Seneca Scott
@senecascott.bsky.social
Neuroscience PhD student studying cortical dynamics and neuromodulation across body states.
NINDS F31 Fellow, Moore Lab, Brown University; Prev. Katz Lab, Brandeis University
NINDS F31 Fellow, Moore Lab, Brown University; Prev. Katz Lab, Brandeis University
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Why does life explore so few of the forms it could possibly take? Using fractal descriptors, this #scienceadvances paper shows that Earth’s biosphere clusters around simple shapes, reflecting deep evolutionary constraints. @artemyte.bsky.social @manlius.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
January 11, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Why does life explore so few of the forms it could possibly take? Using fractal descriptors, this #scienceadvances paper shows that Earth’s biosphere clusters around simple shapes, reflecting deep evolutionary constraints. @artemyte.bsky.social @manlius.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Excited to share latest study from the lab by an amazing RA, Dylan Flink.
We solved a small (important) puzzle while in the trenches of a larger (wavy 🌊) puzzle.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵...
We solved a small (important) puzzle while in the trenches of a larger (wavy 🌊) puzzle.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵...
Dual cholinergic mechanisms for sculpting striatal dopamine in vivo
Striatal dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine constitute a computationally powerful neuromodulatory dyad that orchestrates action selection, motivational vigor, and reward learning. Striatal cholinergic in...
www.biorxiv.org
December 30, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Excited to share latest study from the lab by an amazing RA, Dylan Flink.
We solved a small (important) puzzle while in the trenches of a larger (wavy 🌊) puzzle.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵...
We solved a small (important) puzzle while in the trenches of a larger (wavy 🌊) puzzle.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Pre-print 🧠🧪
Is mechanism modeling dead in the AI era?
ML models trained to predict neural activity fail to generalize to unseen opto perturbations. But mechanism modeling can solve that.
We say "perturbation testing" is the right way to evaluate mechanisms in data-constrained models
1/8
Is mechanism modeling dead in the AI era?
ML models trained to predict neural activity fail to generalize to unseen opto perturbations. But mechanism modeling can solve that.
We say "perturbation testing" is the right way to evaluate mechanisms in data-constrained models
1/8
January 8, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Pre-print 🧠🧪
Is mechanism modeling dead in the AI era?
ML models trained to predict neural activity fail to generalize to unseen opto perturbations. But mechanism modeling can solve that.
We say "perturbation testing" is the right way to evaluate mechanisms in data-constrained models
1/8
Is mechanism modeling dead in the AI era?
ML models trained to predict neural activity fail to generalize to unseen opto perturbations. But mechanism modeling can solve that.
We say "perturbation testing" is the right way to evaluate mechanisms in data-constrained models
1/8
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Link to the paper I talked about: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Modular Organization of Electrical Fluctuations in the Mouse Brain
A powerful computational feature of the brain is its ability to compartmentalize different functions in a way that can be flexibly recombined. Experimental evidence for such modularity arose from cyto...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Link to the paper I talked about: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Kudos to the Brown University students who are posting continuous live updates, spaced just minutes apart, on the campus shooting. A lot of grace and professionalism under immense pressure.
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Live updates: Two deceased in active shooter incident at Brown University
Serving the Brown University community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Kudos to the Brown University students who are posting continuous live updates, spaced just minutes apart, on the campus shooting. A lot of grace and professionalism under immense pressure.
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
An Amygdalar Oscillatory Switch Governs Valence Assignment https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.10.693439v1
December 13, 2025 at 8:16 AM
An Amygdalar Oscillatory Switch Governs Valence Assignment https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.10.693439v1
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Our group has been looking at beta bursts for the last 5 years, but we do it a little differently than most - we group into types them based on their waveforms. In this open access article we lay out why and what we think this might mean
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
#neuroskyence
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
#neuroskyence
December 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Our group has been looking at beta bursts for the last 5 years, but we do it a little differently than most - we group into types them based on their waveforms. In this open access article we lay out why and what we think this might mean
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
#neuroskyence
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Thoughtful review with some good recent historical perspective on the ongoing paradigm shift that is radically changing the way we think about what brain areas do.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
How distributed is the brain-wide network that is recruited for cognition? - Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Both localized and distributed views on the functional organization of the brain have been put forward. In this Perspective, Rosen and Freedman examine the degree to which these two views account for ...
www.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Seneca Scott
The basal forebrain plays the cortex like a piano.
A cholinergic mechanism orchestrating task-dependent computation across the cortex
In an ever-changing environment, animals often need to switch between performing different tasks involving distinct sets of cognitive processes. Many such tasks involve neural activity distributed acr...
www.biorxiv.org
November 28, 2025 at 5:51 PM
The basal forebrain plays the cortex like a piano.
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Infraslow histaminergic dynamics govern priming states to gate moment-to-moment memory accessibility https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.687922v1
November 15, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Infraslow histaminergic dynamics govern priming states to gate moment-to-moment memory accessibility https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.687922v1
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Great study showing how histaminergic signaling shapes head-direction cell activity in the presence of objects, with important implications for how animals get oriented. A huge amount of work, really impressive.
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...
A Neuromodulatory Circuit Amplifies Object-based Head-direction Tuning for Spatial Memory
While the head-direction (HD) system is well-established as the brain’s internal compass, the mechanisms that allow it to be flexibly shaped by landmarks have remained unclear. Here we discovered that...
www.researchsquare.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Great study showing how histaminergic signaling shapes head-direction cell activity in the presence of objects, with important implications for how animals get oriented. A huge amount of work, really impressive.
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
TT faculty job opening in #Neuroscience!
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
Brandeis University, Biology Department
Job #AJO30961, Assistant Professor in Biology and Neuroscience Program, Biology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, US
academicjobsonline.org
October 22, 2025 at 11:28 PM
TT faculty job opening in #Neuroscience!
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
Reposted by Seneca Scott
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function: Neuron www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
This looks super cool; by @jtheriault.bsky.social
By the way congrats really!
This looks super cool; by @jtheriault.bsky.social
By the way congrats really!
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 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function: Neuron www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
This looks super cool; by @jtheriault.bsky.social
By the way congrats really!
This looks super cool; by @jtheriault.bsky.social
By the way congrats really!
Reposted by Seneca Scott
A new preprint out from the Levy lab, adding knowledge to the exciting world of brain border macrophages and neuroimmunology.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Meningeal macrophages exhibit diverse calcium signaling at steady-state and in response to aberrant cortical hyperexcitability in awake mice
The meninges, which envelop and protect the brain, host a large number of resident macrophages that play a crucial role in regulating homeostasis and neuroinflammation. Intracellular Ca2+ signaling me...
www.biorxiv.org
October 4, 2025 at 9:51 PM
A new preprint out from the Levy lab, adding knowledge to the exciting world of brain border macrophages and neuroimmunology.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Excited to share that my PhD work has been published! www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧠🧪
Amygdala–liver signalling orchestrates glycaemic responses to stress
Nature - Studies in mice show that acute stress activates hyperglycaemia via activation of a medial amygdala–ventral hypothalamic circuit that controls glucose metabolic responses in the...
www.nature.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Excited to share that my PhD work has been published! www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧠🧪
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Vascular draining confounds laminar decoding in fMRI https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.26.672278v1
August 30, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Vascular draining confounds laminar decoding in fMRI https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.26.672278v1
Reposted by Seneca Scott
I think it's time to retire the idea that oxytocin is exclusively a 'social' hormone.
In our latest preprint, led by @kjerstimw.bsky.social, we argue that oxytocin should be reframed as a behavioral flexibility hormone osf.io/preprints/os...
In our latest preprint, led by @kjerstimw.bsky.social, we argue that oxytocin should be reframed as a behavioral flexibility hormone osf.io/preprints/os...
August 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I think it's time to retire the idea that oxytocin is exclusively a 'social' hormone.
In our latest preprint, led by @kjerstimw.bsky.social, we argue that oxytocin should be reframed as a behavioral flexibility hormone osf.io/preprints/os...
In our latest preprint, led by @kjerstimw.bsky.social, we argue that oxytocin should be reframed as a behavioral flexibility hormone osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
We’re excited to share our recent study published in @cellpress.bsky.social! In this work, we show that brain endothelial cells, connected by gap junctions, form a signaling highway to enable fast, long-range arterial vasodilation in neurovascular coupling.
You can find it below:
You can find it below:
Brain endothelial gap junction coupling enables rapid vasodilation propagation during neurovascular coupling
Vasodilatory signals are rapidly communicated across long distances by endothelial-endothelial
gap junctions, enabling coordinated dilation of the arterial network during neurovascular
coupling.
www.cell.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM
We’re excited to share our recent study published in @cellpress.bsky.social! In this work, we show that brain endothelial cells, connected by gap junctions, form a signaling highway to enable fast, long-range arterial vasodilation in neurovascular coupling.
You can find it below:
You can find it below:
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic gap junctional networks https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.18.665573v1
July 22, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic gap junctional networks https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.18.665573v1
Reposted by Seneca Scott
New paper from Deepa Ramamurthy in my lab, just out. Mice flexibly shift attention between different whiskers based on the recent history of whisker stimuli and rewards, during a tactile detection task. We saw a strong neural correlate of this attentional capture in S1 cortex.
rdcu.be/euij3
rdcu.be/euij3
Reward history guides focal attention in whisker somatosensory cortex
Nature Communications - Mice flexibly shift attention between specific whiskers on a rapid timescale based on recent stimulus reward history in a detection task. Attention is correlated with a...
rdcu.be
July 1, 2025 at 9:35 PM
New paper from Deepa Ramamurthy in my lab, just out. Mice flexibly shift attention between different whiskers based on the recent history of whisker stimuli and rewards, during a tactile detection task. We saw a strong neural correlate of this attentional capture in S1 cortex.
rdcu.be/euij3
rdcu.be/euij3
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
The interoceptive origin of reinforcement learning
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The interoceptive origin of reinforcement learning
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The interoceptive origin of reinforcement learning
Rewards play a crucial role in sculpting all motivated behavior. Traditionally, research
on reinforcement learning has centered on how rewards guide learning and decision-making.
Here, we examine the ...
www.cell.com
July 6, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
The interoceptive origin of reinforcement learning
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
The interoceptive origin of reinforcement learning
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
(5/5)
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
www.standupforscience.net
June 9, 2025 at 12:06 PM
(5/5)
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
Reposted by Seneca Scott
Empirical evidence of the neuroactive potential of the gut on neurochemistry in the gut-brain axis in humans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.07.652653v1
May 13, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Empirical evidence of the neuroactive potential of the gut on neurochemistry in the gut-brain axis in humans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.07.652653v1
Some good news/data for the Bluesky hivemind: I just received an NOA for an NINDS F31 award! We’re being funded at about 50% of the initial ask - not sure if that is an individualized rate or standard policy moving forward(?)
April 16, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Some good news/data for the Bluesky hivemind: I just received an NOA for an NINDS F31 award! We’re being funded at about 50% of the initial ask - not sure if that is an individualized rate or standard policy moving forward(?)
Reposted by Seneca Scott
In vivo reconstruction of Duvernoy's postmortem vasculature images
- Fast, high-res imaging: Whole-brain 0.35 mm MRI in <7 min at 7 T
- Vessel-type specific podt-processing: Capturing large leptomeningeal, pial, and intracortical meso-veins
PDF: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Fast, high-res imaging: Whole-brain 0.35 mm MRI in <7 min at 7 T
- Vessel-type specific podt-processing: Capturing large leptomeningeal, pial, and intracortical meso-veins
PDF: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
March 26, 2025 at 8:38 PM
In vivo reconstruction of Duvernoy's postmortem vasculature images
- Fast, high-res imaging: Whole-brain 0.35 mm MRI in <7 min at 7 T
- Vessel-type specific podt-processing: Capturing large leptomeningeal, pial, and intracortical meso-veins
PDF: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Fast, high-res imaging: Whole-brain 0.35 mm MRI in <7 min at 7 T
- Vessel-type specific podt-processing: Capturing large leptomeningeal, pial, and intracortical meso-veins
PDF: doi.org/10.1101/2025...