John Pearson
@jmxpearson.bsky.social
Computational neuroscience, neuroML, natural behavior. I charge more for miracles. PI @ pearsonlab.github.io. @dukemedschool.bsky.social.
Pinned
John Pearson
@jmxpearson.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Pearson Lab at Duke University
pearsonlab.github.io
Okay, long-overdue introduction. I’m a computational neuroscientist at Duke, where my lab (pearsonlab.github.io) does theory “bottom up”: we try to start by modeling data and build toward principles.
Reposted by John Pearson
Our new paper (with @biotay.bsky.social) is out and on the cover story of @currentbiology.bsky.social !!!! Veronika, a Carinthian mountain cow flexibly uses a “multi-purpose tool” to scratch herself. A video and more information will follow in the comments.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
January 19, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Our new paper (with @biotay.bsky.social) is out and on the cover story of @currentbiology.bsky.social !!!! Veronika, a Carinthian mountain cow flexibly uses a “multi-purpose tool” to scratch herself. A video and more information will follow in the comments.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by John Pearson
I love everything about Cow Tools -- this is peak Current Biology, one of the few journals with a personality.
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 1:24 AM
I love everything about Cow Tools -- this is peak Current Biology, one of the few journals with a personality.
100% agree, but I’m struck by the fact that the prerequisite for this — a strong sense of editorial taste — is something many on here would oppose as exclusionary bias in other circumstances. Like, the fact that Nature and Science prefer certain kinds of studies is viewed as a kind of malpractice.
I love everything about Cow Tools -- this is peak Current Biology, one of the few journals with a personality.
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 4:15 AM
100% agree, but I’m struck by the fact that the prerequisite for this — a strong sense of editorial taste — is something many on here would oppose as exclusionary bias in other circumstances. Like, the fact that Nature and Science prefer certain kinds of studies is viewed as a kind of malpractice.
Reposted by John Pearson
Regenerating nerve fibers in the tail of an injured zebrafish larva. Credit to Dr. Sandra Rieger at University of Miami. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪
January 18, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Regenerating nerve fibers in the tail of an injured zebrafish larva. Credit to Dr. Sandra Rieger at University of Miami. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪
Reposted by John Pearson
📢 Applications open on 19 Jan for the 7-week #Mathematics #SummerSchool in London. You will develop the maths skills and intuition necessary to enter the #TheoreticalNeuroscience / #MachineLearning field.
Find out more & register for the information webinar 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
Find out more & register for the information webinar 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
January 15, 2026 at 2:37 PM
📢 Applications open on 19 Jan for the 7-week #Mathematics #SummerSchool in London. You will develop the maths skills and intuition necessary to enter the #TheoreticalNeuroscience / #MachineLearning field.
Find out more & register for the information webinar 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
Find out more & register for the information webinar 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
Reposted by John Pearson
An animated graphic showing wingbeats of different birds. This one is so beautiful.
Image: Eleanor Lutz
tabletopwhale.com/2014/09/29/f...
Image: Eleanor Lutz
tabletopwhale.com/2014/09/29/f...
January 16, 2026 at 3:15 AM
An animated graphic showing wingbeats of different birds. This one is so beautiful.
Image: Eleanor Lutz
tabletopwhale.com/2014/09/29/f...
Image: Eleanor Lutz
tabletopwhale.com/2014/09/29/f...
Reposted by John Pearson
2 days left to register for the Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2026 in Lisbon!
A great opportunity to meet the community working on research software, while collaborating on reproducible analyses in systems neuroscience.
A great opportunity to meet the community working on research software, while collaborating on reproducible analyses in systems neuroscience.
Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2026 – Join Us in Lisbon!
March 10–11, 2026 • Lisbon, Portugal
pre-cosyne-brainhack.github.io/hackathon2026/
Kick off COSYNE week with two days of hands-on, team-based hacking around real electrophysiology data, open tools, and reproducible workflows. #brainhack #cosyne2026
March 10–11, 2026 • Lisbon, Portugal
pre-cosyne-brainhack.github.io/hackathon2026/
Kick off COSYNE week with two days of hands-on, team-based hacking around real electrophysiology data, open tools, and reproducible workflows. #brainhack #cosyne2026
Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2026
The 2026 edition of the Pre-COSYNE Brainhack in Lisbon, Portugal.
pre-cosyne-brainhack.github.io
January 16, 2026 at 4:41 PM
2 days left to register for the Pre-COSYNE Brainhack 2026 in Lisbon!
A great opportunity to meet the community working on research software, while collaborating on reproducible analyses in systems neuroscience.
A great opportunity to meet the community working on research software, while collaborating on reproducible analyses in systems neuroscience.
Reposted by John Pearson
A library of nocturnal flight calls from Beijing, including many eastern species that could be recorded in Europe. See wildbeijing.org/beijing-noct... #nocmig #china #beijing #migration #birds
Beijing Nocturnal Flight Call Library
This page provides examples of nocturnal flight calls (NFCs), including spectograms and audio files, all of which have been recorded in Beijing. Dates and recording location are given for eac…
wildbeijing.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:40 AM
A library of nocturnal flight calls from Beijing, including many eastern species that could be recorded in Europe. See wildbeijing.org/beijing-noct... #nocmig #china #beijing #migration #birds
Reposted by John Pearson
A breakthrough study from Duke reveals that boosting mitochondrial support in damaged nerves can significantly ease pain caused by diabetic neuropathy and chemotherapy.
🔗 Read more: medschool.duke.edu/news/restori...
#AcademicSky #MedSky #ScienceNews
🔗 Read more: medschool.duke.edu/news/restori...
#AcademicSky #MedSky #ScienceNews
Restoring mitochondria shows promise for treating chronic nerve pain
Discovery at Duke School of Medicine suggests a new way to tackle the root cause of nerve pain by helping cells share energy.
medschool.duke.edu
January 16, 2026 at 12:54 PM
A breakthrough study from Duke reveals that boosting mitochondrial support in damaged nerves can significantly ease pain caused by diabetic neuropathy and chemotherapy.
🔗 Read more: medschool.duke.edu/news/restori...
#AcademicSky #MedSky #ScienceNews
🔗 Read more: medschool.duke.edu/news/restori...
#AcademicSky #MedSky #ScienceNews
Reposted by John Pearson
We introduce epiplexity, a new measure of information that provides a foundation for how to select, generate, or transform data for learning systems. We have been working on this for almost 2 years, and I cannot contain my excitement! arxiv.org/abs/2601.03220 1/7
January 7, 2026 at 5:28 PM
We introduce epiplexity, a new measure of information that provides a foundation for how to select, generate, or transform data for learning systems. We have been working on this for almost 2 years, and I cannot contain my excitement! arxiv.org/abs/2601.03220 1/7
Reposted by John Pearson
Very excited to share a new preprint - my first paper in the @mikeeconomo.bsky.social lab where we asked when and why the motor cortex is recruited for movement control:🧠👇https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.13.699314v1
Dynamic engagement of the motor cortex in controlling movement
Neural circuits do not contribute equally or continuously to behavior. In mice, the motor cortex can be essential or dispensable for movement in different contexts, but how it is dynamically recruited...
www.biorxiv.org
January 15, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Very excited to share a new preprint - my first paper in the @mikeeconomo.bsky.social lab where we asked when and why the motor cortex is recruited for movement control:🧠👇https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.13.699314v1
In our defense, we’re none too proud of lots of alumni these days. We have to prioritize.
Rand Paul is incredibly stupid and Duke should be ashamed of giving him a medical degree
January 15, 2026 at 9:38 PM
In our defense, we’re none too proud of lots of alumni these days. We have to prioritize.
Reposted by John Pearson
I'm writing a grant right now, and I'd love to hear your grant writing Hot Takes:
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
January 15, 2026 at 7:40 PM
I'm writing a grant right now, and I'd love to hear your grant writing Hot Takes:
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
Depressing but honest hot take: if the grant looks visually appealing (in a pretty conventional way), people will assume you know what you’re doing and be less skeptical/likely to nitpick. Ugly figures and wall-to-wall text beg them to reciprocally punish you.
I'm writing a grant right now, and I'd love to hear your grant writing Hot Takes:
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
January 15, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Depressing but honest hot take: if the grant looks visually appealing (in a pretty conventional way), people will assume you know what you’re doing and be less skeptical/likely to nitpick. Ugly figures and wall-to-wall text beg them to reciprocally punish you.
Reposted by John Pearson
but my fave grant advice is write it for the tired grumpy rev who’s scoring at least 6-10 of these for little to no $ instead of doing their own science. Make the things they need to summarize in little boxes on their forms dead easy to find. don’t insult their intelligence or make their life hard
Yes! And you can use color! I like to make each aim heading its own color and then maintain that across figures tables etc (text or background color)
I'm writing a grant right now, and I'd love to hear your grant writing Hot Takes:
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
Here's my favorite:
Try to put a figure or table on every page. They provide anchor points for the eyes of tired reviewers. I love a conceptual figure.
January 15, 2026 at 8:15 PM
but my fave grant advice is write it for the tired grumpy rev who’s scoring at least 6-10 of these for little to no $ instead of doing their own science. Make the things they need to summarize in little boxes on their forms dead easy to find. don’t insult their intelligence or make their life hard
Reposted by John Pearson
I am excited to share some new results investigating how subcortical signals are channeled via VM to engage specific inhibitory networks in L1 of mPFC. Check out our preprint linked below if you’re interested in reading more! 🥳
Excited to share our new study showing how subcortical inputs are routed through ventromedial (VM) thalamus to layer 1 interneurons in the medial PFC, all done by my graduate student Sanne Casello:
sannemcasello.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
sannemcasello.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 15, 2026 at 8:38 PM
I am excited to share some new results investigating how subcortical signals are channeled via VM to engage specific inhibitory networks in L1 of mPFC. Check out our preprint linked below if you’re interested in reading more! 🥳
Reposted by John Pearson
Excited to share our new study showing how subcortical inputs are routed through ventromedial (VM) thalamus to layer 1 interneurons in the medial PFC, all done by my graduate student Sanne Casello:
sannemcasello.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
sannemcasello.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 15, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Excited to share our new study showing how subcortical inputs are routed through ventromedial (VM) thalamus to layer 1 interneurons in the medial PFC, all done by my graduate student Sanne Casello:
sannemcasello.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
sannemcasello.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Teaching probability is like sex ed: it’s nobody’s idea of a good time, but it keeps the kids from learning about it on the streets.
January 15, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Teaching probability is like sex ed: it’s nobody’s idea of a good time, but it keeps the kids from learning about it on the streets.
Reposted by John Pearson
How does our visual system process natural scenes ? How can we approach this question ?
Happy to share this recent review written with Samuele Virgili where we ask these questions at the level of the retina.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Happy to share this recent review written with Samuele Virgili where we ask these questions at the level of the retina.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Retinal processing of natural scenes: challenges ahead
While substantial knowledge exists about the way the retina processes simple stimuli, our understanding of how the retina processes natural stimuli re…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:36 PM
How does our visual system process natural scenes ? How can we approach this question ?
Happy to share this recent review written with Samuele Virgili where we ask these questions at the level of the retina.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Happy to share this recent review written with Samuele Virgili where we ask these questions at the level of the retina.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by John Pearson
Excited to return to Lisbon this June for the epic 3-week Cajal course on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and VR! 🐀🐟🪰🏃♀️🎥🖥📈🧪
Applications are open through Feb 13! Come join us.
cajal-training.org/on-site/quan...
Applications are open through Feb 13! Come join us.
cajal-training.org/on-site/quan...
January 14, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Excited to return to Lisbon this June for the epic 3-week Cajal course on Quantitative Approaches to Behavior and VR! 🐀🐟🪰🏃♀️🎥🖥📈🧪
Applications are open through Feb 13! Come join us.
cajal-training.org/on-site/quan...
Applications are open through Feb 13! Come join us.
cajal-training.org/on-site/quan...
Reposted by John Pearson
I will be there in March for a talk - super excited!
January 13, 2026 at 11:25 PM
I will be there in March for a talk - super excited!
Reposted by John Pearson
Was a honor to give this SfN Special Lecture & share 10 yrs of work from the lab on its 10th anniversary! Thankful to the incredible lab members, collaborators & participant volunteers who made this work possible. Link to video recording here👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVhD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVhD...
Nanthia Suthana- From Foraging to Flashbacks-The Neural Basis of Spatial Memory & Mental Time Travel
YouTube video by Suthana Lab
www.youtube.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Was a honor to give this SfN Special Lecture & share 10 yrs of work from the lab on its 10th anniversary! Thankful to the incredible lab members, collaborators & participant volunteers who made this work possible. Link to video recording here👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVhD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVhD...
Reposted by John Pearson
My department, Duke Neurobiology, is searching for a new chair. Ad below. Come work with me, @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social @ennatsew.bsky.social @jorggrandl.bsky.social @jnklab.bsky.social @sbilbo.bsky.social @neurocircuits.bsky.social and many other amazing folks! @dukemedschool.bsky.social
Department Chair, Duke Neurobiology - Duke University, Durham job with Duke University - School of Medicine | 12852576
The Duke University School of Medicine (SOM) seeks a distinguished neuroscientist to serve as the next Chair of the Department of Neurobiology.
www.nature.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:21 AM
My department, Duke Neurobiology, is searching for a new chair. Ad below. Come work with me, @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social @ennatsew.bsky.social @jorggrandl.bsky.social @jnklab.bsky.social @sbilbo.bsky.social @neurocircuits.bsky.social and many other amazing folks! @dukemedschool.bsky.social
Reposted by John Pearson
If you can substitute "hungry ghost trapped in a jar" for "AI" in a sentence it's probably a valid use case for LLMs. Take "I have a bunch of hungry ghosts in jars, they mainly write SQL queries for me". Sure. Reasonable use case.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
August 13, 2025 at 12:56 AM
If you can substitute "hungry ghost trapped in a jar" for "AI" in a sentence it's probably a valid use case for LLMs. Take "I have a bunch of hungry ghosts in jars, they mainly write SQL queries for me". Sure. Reasonable use case.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
"My girlfriend is a hungry ghost I trapped in a jar"? No. Deranged.
Reposted by John Pearson
(And if I put on my social materialist hat, a big, big part of it is that people in creative industries don't care whether Silicon Valley automates *its own* labor.)
January 13, 2026 at 5:44 PM
(And if I put on my social materialist hat, a big, big part of it is that people in creative industries don't care whether Silicon Valley automates *its own* labor.)