Jonathan A. Michaels
@jonathanamichaels.bsky.social
How do we move? I study brains and machines at York University (Assistant Professor). Full-time human.
Neural Control & Computation Lab
www.ncclab.ca
Neural Control & Computation Lab
www.ncclab.ca
Pinned
Sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits
Nature - Experiments with human volunteers and macaques show that expectations produced by probabilistic cueing of future sensory inputs shape motor circuit dynamics in order to increase the...
www.nature.com
Thrilled that our paper is out today in Nature!
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
Reality is so weird.
November 22, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Reality is so weird.
Reposted by Jonathan A. Michaels
short sighted at best....NHP research has been instrumental in the development of new treatments for human conditions (as well as other animals conditions/diseases as well).
EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:44 PM
short sighted at best....NHP research has been instrumental in the development of new treatments for human conditions (as well as other animals conditions/diseases as well).
The vendor numbers must be down
November 20, 2025 at 11:49 AM
The vendor numbers must be down
Way higher than I expected! That’s confirmed in person?
November 20, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Way higher than I expected! That’s confirmed in person?
That's right.. scarborough only accessible by bus for now. I'm guessing 2050s.
November 19, 2025 at 8:17 PM
That's right.. scarborough only accessible by bus for now. I'm guessing 2050s.
Man I live in Toronto and I don’t even know
November 19, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Man I live in Toronto and I don’t even know
Where’s line 3???
November 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Where’s line 3???
We already did a serious celebration when we put the preprint up so I'm already over it 😅
November 19, 2025 at 2:54 AM
We already did a serious celebration when we put the preprint up so I'm already over it 😅
First lab paper accepted for publication 🥳🤯
November 19, 2025 at 2:30 AM
First lab paper accepted for publication 🥳🤯
Classic!!
November 18, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Classic!!
Good life advice.
November 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Good life advice.
Reposted by Jonathan A. Michaels
"Are we going to support talent here in Canada and the development of our students and our researchers who are here?'" Whitaker asked…simply injecting a wave of high-profile academics at the top without supporting the foundation beneath them is "going to leave us short-changed." @caut.bsky.social
Canada seeks star academics from abroad, but stable funding for higher education remains a concern | CBC News
Proponents believe a current push to recruit star researchers from abroad will mean top-tier learning for Canadian students and a boost to research innovation and excellence. Yet concerns remain about...
www.cbc.ca
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
"Are we going to support talent here in Canada and the development of our students and our researchers who are here?'" Whitaker asked…simply injecting a wave of high-profile academics at the top without supporting the foundation beneath them is "going to leave us short-changed." @caut.bsky.social
Ooo I should read that Dani Bassett paper
November 16, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Ooo I should read that Dani Bassett paper
I don't. For me the figures are the skeleton. Once that's in place I write full paragraphs as a narrative.
November 15, 2025 at 10:43 PM
I don't. For me the figures are the skeleton. Once that's in place I write full paragraphs as a narrative.
I had this discussion with a conservative MP. They were concerned about research security.
November 15, 2025 at 1:28 PM
I had this discussion with a conservative MP. They were concerned about research security.
I use the n dash with a space – specifically to avoid this assumption.
November 15, 2025 at 2:56 AM
I use the n dash with a space – specifically to avoid this assumption.
Did you bring Seattle with you Amy??
November 15, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Did you bring Seattle with you Amy??
And the corollary to 'why should I read something nobody bothered to write?' – is – 'why should I write something no one will bother to read?'
This raises what I like to call the "AI test for tasks".
If many people use AI to do task X, then that tells you that task X is actually just a brainless administrative exercise.
Any such task should probably be eliminated, and if that's not an option, modified to make automation even easier.
If many people use AI to do task X, then that tells you that task X is actually just a brainless administrative exercise.
Any such task should probably be eliminated, and if that's not an option, modified to make automation even easier.
There was never any point to having reference letters. That's why we've all started using AI to do this nonesense task.
References should only be used for short-listed candidates for important positions/awards, and ideally, be done via a call to get the most honest opinion possible.
References should only be used for short-listed candidates for important positions/awards, and ideally, be done via a call to get the most honest opinion possible.
November 14, 2025 at 7:43 PM
And the corollary to 'why should I read something nobody bothered to write?' – is – 'why should I write something no one will bother to read?'
Very cool!
November 14, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Very cool!
Reposted by Jonathan A. Michaels
0/7 Excited to 📢 that our (@mkashefi.bsky.social @diedrichsenjorn.bsky.social @andpru.bsky.social) new preprint on sequence preparation and its effect on reaction time is now up: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Please get in touch if there is anything you'd like to discuss! Brief summary 🧵👇
Please get in touch if there is anything you'd like to discuss! Brief summary 🧵👇
Sequence preparation is not always associated with a reaction time cost
The extent to which a sequence of movements is prepared before initiating the first movement is a longstanding question in motor neuroscience. The observation that reaction time (RT) increases for lon...
www.biorxiv.org
November 13, 2025 at 11:49 PM
0/7 Excited to 📢 that our (@mkashefi.bsky.social @diedrichsenjorn.bsky.social @andpru.bsky.social) new preprint on sequence preparation and its effect on reaction time is now up: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Please get in touch if there is anything you'd like to discuss! Brief summary 🧵👇
Please get in touch if there is anything you'd like to discuss! Brief summary 🧵👇
Good advice
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Good advice
What does, it has to be human, mean?
November 14, 2025 at 6:07 PM
What does, it has to be human, mean?
Love this! Will be reading in detail
November 12, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Love this! Will be reading in detail
It was my pleasure to attend @mkashefi.bsky.social’s PhD defense last week. A wonderful scientist with a bright future 🤩
November 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM
It was my pleasure to attend @mkashefi.bsky.social’s PhD defense last week. A wonderful scientist with a bright future 🤩