about it).. really makes my blood boil
July 16, 2025 at 1:37 PM
So many people in the academic system have no clue just how fragile the residence permits of many international students and researchers are (and make little effort to learn about it).. really makes my blood boil
Reposted by Nicolas Gravel
"Theories pass. The frog remains." - Inquiétudes d’un biologiste, Jean Rostand, 1967.
May 15, 2025 at 8:55 PM
"Theories pass. The frog remains." - Inquiétudes d’un biologiste, Jean Rostand, 1967.