Kayson Fakhar
@kayson.bsky.social
Post-Doc @camneuro.bsky.social | Computational Neuroscience, Neuro-AI, and a bit more.
https://kaysonfakhar.com
https://kaysonfakhar.com
Pinned
Kayson Fakhar
@kayson.bsky.social
· Dec 15
🚨new work with the dream team @danakarca.bsky.social @loopyluppi.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @stuartoldham.bsky.social @duncanastle.bsky.social
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
This book is a wonderful, synthetic and richly illustrated journey through the natural history of the vertebrate brain 🤩
A big thank you to the authors 🙏
"A major theme in the evolution of the telencephalon has been the emergence of novel pathways...
1/2
A big thank you to the authors 🙏
"A major theme in the evolution of the telencephalon has been the emergence of novel pathways...
1/2
January 17, 2026 at 9:05 AM
This book is a wonderful, synthetic and richly illustrated journey through the natural history of the vertebrate brain 🤩
A big thank you to the authors 🙏
"A major theme in the evolution of the telencephalon has been the emergence of novel pathways...
1/2
A big thank you to the authors 🙏
"A major theme in the evolution of the telencephalon has been the emergence of novel pathways...
1/2
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Excellent piece about Iran but this quote is highly applicable to current US admin tactics:
“Fear is the cement of every authoritarian structure. Not ideology, not theology, not even brute force on its own can keep the towering edifice in place. Fear does”
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/o...
“Fear is the cement of every authoritarian structure. Not ideology, not theology, not even brute force on its own can keep the towering edifice in place. Fear does”
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/o...
Opinion | The End of Fear in Iran
www.nytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Excellent piece about Iran but this quote is highly applicable to current US admin tactics:
“Fear is the cement of every authoritarian structure. Not ideology, not theology, not even brute force on its own can keep the towering edifice in place. Fear does”
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/o...
“Fear is the cement of every authoritarian structure. Not ideology, not theology, not even brute force on its own can keep the towering edifice in place. Fear does”
Gift link
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/o...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
It's a small contribution, but I finally bit the bullet and removed all references to Twitter/X from my website. Where previously I had embedded tweeprints on my website, I've now pasted all the content into something without links/mentions of twitter, e.g. here neural-reckoning.org/pub_multimod...
Nonlinear fusion is optimal for a wide class of multisensory tasks
Animals continuously detect information via multiple sensory channels, like vision and hearing, and integrate these signals to realise faster and more accurate ...
neural-reckoning.org
January 16, 2026 at 5:26 PM
It's a small contribution, but I finally bit the bullet and removed all references to Twitter/X from my website. Where previously I had embedded tweeprints on my website, I've now pasted all the content into something without links/mentions of twitter, e.g. here neural-reckoning.org/pub_multimod...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Despite many negative world news, I still feel very positive about the future of science and computational neuroscience. Together, we will work on reducing the negative impact of brain diseases! I will open two PhD positions in 2026. Informal inquiries (with a CV attached) are appreciated.
January 10, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Despite many negative world news, I still feel very positive about the future of science and computational neuroscience. Together, we will work on reducing the negative impact of brain diseases! I will open two PhD positions in 2026. Informal inquiries (with a CV attached) are appreciated.
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Wanna compare dynamics across neural data, RNNs, or dynamical systems? We got a fast and furious method🏎️
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: arxiv.org/abs/2511.22828
💻: github.com/CMC-lab/fast...
I’ll be @cosynemeeting.bsky.social - happy to chat 😉
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: arxiv.org/abs/2511.22828
💻: github.com/CMC-lab/fast...
I’ll be @cosynemeeting.bsky.social - happy to chat 😉
January 8, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Wanna compare dynamics across neural data, RNNs, or dynamical systems? We got a fast and furious method🏎️
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: arxiv.org/abs/2511.22828
💻: github.com/CMC-lab/fast...
I’ll be @cosynemeeting.bsky.social - happy to chat 😉
The 1st preprint of my PhD 🥳 fast dynamical similarity analysis (fastDSA):
📜: arxiv.org/abs/2511.22828
💻: github.com/CMC-lab/fast...
I’ll be @cosynemeeting.bsky.social - happy to chat 😉
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Effective Graph Resistance as Cumulative Heat Dissipation arxiv.org/abs/2601.00330
Effective Graph Resistance as Cumulative Heat Dissipation
Effective graph resistance is a fundamental structural metric in network science, widely used to quantify global connectivity, compare network architectures, and assess robustness in flow-based system...
arxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Effective Graph Resistance as Cumulative Heat Dissipation arxiv.org/abs/2601.00330
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Throughout this work, we found it really helpful to organize our thinking along 'Marr's three levels of analysis':
1. the computational problem
2. the algorithmic solution
3. biophysical implementation
Check out our review laying out this conceptual framework here: buff.ly/NE4JEOA
1. the computational problem
2. the algorithmic solution
3. biophysical implementation
Check out our review laying out this conceptual framework here: buff.ly/NE4JEOA
Marr's three levels for embryonic development: information, dynamical systems, gene networks
Developmental patterning comprises processes that range from purely instructed, where external signals specify cell fates, to fully self-organized, where spatial patterns emerge autonomously through…
arxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Throughout this work, we found it really helpful to organize our thinking along 'Marr's three levels of analysis':
1. the computational problem
2. the algorithmic solution
3. biophysical implementation
Check out our review laying out this conceptual framework here: buff.ly/NE4JEOA
1. the computational problem
2. the algorithmic solution
3. biophysical implementation
Check out our review laying out this conceptual framework here: buff.ly/NE4JEOA
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
1/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich.
January 2, 2026 at 5:52 PM
1/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich.
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
𝗦𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
If we leave aside the more extreme discussions about "everything everywhere" and modularity this is a very cool paper.
So much can be done with data from 260 regions and 60K neurons.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence
If we leave aside the more extreme discussions about "everything everywhere" and modularity this is a very cool paper.
So much can be done with data from 260 regions and 60K neurons.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence
January 3, 2026 at 5:30 PM
𝗦𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
If we leave aside the more extreme discussions about "everything everywhere" and modularity this is a very cool paper.
So much can be done with data from 260 regions and 60K neurons.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence
If we leave aside the more extreme discussions about "everything everywhere" and modularity this is a very cool paper.
So much can be done with data from 260 regions and 60K neurons.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
And also wishing them a swift and decisive victory. May there be freedom. Why is no one saying this part? I want to come visit Iran.
January 3, 2026 at 1:52 PM
And also wishing them a swift and decisive victory. May there be freedom. Why is no one saying this part? I want to come visit Iran.
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Reports of widespread protests at universities and beyond across Iran. Thinking of students and scholars there, and wishing them safety and a brighter future.
January 2, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Reports of widespread protests at universities and beyond across Iran. Thinking of students and scholars there, and wishing them safety and a brighter future.
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Here is the link to download the PDF of my course#5 on Biological computation. I present & discuss Self-tuning, Adaptation and Learning in biological (non-neuronal) systems, in particular during embryonic development.
This course contains various personal ideas/proposals.
tinyurl.com/hcpwsbtm
This course contains various personal ideas/proposals.
tinyurl.com/hcpwsbtm
January 3, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Here is the link to download the PDF of my course#5 on Biological computation. I present & discuss Self-tuning, Adaptation and Learning in biological (non-neuronal) systems, in particular during embryonic development.
This course contains various personal ideas/proposals.
tinyurl.com/hcpwsbtm
This course contains various personal ideas/proposals.
tinyurl.com/hcpwsbtm
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
I've got a fully-funded PhD studentship open at @birkbeckpsychology.bsky.social, investigating social learning about metacognition & awareness, w/ behavioural studies & neuroimaging (fMRI) - thanks to @leverhulme.ac.uk
More details here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPV831/p...
#cogsci #neuroskyence
More details here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPV831/p...
#cogsci #neuroskyence
PhD Studentship: Social Learning of Metacognition and Awareness at Birkbeck, University of London
jobs.ac.uk now advertising a PhD Studentship: Social Learning of Metacognition and Awareness Visit jobs.ac.uk to apply and to browse more PhD opportunities.
www.jobs.ac.uk
December 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I've got a fully-funded PhD studentship open at @birkbeckpsychology.bsky.social, investigating social learning about metacognition & awareness, w/ behavioural studies & neuroimaging (fMRI) - thanks to @leverhulme.ac.uk
More details here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPV831/p...
#cogsci #neuroskyence
More details here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPV831/p...
#cogsci #neuroskyence
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals
Nature Neuroscience - Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping...
rdcu.be
December 29, 2025 at 4:17 PM
⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Causation, correlation, and attempts to explain ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s disease). Great article on a devastating disease. #philsci #philsky
When a French village became an ALS hot spot, neurologists found that the patients consistently ate three foods. Shayla Love traveled there to investigate:
Revisit the story from March, which became one of The Atlantic’s most-read articles of 2025: theatln.tc/DpPZNmMC
Revisit the story from March, which became one of The Atlantic’s most-read articles of 2025: theatln.tc/DpPZNmMC
December 26, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Giving what we can has implemented a fun game where you spin a globe to see how your starting point in life would compare if you were reborn today, randomly somewhere on earth.
www.givingwhatwecan.org/birth-lottery
www.givingwhatwecan.org/birth-lottery
Birth Lottery
If you were reborn today, where would you land? And how would that change your life?
www.givingwhatwecan.org
December 25, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Giving what we can has implemented a fun game where you spin a globe to see how your starting point in life would compare if you were reborn today, randomly somewhere on earth.
www.givingwhatwecan.org/birth-lottery
www.givingwhatwecan.org/birth-lottery
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
This is your brain on Ritalin. Got your attention? Stimulant medications like Ritalin (methylphenidate) do, but not in the way you might think. They don't act directly on the brain’s attention systems! Find out what's really happening in @cellpress.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
December 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
This is your brain on Ritalin. Got your attention? Stimulant medications like Ritalin (methylphenidate) do, but not in the way you might think. They don't act directly on the brain’s attention systems! Find out what's really happening in @cellpress.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
A must-read review. It argues that brain areas are only one of several organizing principles and are not especially central, given their weak correspondence to function. Cytoarchitecture and connectivity are a starting point, not the endpoint.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization - Nature Neuroscience
Parcellation of the cortex into functionally modular brain areas is foundational to neuroscience. Here, Hayden, Heilbronner and Yoo question the central status of brain areas in neuroscience from the ...
www.nature.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
A must-read review. It argues that brain areas are only one of several organizing principles and are not especially central, given their weak correspondence to function. Cytoarchitecture and connectivity are a starting point, not the endpoint.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroscience
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
It's not even an "intuition" it's the most basic test. If your method fails in the simplest possible synthetic data, how can it possibly work on real data? I'm always amazed that this isn't the absolute minimal standard required. So much wasted time on analyses that just don't work.
December 23, 2025 at 1:46 AM
It's not even an "intuition" it's the most basic test. If your method fails in the simplest possible synthetic data, how can it possibly work on real data? I'm always amazed that this isn't the absolute minimal standard required. So much wasted time on analyses that just don't work.
Totally agree with Marcus on this. Besides, I think every method should be introduced with an “intuition paper” first that uses toy models to show what’s actually happening and how *not* to interpret findings from the subsequent “real” analyses. We sometimes do this now but nowhere near enough.
Toy models, just in time for Christmas!
Excited to share my first article for @thetransmitter.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
Excited to share my first article for @thetransmitter.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
Amid the rise of billion-parameter models, I argue that toy models, with just a few neurons, remain essential—and may be all neuroscience needs, writes @marcusghosh.bsky.social.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
December 23, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Totally agree with Marcus on this. Besides, I think every method should be introduced with an “intuition paper” first that uses toy models to show what’s actually happening and how *not* to interpret findings from the subsequent “real” analyses. We sometimes do this now but nowhere near enough.
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Sequences are everywhere! In every brain region. And are written in stone.
Invariant Activity Sequences Across the Mouse Brain.
Out today, by Célian Bimbard, with @kenneth-harris.bsky.social.
Based on data by Célian and by @intlbrainlab.bsky.social.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Invariant Activity Sequences Across the Mouse Brain.
Out today, by Célian Bimbard, with @kenneth-harris.bsky.social.
Based on data by Célian and by @intlbrainlab.bsky.social.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 22, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Sequences are everywhere! In every brain region. And are written in stone.
Invariant Activity Sequences Across the Mouse Brain.
Out today, by Célian Bimbard, with @kenneth-harris.bsky.social.
Based on data by Célian and by @intlbrainlab.bsky.social.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Invariant Activity Sequences Across the Mouse Brain.
Out today, by Célian Bimbard, with @kenneth-harris.bsky.social.
Based on data by Célian and by @intlbrainlab.bsky.social.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
While much of machine learning is retrospective (learn the past distribution) learning in biology is prospective (learn for the future) - here we discuss some implications for neuroscience (with @tdverstynen.bsky.social, Josh Vogelstein, Pratik Chaudhari): www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
Toward a science of prospective learning
In a constantly changing world, effective intelligence means anticipating future changes.
Kording et al. argue that organisms adapt prospectively, modeling how environments
and capabilities of the org...
www.cell.com
December 22, 2025 at 8:47 PM
While much of machine learning is retrospective (learn the past distribution) learning in biology is prospective (learn for the future) - here we discuss some implications for neuroscience (with @tdverstynen.bsky.social, Josh Vogelstein, Pratik Chaudhari): www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
📆 updated for 2026!
list of summer schools & short courses in the realm of (computational) neuroscience or data analysis of EEG / MEG / LFP: 🔗 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
list of summer schools & short courses in the realm of (computational) neuroscience or data analysis of EEG / MEG / LFP: 🔗 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
various computational neuroscience / MEEG / LFP short courses and summer schools
docs.google.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
📆 updated for 2026!
list of summer schools & short courses in the realm of (computational) neuroscience or data analysis of EEG / MEG / LFP: 🔗 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
list of summer schools & short courses in the realm of (computational) neuroscience or data analysis of EEG / MEG / LFP: 🔗 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Kayson Fakhar
Depression as a disease of white matter network disruption: Learning from Multiple Sclerosis ft. @ballerlab.bsky.social, E. Cooper, @ted-satterthwaite.bsky.social (Psych), M. Schindler, A. Bar-Or (Neurology) & R. Shinohara (@dbei-upenn.bsky.social) www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S000...
December 19, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Depression as a disease of white matter network disruption: Learning from Multiple Sclerosis ft. @ballerlab.bsky.social, E. Cooper, @ted-satterthwaite.bsky.social (Psych), M. Schindler, A. Bar-Or (Neurology) & R. Shinohara (@dbei-upenn.bsky.social) www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S000...