Alexa Morcom
@alexamorcom.bsky.social
Cognitive neuroscientist, associate professor in Psychology at Uni of Sussex. Hello bsky people! Views not my employer's. She/they.
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
November 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
November 12, 2025 at 10:38 AM
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by C. Sainz Martinez, J. Jorge, et al:
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
November 6, 2025 at 3:55 PM
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by C. Sainz Martinez, J. Jorge, et al:
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
The podcast is now available on Spotify!
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
October 31, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The podcast is now available on Spotify!
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Ann Arbor killing it with the Halloween decorations, 10/10, no notes
![A house in Ann Arbor with homemade Halloween gravestone decorations that read:
- Here lies female bodily autonomy, 1972-2022
- Forever in our hearts, Non-Partisan military, 1776-2025
- Gone but not forgotten, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion [blocked by skeleton head] 2025
- In memorial, Science and Evidence-based Medicine, 1543-2025](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:itjtznnibvywkyrussyw3vhp/bafkreigurq42p3bisisclasz3yi7fb5oivgk4y4hjji7r5s4ij23a2s2n4@jpeg)
October 26, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Ann Arbor killing it with the Halloween decorations, 10/10, no notes
PFI = private finance initiative. Short term gain, big long term pain for patients and the #NHS
💷 PFI = A profitable deal for business, a burden for the NHS
PFIs have proven lucrative, for hedge funds + insurance companies.
Our new blog breaks down why PFI was a disaster — and why new PPPs would repeat the same mistakes.
🔗 everydoctor.org.uk/talking-poin...
PFIs have proven lucrative, for hedge funds + insurance companies.
Our new blog breaks down why PFI was a disaster — and why new PPPs would repeat the same mistakes.
🔗 everydoctor.org.uk/talking-poin...
October 29, 2025 at 11:54 AM
PFI = private finance initiative. Short term gain, big long term pain for patients and the #NHS
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
What happens in the brain when we manipulate our thoughts?
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
Brain Dynamics of Mental Manipulation
Humans effortlessly juggle their internal thoughts, but the neuronal dynamics that support mental manipulation are largely unknown. Leveraging the high spatiotemporal fidelity of intracranial recordin...
doi.org
October 22, 2025 at 5:25 AM
What happens in the brain when we manipulate our thoughts?
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
🧵8
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Group-to-individual generalizability and individual-level inferences in cognitive neuroscience
Much of cognitive neuroscience research is focused on group-averages and interindividual brain-behavior associations. However, many theories core to t…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
🧵8
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Because “brain network features occur in different locations across people”
Why do brain networks vary? Do these differences shape behavior? If every 🧠 is unique, how can we detect common features of brain organization?
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
Dense Phenotyping of Human Brain Network Organization Using Precision fMRI
The advent of noninvasive imaging methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) transformed cognitive neuroscience, providing insights into large-scale brain networks and their link to cog...
go.illinois.edu
October 16, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Because “brain network features occur in different locations across people”
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models - Nature
Stereotypes of age-related gender bias are socially distorted, as evidenced by the age gap in the representations of women and men across various media and algorithms, despite no systematic age differ...
www.nature.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
From Black History Month, exhibition at the library of some of the distinguished alumni of Sussex.ac.uk
October 16, 2025 at 10:19 AM
From Black History Month, exhibition at the library of some of the distinguished alumni of Sussex.ac.uk
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Important paper for interpreting #fMRI results on #psychedelics! In short, psilocybin changes neurovascular coupling (i.e., how neural activity links to blood flow). 👇
🚨 New science alert! Our cross-species study, now in Nature Neuroscience, demonstrates psychedelics distort how we should interpret functional brain imaging.
👇🧵
nature.com/articles/s41...
#Neuroscience #Psychedelics #BrainImaging
👇🧵
nature.com/articles/s41...
#Neuroscience #Psychedelics #BrainImaging
Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism alters neurovascular coupling and differentially affects neuronal and hemodynamic measures of brain function
Nature Neuroscience - Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI...
nature.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Important paper for interpreting #fMRI results on #psychedelics! In short, psilocybin changes neurovascular coupling (i.e., how neural activity links to blood flow). 👇
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Decoding performance (MVPA) better for OPM-MEG than SQUID-MEG 😎. The improved spatial specificity of OPM-MEG due to the reduced brain-sensor distance is key. And more sensors (beyond 40) don't improve decoding.
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Decoding with multivariate pattern analysis is superior for optically pumped magnetometer-based magnetoencephalography compared to superconducting quantum interference device-based systems
Background: Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) has become an increasingly important method for decoding distributed brain activity from neural electrophysiological recordings by leveraging both temp...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Decoding performance (MVPA) better for OPM-MEG than SQUID-MEG 😎. The improved spatial specificity of OPM-MEG due to the reduced brain-sensor distance is key. And more sensors (beyond 40) don't improve decoding.
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
It is a great pleasure to share this new collaborative work on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Representations with @fnim-lab.bsky.social @cvlneuro.bsky.social @psychologyuea.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
May 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
It is a great pleasure to share this new collaborative work on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Representations with @fnim-lab.bsky.social @cvlneuro.bsky.social @psychologyuea.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.
October 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Psychologists & related fields: what is a big methods question that you believe remains somewhat unanswered & that you'd love to see adressed? There may be an opportunity for a large-scale meta-science project with many teams trying to figure out a question.
Any thoughts welcome! #psychscisky
Any thoughts welcome! #psychscisky
July 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Psychologists & related fields: what is a big methods question that you believe remains somewhat unanswered & that you'd love to see adressed? There may be an opportunity for a large-scale meta-science project with many teams trying to figure out a question.
Any thoughts welcome! #psychscisky
Any thoughts welcome! #psychscisky
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
At the FORRT Replication Hub, our mission is to support researchers who want to replicate previous findings. We have now published a big new component with which we want to fulfill this mission: An open access handbook for reproduction and replication studies: forrt.org/replication_...
September 3, 2025 at 6:54 AM
At the FORRT Replication Hub, our mission is to support researchers who want to replicate previous findings. We have now published a big new component with which we want to fulfill this mission: An open access handbook for reproduction and replication studies: forrt.org/replication_...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
The brain represents the world around us as a series of neural states - stable patterns of activity that change as we move from one event to the next.
New paper by @selmalugtmeijer.bsky.social showing that neural states get longer as people age. #PsychSciSky
nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08792-4
New paper by @selmalugtmeijer.bsky.social showing that neural states get longer as people age. #PsychSciSky
nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08792-4
Temporal dedifferentiation of neural states with age during naturalistic viewing - Communications Biology
Movie fMRI data reveals age-related lengthening of neural states in visual and prefrontal regions, reflecting reduced temporal differentiation while preserved alignment with perceived events suggests stable coarse event segmentation.
www.nature.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The brain represents the world around us as a series of neural states - stable patterns of activity that change as we move from one event to the next.
New paper by @selmalugtmeijer.bsky.social showing that neural states get longer as people age. #PsychSciSky
nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08792-4
New paper by @selmalugtmeijer.bsky.social showing that neural states get longer as people age. #PsychSciSky
nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08792-4
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
I will not back down.
Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.
What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.
What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
October 8, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I will not back down.
Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.
What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.
What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
@sfn.org please consider hosting your next meeting outside of the 🇺🇸
#SfN25 is packed with amazing science and networking opportunities!
The 2025 Neuroscience Meeting Planner makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for.
Search, explore, and start planning your experience today.
🔗 vist.ly/49qex
The 2025 Neuroscience Meeting Planner makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for.
Search, explore, and start planning your experience today.
🔗 vist.ly/49qex
October 8, 2025 at 3:03 PM
@sfn.org please consider hosting your next meeting outside of the 🇺🇸
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Memory problems will change how you see the world...literally 👀
Across two new papers, we examined the eye movement patterns of younger adults, older adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and amnesic cases.
1/5
Across two new papers, we examined the eye movement patterns of younger adults, older adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and amnesic cases.
1/5
October 8, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Memory problems will change how you see the world...literally 👀
Across two new papers, we examined the eye movement patterns of younger adults, older adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and amnesic cases.
1/5
Across two new papers, we examined the eye movement patterns of younger adults, older adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and amnesic cases.
1/5
Not to mention the terrible effect on universities and research…
You can't have a successful economy by kowtowing to bigots who want to close the country to the rest of the world. It'd be nice if a politician had the brains or guts to point this out.
Wilful ignorance of how trade and migration actually work in a globalised economy.
The idea that the (short and long-term) movement of people -especially between India and the UK - has nothing to do with trade and investment is (obviously) wrong.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The idea that the (short and long-term) movement of people -especially between India and the UK - has nothing to do with trade and investment is (obviously) wrong.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
October 8, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Not to mention the terrible effect on universities and research…
Evidence-based review of the Tylenol/ paracetamol - autism controversy stirred up by MAGA and their friends - FREE podcast + detailed notes
from evidence-based health/ longevity/ exercise podcaster Peter Attia (not on BSky): share with US friends!! peterattiamd.com/tylenolandau...
from evidence-based health/ longevity/ exercise podcaster Peter Attia (not on BSky): share with US friends!! peterattiamd.com/tylenolandau...
#367 - Tylenol, pregnancy, and autism: What recent studies show and how to interpret the data
“Science is not about being right or wrong in an absolute sense. It's really about constantly updating our priors, understanding the probability of something as new evidence becomes emergent.” —Peter ...
peterattiamd.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Evidence-based review of the Tylenol/ paracetamol - autism controversy stirred up by MAGA and their friends - FREE podcast + detailed notes
from evidence-based health/ longevity/ exercise podcaster Peter Attia (not on BSky): share with US friends!! peterattiamd.com/tylenolandau...
from evidence-based health/ longevity/ exercise podcaster Peter Attia (not on BSky): share with US friends!! peterattiamd.com/tylenolandau...
Education isn’t zero sum - why are so many in Labour @teamlabouruk.bsky.social down on universities and allow HE to be run down as if that helps those who would not go to Uni - we need to support apprenticeships and FE and HE because all are vital!
No idea what this is supposed to mean. The 50% target doesn't exist and nothing in the Gove reforms said more people had to go to university. It's a demand led system.
Burnham says he never supported the 50% university "Blair target", which became "hardwired" by Michael Gove's reforms
October 6, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Education isn’t zero sum - why are so many in Labour @teamlabouruk.bsky.social down on universities and allow HE to be run down as if that helps those who would not go to Uni - we need to support apprenticeships and FE and HE because all are vital!