Luke Sjulson
@lukesjulson.bsky.social
MD/PhD neuroscientist/psychiatrist. Decision-making, addiction, multi-region ephys and imaging in vivo, novel optical methods for spatial transcriptomics https://sjulsonlab.org
Pinned
Luke Sjulson
@lukesjulson.bsky.social
· Dec 13
Neuroscience methods - YouTube
Nanocourse: Approaches to Study Neural Circuits This course was taught by Anita Autry, Tiago Gonçalves, and Luke Sjulson at Albert Einstein College of Medici...
www.youtube.com
Neuroscience students asked us to teach a PRACTICAL course on experimental methods, and it is now on YouTube!
Please like and repost to help us get the word out!
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Lecture 1: Signals and data acquisition
Focusing on hardware, digital/analog I/O, synchronization
🧵
Please like and repost to help us get the word out!
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Lecture 1: Signals and data acquisition
Focusing on hardware, digital/analog I/O, synchronization
🧵
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
Y’all are reading this paper in the wrong way.
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
“Our findings challenge the conventional focus on low-dimensional coding subspaces as a sufficient framework for understanding neural computations, demonstrating that dimensions previously considered task-irrelevant and accounting for little variance can have a critical role in driving behavior.”
Neural dynamics outside task-coding dimensions drive decision trajectories through transient amplification
Most behaviors involve neural dynamics in high-dimensional activity spaces. A common approach is to extract dimensions that capture task-related variability, such as those separating stimuli or choice...
www.biorxiv.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Y’all are reading this paper in the wrong way.
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
We love to trash dominant hypothesis, but we need to look for evidence against the manifold hypothesis elsewhere:
This elegant work doesn't show neural dynamics are high D, nor that we should stop using PCA
It’s quite the opposite!
(thread)
Re: recent studies about neural coding being high-dimensional, and I thought I'd contribute our recent preprint: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1...
@eliezyer.bsky.social and I will do a full thread on this when the paper comes out, but his work shows it's (as usual) a little more complicated 🧵
@eliezyer.bsky.social and I will do a full thread on this when the paper comes out, but his work shows it's (as usual) a little more complicated 🧵
November 24, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Re: recent studies about neural coding being high-dimensional, and I thought I'd contribute our recent preprint: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1...
@eliezyer.bsky.social and I will do a full thread on this when the paper comes out, but his work shows it's (as usual) a little more complicated 🧵
@eliezyer.bsky.social and I will do a full thread on this when the paper comes out, but his work shows it's (as usual) a little more complicated 🧵
Weird insight: developmentally speaking, the brain is derived from the ectoderm, the outermost layer that also forms the skin
"skin as part of brain?"
This is that great intellect people talk about?
November 13, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Weird insight: developmentally speaking, the brain is derived from the ectoderm, the outermost layer that also forms the skin
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
Our lab is looking for a postdoc! We have interesting projects and cutting-edge techniques such as Neuropixels Opto, Light Beads Microscopy and more. We would be delighted to receive your application. Deadline is 25 November 2025. More info here:
www.ucl.ac.uk/cortexlab/po...
www.ucl.ac.uk/cortexlab/po...
November 12, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Our lab is looking for a postdoc! We have interesting projects and cutting-edge techniques such as Neuropixels Opto, Light Beads Microscopy and more. We would be delighted to receive your application. Deadline is 25 November 2025. More info here:
www.ucl.ac.uk/cortexlab/po...
www.ucl.ac.uk/cortexlab/po...
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I watched this a bunch of times, trying to figure out wtf could be going through RFK Jr’s head. As much as I detest the guy, the only logical conclusion I can reach is that he was going to get help
BREAKING: RFK Jr. flees the scene after Novo Nordisk Executive Gordon Findlay collapsed in the Oval Office.
Findlay is reportedly ok.
Findlay is reportedly ok.
November 7, 2025 at 1:31 AM
I watched this a bunch of times, trying to figure out wtf could be going through RFK Jr’s head. As much as I detest the guy, the only logical conclusion I can reach is that he was going to get help
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
The NIH institute director firing last Friday is very bad.
I made a video explainer about why.
Stay for last post, w link to @science.org story from @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social
1/4
🧪
I made a video explainer about why.
Stay for last post, w link to @science.org story from @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social
1/4
🧪
October 23, 2025 at 4:02 AM
The NIH institute director firing last Friday is very bad.
I made a video explainer about why.
Stay for last post, w link to @science.org story from @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social
1/4
🧪
I made a video explainer about why.
Stay for last post, w link to @science.org story from @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social
1/4
🧪
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
I made a video about the shutdown, and why this government worker won’t be a pawn.
When the president and Supreme Court are both acting lawlessly, Congress must stand up and stop it.
US science is collapsing and Congress needs to act.
🧪
Full video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DP1tXXE...
When the president and Supreme Court are both acting lawlessly, Congress must stand up and stop it.
US science is collapsing and Congress needs to act.
🧪
Full video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DP1tXXE...
October 16, 2025 at 11:17 PM
I made a video about the shutdown, and why this government worker won’t be a pawn.
When the president and Supreme Court are both acting lawlessly, Congress must stand up and stop it.
US science is collapsing and Congress needs to act.
🧪
Full video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DP1tXXE...
When the president and Supreme Court are both acting lawlessly, Congress must stand up and stop it.
US science is collapsing and Congress needs to act.
🧪
Full video here: www.instagram.com/reel/DP1tXXE...
Nolan was the developer of the SNT TMS protocol, the most promising new treatment for depression there is. It’s a real tragedy
October 15, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Nolan was the developer of the SNT TMS protocol, the most promising new treatment for depression there is. It’s a real tragedy
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
A thought-provoking piece in Nature Neuroscience by many neuroscience colleagues: "Science must break its silence to rebuild public trust". Lots to think about here.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 14, 2025 at 8:51 PM
A thought-provoking piece in Nature Neuroscience by many neuroscience colleagues: "Science must break its silence to rebuild public trust". Lots to think about here.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
So I get that a Neuroscientist Couldn’t Understand a Microprocessor, and TBH I’m ok with that. But could a neuroscientist understand a deep RNN? Because that seems like a more pressing issue.
*assuming you think the brain operates through the parallel activity of many connected input/output units
*assuming you think the brain operates through the parallel activity of many connected input/output units
October 10, 2025 at 11:02 AM
So I get that a Neuroscientist Couldn’t Understand a Microprocessor, and TBH I’m ok with that. But could a neuroscientist understand a deep RNN? Because that seems like a more pressing issue.
*assuming you think the brain operates through the parallel activity of many connected input/output units
*assuming you think the brain operates through the parallel activity of many connected input/output units
Anyone interested in optics needs to check out this wild story of how those gigantic photomultiplier tubes were made:
www.hamamatsu.com/jp/en/why-ha...
www.hamamatsu.com/jp/en/why-ha...
Look at the size of this photomultiplier tube in the Nobel Prize museum. Imagine doing two photon imaging with one of those!
October 9, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Anyone interested in optics needs to check out this wild story of how those gigantic photomultiplier tubes were made:
www.hamamatsu.com/jp/en/why-ha...
www.hamamatsu.com/jp/en/why-ha...
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
It can be very easy for people who have never professionally sat with people (and their families) who experience the devastation of mental illness to pontificate about its existence and treatment from an armchair.
October 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
It can be very easy for people who have never professionally sat with people (and their families) who experience the devastation of mental illness to pontificate about its existence and treatment from an armchair.
Look at the size of this photomultiplier tube in the Nobel Prize museum. Imagine doing two photon imaging with one of those!
October 8, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Look at the size of this photomultiplier tube in the Nobel Prize museum. Imagine doing two photon imaging with one of those!
It makes me sad there is an entire generation that has not seen Office Space
October 8, 2025 at 7:37 AM
It makes me sad there is an entire generation that has not seen Office Space
Language is how other people convey their thoughts to us, so we are naturally prone to take language as evidence of thought. But evolutionarily, thought is much older and deeper than language
as a girl with a PhD in natural language processing and machine learning it's actually offensive to me when you say "we don't know how LLMs work so they might be conscious"
I didn't spend 10 years in mines of academia to be told ignorance is morally equal knowledge.
We know exactly how LLMs work.
I didn't spend 10 years in mines of academia to be told ignorance is morally equal knowledge.
We know exactly how LLMs work.
October 7, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Language is how other people convey their thoughts to us, so we are naturally prone to take language as evidence of thought. But evolutionarily, thought is much older and deeper than language
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
I’m pleased to share our new paper, “Hippocampal ripple diversity organizes neuronal reactivation dynamics in the offline brain”, out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social !
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
October 2, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I’m pleased to share our new paper, “Hippocampal ripple diversity organizes neuronal reactivation dynamics in the offline brain”, out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social !
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
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...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
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...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
Too late, Batman. Once this Tylenol floods the city's water supply, my wiki won't run out of editors ever again
September 22, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Too late, Batman. Once this Tylenol floods the city's water supply, my wiki won't run out of editors ever again
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
🛑 Attention researchers who train freely-moving rodents!
Jess Breda and I developed a protocol for training center-port nose fixation 61% faster than a previous curriculum while keeping violation rates low.
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Jess Breda and I developed a protocol for training center-port nose fixation 61% faster than a previous curriculum while keeping violation rates low.
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
FixGrower: An efficient and robust curriculum for shaping fixation behavior in rodents
Center-port fixation is a common prerequisite for many freely-moving rodent tasks in neuroscience and psychology. However, typical protocols for shaping this behavior are non-standardized and ineffici...
www.biorxiv.org
September 22, 2025 at 2:59 PM
🛑 Attention researchers who train freely-moving rodents!
Jess Breda and I developed a protocol for training center-port nose fixation 61% faster than a previous curriculum while keeping violation rates low.
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Jess Breda and I developed a protocol for training center-port nose fixation 61% faster than a previous curriculum while keeping violation rates low.
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
I was texting someone about the Tylenol/autism announcement, and for the first time, I accidentally typed “ducking” and my phone successfully autocorrected it to “fucking”
September 22, 2025 at 9:35 PM
I was texting someone about the Tylenol/autism announcement, and for the first time, I accidentally typed “ducking” and my phone successfully autocorrected it to “fucking”
Some good news, which seems rare lately: I was promoted to Associate Professor!
September 17, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Some good news, which seems rare lately: I was promoted to Associate Professor!
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
September 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
Reposted by Luke Sjulson
::slowly stands while clapping::
September 10, 2025 at 11:07 PM
::slowly stands while clapping::