Sam Gershman
@gershbrain.bsky.social
Professor, Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University
https://gershmanlab.com/
https://gershmanlab.com/
"data available upon reasonable request"
February 7, 2026 at 12:16 PM
"data available upon reasonable request"
Stephen Grossberg explaining why he is both the Newton *and* the Einstein of the mind. Why not also the Lavoisier, Curie, and Darwin of the mind? 🙄
February 6, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Stephen Grossberg explaining why he is both the Newton *and* the Einstein of the mind. Why not also the Lavoisier, Curie, and Darwin of the mind? 🙄
Reposted by Sam Gershman
We are hiring next year in semantics- one year positions of course less exciting and good for the field than straight up tenure track postings, but on the other hand hiring in something that isn’t computational feels like a win anymore in linguistics. Come bring some innovative takes on meaning!
Lecturer in Linguistics (Semantics)
The Department of Linguistics seeks applications for a lecturer in linguistics, with a focus on teaching and advising in formal semantics. The ability to teach and advise students in another area in a...
academicpositions.harvard.edu
February 6, 2026 at 1:48 PM
We are hiring next year in semantics- one year positions of course less exciting and good for the field than straight up tenure track postings, but on the other hand hiring in something that isn’t computational feels like a win anymore in linguistics. Come bring some innovative takes on meaning!
Reposted by Sam Gershman
🚨 Hiring in Munich 🇩🇪: 2 open-topic PhD positions in human & machine learning (TVöD E13 80%).
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
February 5, 2026 at 1:03 PM
🚨 Hiring in Munich 🇩🇪: 2 open-topic PhD positions in human & machine learning (TVöD E13 80%).
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Given how secretive tech companies are these days (supposedly only publishing the stuff that doesn't work well), can we infer the most cutting-edge algorithms from what is *not* published?
February 6, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Given how secretive tech companies are these days (supposedly only publishing the stuff that doesn't work well), can we infer the most cutting-edge algorithms from what is *not* published?
My lab is looking to recruit 1-2 paid summer interns to do wet lab work on learning in a unicellular organism (Stentor coeruleus). You can apply here:
forms.gle/b47WpSobjFjo...
forms.gle/b47WpSobjFjo...
February 5, 2026 at 11:21 AM
My lab is looking to recruit 1-2 paid summer interns to do wet lab work on learning in a unicellular organism (Stentor coeruleus). You can apply here:
forms.gle/b47WpSobjFjo...
forms.gle/b47WpSobjFjo...
Reposted by Sam Gershman
We are hiring a research specialist, to start this summer! This position would be a great fit for individuals looking to get more experience in computational and cognitive neuroscience research before applying to graduate school. #neurojobs Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21503/r...
Careers | Human Resources
research-princeton.icims.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:12 PM
We are hiring a research specialist, to start this summer! This position would be a great fit for individuals looking to get more experience in computational and cognitive neuroscience research before applying to graduate school. #neurojobs Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21503/r...
A new and improved version of TheoryCoder, which learns to play video games in a human-like way by synthesizing both high-level abstractions and a low-level model of game mechanics:
arxiv.org/abs/2602.00929
arxiv.org/abs/2602.00929
Learning Abstractions for Hierarchical Planning in Program-Synthesis Agents
Humans learn abstractions and use them to plan efficiently to quickly generalize across tasks -- an ability that remains challenging for state-of-the-art large language model (LLM) agents and deep rei...
arxiv.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:26 AM
A new and improved version of TheoryCoder, which learns to play video games in a human-like way by synthesizing both high-level abstractions and a low-level model of game mechanics:
arxiv.org/abs/2602.00929
arxiv.org/abs/2602.00929
A real-world, high-stakes case study of policy compression:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Clinicians in the emergency department exhibit near-optimal adaptation to varying cognitive demands.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Clinicians in the emergency department exhibit near-optimal adaptation to varying cognitive demands.
February 2, 2026 at 9:52 PM
A real-world, high-stakes case study of policy compression:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Clinicians in the emergency department exhibit near-optimal adaptation to varying cognitive demands.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Clinicians in the emergency department exhibit near-optimal adaptation to varying cognitive demands.
Reposted by Sam Gershman
#JNeurosci: Results from Hall-McMaster, @nicoschuck.bsky.social, @gershbrain.bsky.social et al suggest the entorhinal cortex might highlight aspects of past experiences that can be generalized, allowing us to make effective decisions in new environments https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1492-25.2025
January 30, 2026 at 2:25 PM
#JNeurosci: Results from Hall-McMaster, @nicoschuck.bsky.social, @gershbrain.bsky.social et al suggest the entorhinal cortex might highlight aspects of past experiences that can be generalized, allowing us to make effective decisions in new environments https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1492-25.2025
Reposted by Sam Gershman
RA job alert. We are looking for a fearless experimentalist to join our experiments on cortical neuromodulators during visually guided learning, lead by @michael-lynn.bsky.social . Opportunity to learn 2p imaging, design and conduct experiments. RT plz. Apply here: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Job Details
my.corehr.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:43 PM
RA job alert. We are looking for a fearless experimentalist to join our experiments on cortical neuromodulators during visually guided learning, lead by @michael-lynn.bsky.social . Opportunity to learn 2p imaging, design and conduct experiments. RT plz. Apply here: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Reposted by Sam Gershman
January 27, 2026 at 2:55 PM
I'm gradually populating this page with additional resources: lecture slides, projects, code. As always, please let me know if you have any feedback!
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
January 24, 2026 at 11:27 AM
I'm gradually populating this page with additional resources: lecture slides, projects, code. As always, please let me know if you have any feedback!
This is a super interesting paper, regardless of whether you agree with the theoretical framework. I have a few thoughts.
Memory erasure by dopamine-gated retrospective learning https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.17.700100v1
January 23, 2026 at 12:18 PM
This is a super interesting paper, regardless of whether you agree with the theoretical framework. I have a few thoughts.
Reposted by Sam Gershman
Thanks Sam! Main takeaways:
1) Ground-truth vs. predictive model selection differ under noisy and scarce data—for prediction, oversimplified models may work better in avoiding overfitting.
2) When humans decide between externally provided, prefitted predictive models, they're undersensitive to 1).
1) Ground-truth vs. predictive model selection differ under noisy and scarce data—for prediction, oversimplified models may work better in avoiding overfitting.
2) When humans decide between externally provided, prefitted predictive models, they're undersensitive to 1).
New work from @liushuze.bsky.social and @yangxiang.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
People violate Occam's razor when selecting between predictive models. This is surprising given past research (including my own) showing a preference for simplicity.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
People violate Occam's razor when selecting between predictive models. This is surprising given past research (including my own) showing a preference for simplicity.
OSF
osf.io
January 17, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Thanks Sam! Main takeaways:
1) Ground-truth vs. predictive model selection differ under noisy and scarce data—for prediction, oversimplified models may work better in avoiding overfitting.
2) When humans decide between externally provided, prefitted predictive models, they're undersensitive to 1).
1) Ground-truth vs. predictive model selection differ under noisy and scarce data—for prediction, oversimplified models may work better in avoiding overfitting.
2) When humans decide between externally provided, prefitted predictive models, they're undersensitive to 1).
New work from @liushuze.bsky.social and @yangxiang.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
People violate Occam's razor when selecting between predictive models. This is surprising given past research (including my own) showing a preference for simplicity.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
People violate Occam's razor when selecting between predictive models. This is surprising given past research (including my own) showing a preference for simplicity.
OSF
osf.io
January 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM
New work from @liushuze.bsky.social and @yangxiang.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
People violate Occam's razor when selecting between predictive models. This is surprising given past research (including my own) showing a preference for simplicity.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
People violate Occam's razor when selecting between predictive models. This is surprising given past research (including my own) showing a preference for simplicity.
Reposted by Sam Gershman
Help! We want to understand multi-task neural representations, but all we have is 24/7 spiking data from human patients in hippocampus and cortex, along with video, audio, speech, heart rate, and so much more!
If you can help, please apply to join the lab as a postdoc ☺️
jobs.bcm.edu/job/Postdoct...
If you can help, please apply to join the lab as a postdoc ☺️
jobs.bcm.edu/job/Postdoct...
Postdoctoral Associate - Specialist- Computational Cognition
Postdoctoral Associate - Specialist- Computational Cognition
jobs.bcm.edu
January 13, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Help! We want to understand multi-task neural representations, but all we have is 24/7 spiking data from human patients in hippocampus and cortex, along with video, audio, speech, heart rate, and so much more!
If you can help, please apply to join the lab as a postdoc ☺️
jobs.bcm.edu/job/Postdoct...
If you can help, please apply to join the lab as a postdoc ☺️
jobs.bcm.edu/job/Postdoct...
Reposted by Sam Gershman
We're hiring! The Computational Clinical Science Lab @ Yale is seeking a full-time lab manager/research coordinator to start in early summer 2026.
For more information about the position and to apply: forms.gle/LtQwVgPUfaGk...
Please share widely & consider applying!
For more information about the position and to apply: forms.gle/LtQwVgPUfaGk...
Please share widely & consider applying!
forms.gle
January 13, 2026 at 4:45 PM
We're hiring! The Computational Clinical Science Lab @ Yale is seeking a full-time lab manager/research coordinator to start in early summer 2026.
For more information about the position and to apply: forms.gle/LtQwVgPUfaGk...
Please share widely & consider applying!
For more information about the position and to apply: forms.gle/LtQwVgPUfaGk...
Please share widely & consider applying!
A damning study of grade inflation in grades 8-11:
merrill-warnick.github.io/merrill-warn...
Mean grade inflation reduces later academic achievement and labor market outcomes. I would be really interested to know if these results generalize to college students.
merrill-warnick.github.io/merrill-warn...
Mean grade inflation reduces later academic achievement and labor market outcomes. I would be really interested to know if these results generalize to college students.
merrill-warnick.github.io
January 13, 2026 at 11:55 AM
A damning study of grade inflation in grades 8-11:
merrill-warnick.github.io/merrill-warn...
Mean grade inflation reduces later academic achievement and labor market outcomes. I would be really interested to know if these results generalize to college students.
merrill-warnick.github.io/merrill-warn...
Mean grade inflation reduces later academic achievement and labor market outcomes. I would be really interested to know if these results generalize to college students.
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
January 9, 2026 at 1:27 AM
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
Reposted by Sam Gershman
New #Survey Certification:
Fast weight programming and linear transformers: from machine learning to neurobiology
Kazuki Irie, Samuel J. Gershman
https://openreview.net/forum?id=TDG8EkNmQR
#rnns #synaptic #rnn
Fast weight programming and linear transformers: from machine learning to neurobiology
Kazuki Irie, Samuel J. Gershman
https://openreview.net/forum?id=TDG8EkNmQR
#rnns #synaptic #rnn
January 6, 2026 at 5:24 PM
New #Survey Certification:
Fast weight programming and linear transformers: from machine learning to neurobiology
Kazuki Irie, Samuel J. Gershman
https://openreview.net/forum?id=TDG8EkNmQR
#rnns #synaptic #rnn
Fast weight programming and linear transformers: from machine learning to neurobiology
Kazuki Irie, Samuel J. Gershman
https://openreview.net/forum?id=TDG8EkNmQR
#rnns #synaptic #rnn
Reposted by Sam Gershman
a project I really like, now officially out!
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
January 6, 2026 at 2:34 PM
a project I really like, now officially out!
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
This is really nice work. I especially like the dissociation between stimulus probability and reward effects on dopamine.
New preprint. We show that in addition to reward prediction errors (RPEs), dorsal striatal dopamine signals encode sensory prediction errors (SPEs), the difference between sensory prior & observed stimulus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Dorsal striatal dopamine integrates sensory and reward prediction errors to guide perceptual decisions
Perceptual decisions are shaped by expectations about sensory stimuli and rewards, learned through sensory and reward prediction errors. Dopamine is known to convey reward prediction errors that shape...
www.biorxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 12:46 PM
This is really nice work. I especially like the dissociation between stimulus probability and reward effects on dopamine.
That's a new one...
I guess now that James Watson is dead, Rosalind Franklin can finally become active in science again?
I guess now that James Watson is dead, Rosalind Franklin can finally become active in science again?
December 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
That's a new one...
I guess now that James Watson is dead, Rosalind Franklin can finally become active in science again?
I guess now that James Watson is dead, Rosalind Franklin can finally become active in science again?
Reposted by Sam Gershman
New book! I have written a book, called Syntax: A cognitive approach, published by MIT Press.
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
tedlab.mit.edu
December 24, 2025 at 7:55 PM
New book! I have written a book, called Syntax: A cognitive approach, published by MIT Press.
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...