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Reposted by Tim Behrens

Helen Barron @helencbarron.bsky.social · 4d

** We have up to TWO funded PhD positions available in our lab!! Apply below to find new ways to enhance memory👇 Pls retweet **

Deadline: 2nd December

1. Cross-species closed-loopTMR: tinyurl.com/bddu4tp6

2. TUS and TMR in humans:
tinyurl.com/jjws5ctj

Happy to chat to interested applicants.

Enhancing memory using cross-species closed-loop Targeted Memory Reactivation | mrcbndu

tinyurl.com

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 13d

Think I might also be the only person apart from Heidi who calls Matthew “Matt” as well. Perhaps I should stop being so presumptuous:)

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Reposted by Tim Behrens

Laurence Hunt @lhuntneuro.bsky.social · 14d

Looking for a PhD next year? Want to come and work on the next generation of OPM-MEG/EEG biomarkers in computational psychiatry?

Apply for our MRC iCase studentship with @mkflugge.bsky.social, collabs with @lilweb.bsky.social + industrial placement at P1Vital:
www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/gradua...

Development of robust, single-subject markers of predictive inference for computational psychiatry

www.medsci.ox.ac.uk

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

Thanks Loz!!

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Reposted by Tim Behrens

Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 15d

🙋Are you interested in bridging theory & experiments?

Applications are now open for 2026 entry to the Gatsby Unit & SWC joint PhD programme.

Join us and be part of a vibrant research community!

💰 Fully-funded 4-year programme
ℹ️ www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...

@sainsburywellcome.bsky.social

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Reposted by Tim Behrens

Kris Jensen @kristorpjensen.bsky.social · 16d

I’m super excited to finally put my recent work with @behrenstimb.bsky.social on bioRxiv, where we develop a new mechanistic theory of how PFC structures adaptive behaviour using attractor dynamics in space and time!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Tim Behrens

Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 16d

This is one of my favourite things ever. From the awesome @kristorpjensen.bsky.social

Kris Jensen @kristorpjensen.bsky.social · 16d

I’m super excited to finally put my recent work with @behrenstimb.bsky.social on bioRxiv, where we develop a new mechanistic theory of how PFC structures adaptive behaviour using attractor dynamics in space and time!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

The current paper is about complex multistep decisions when the *reward function* is known, but there is another one on the way about how to generalise these ideas to value problems when the *reward function must be learnt from repeated experience* (with Jo Warren, Kris and James W)

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

The post above is slightly oversimplified. I did it for clarity, but then it kept me up last night so I am correcting it now. It should have read:

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

In the Tanji papers they just repeat one of a few sequences (maximum 6 I think), and although it is hard to be sure because the data aren't available for reanalysis, the published results mostly align with the optimal solution: Separating the sequences into different neural memories.

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

The point of the kind of solution Kris shows above (and Mohamady showed in mice and LiPing Wang has shown in monkeys), is that it can flexibly construct *any* sequence.

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

In brief, if you only ever have to repeat a few learnt sequences you should not use this kind of solution. Neurons should not code for elemental steps that generalise across sequences. Instead you should make new neural representations for each remembered sequence.

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

It's really hard to tell whether the Tanji neurons are doing this but they are probably not. My colleague Will Dorrell (newly PhDed), with James Whittington and Peter Latham, has a beautiful analysis of when you should and shouldn't use this kind of solution.

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 15d

Awesome 4 year phd in compsys neuro !!

Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · 17d

Applications are now open for the SWC Systems Neuroscience PhD Programme.

Join us in London!

🧠 World-class neuroscience training
💰 Fully-funded 4-year programme
🖥️ Close links to @gatsbyucl.bsky.social

Apply by 3 Nov: www.sainsburywellcome.org/web/content/...

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 16d

The overall framework agrees with this idea. The current paper is about complex multistep decisions when the goal state is known, but there is another one on the way about how to generalise these ideas to value problems when the goal state needs to be inferred (with Jo Warren, Kris and James W)

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 16d

Ooh cool. Lots of new cites @kristorpjensen.bsky.social! Thanks Dick. This is exactly the point of bsky and biorxiv :)

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 16d

This is one of my favourite things ever. From the awesome @kristorpjensen.bsky.social

Kris Jensen @kristorpjensen.bsky.social · 16d

I’m super excited to finally put my recent work with @behrenstimb.bsky.social on bioRxiv, where we develop a new mechanistic theory of how PFC structures adaptive behaviour using attractor dynamics in space and time!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · 29d

Look at Edinburgh being stunning for British Cognitive Neurosciences

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Aug 12

I have the feeling that a lot of modern systems/circuit neuro would have been included by James in this aesthetic or emotional part of the mind? All of reward circuitry? Many of the innate behaviours (fear/escape/pup weaning etc.)? Lots of social behaviour (social hierarchy/dominance etc.)?

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Aug 8

Super fun paper by the awesome Michael Bukwich and team!

Malcolm Campbell @malcolmgcampbell.bsky.social · Aug 7

Our paper on foraging is now published in Neuron! Read it here:

www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

This project was co-led by Michael Bukwich (not on Bluesky) and me, with major contributions from all co-authors. Huge thanks to the whole team!

Competitive integration of time and reward explains value-sensitive foraging decisions and frontal cortex ramping dynamics

Bukwich and Campbell et al. show that mice integrate elapsed time and reward intake, scaled by a latent patience variable, to decide when to leave virtual “patches.” Frontal cortex ramping activity ma...

www.cell.com

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Jul 20

This is a cool paper :)

Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Jul 20

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Jul 20

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Reposted by Tim Behrens

Prof Sarah-Jayne Blakemore @sjblakemore.bsky.social · Jul 16

I was explaining to my Ukrainian colleague the phrase ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. She told me the equivalent in Ukrainian is ‘The only free cheese is in the mousetrap’ - which is so much better

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Jul 15

What an absolutely extraordinary milestone. Congrats @fmrib-steve.bsky.social @fmrib-karla.bsky.social and everyone else involved.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Biggest human imaging study scans 100,000th UK volunteer

UK Biobank scientists say the human body can be studied in greater detail than ever thanks to people like Steve.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Tim Behrens @behrenstimb.bsky.social · Jul 8

Ooh this is cool. Thank you!!

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