Andrew MacAskill
@macaskillaf.bsky.social
UCL neuroscientist investigating the neural basis of contextual decision making. Views are my own.
Prof @uclnpp
lab website: www.macaskilllab.com
UCL profile: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/5194
also @[email protected]
Prof @uclnpp
lab website: www.macaskilllab.com
UCL profile: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/5194
also @[email protected]
Pinned
Andrew MacAskill
@macaskillaf.bsky.social
· Nov 22
Hidden state inference requires abstract contextual representations in the ventral hippocampus
The ability to use subjective, latent contextual representations to influence decision-making is crucial for everyday life. The hippocampus is hypothesized to bind together otherwise abstract combinat...
www.science.org
Huge congrats to @karyna-mi.bsky.social for her paper published today in Science! She found that the hippocampus is really important for a key strategy we use to make decisions called hidden state inference! 🧪 🧠https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq5874 1/7
Congrats to Ella for her new paper! She asked a really interesting question about how the brain represents uncertainty during hidden state inference, and in a lovely crossover with theoretical work, she shows that in mice, acetylcholine dynamics play a crucial role. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Acetylcholine reflects uncertainty during hidden state inference
To act adaptively, animals must infer features of the environment that cannot be observed directly, such as which option is currently rewarding, or which context they are in. These internal estimates,...
www.biorxiv.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Congrats to Ella for her new paper! She asked a really interesting question about how the brain represents uncertainty during hidden state inference, and in a lovely crossover with theoretical work, she shows that in mice, acetylcholine dynamics play a crucial role. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
come join our dept as a fellow - and join a fantastic crew of people using interdisciplinary approaches to investigate the brain across scales - from molecules to behaviour. reach out if you have any Qs!
Calling aspiring group leaders! We've just opened applications for group leader fellowship sponsorship to start a lab in UCL NPP. Deadline 5 Jan. @uclnpp.bsky.social tinyurl.com/3h33dvev
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:17 AM
come join our dept as a fellow - and join a fantastic crew of people using interdisciplinary approaches to investigate the brain across scales - from molecules to behaviour. reach out if you have any Qs!
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Today is the 89th anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street when the people of the East End of London halted the march of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts through Stepney.
October 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Today is the 89th anniversary of The Battle of Cable Street when the people of the East End of London halted the march of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts through Stepney.
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
In London, hate will never win.
September 17, 2025 at 6:10 AM
In London, hate will never win.
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
True. Current Biology on the other hand...
September 8, 2025 at 5:26 PM
True. Current Biology on the other hand...
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
This had me laughing to tears. The person sitting next to me on the flight must have thought I was nuts.
A must read for the FEP curious.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
A must read for the FEP curious.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) The Exit Manual: How to Leave the Free Energy Cult and Still Get Tenure
PDF | This manual is not a plea. It is a jailbreak from a cult—the Free Energy Principle, a theoretical metastasis that began in computational... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Res...
www.researchgate.net
August 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
This had me laughing to tears. The person sitting next to me on the flight must have thought I was nuts.
A must read for the FEP curious.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
A must read for the FEP curious.
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
We're looking for a research assistant to work in our neuroscience lab at @princetonneuro.bsky.social @hhmi.org where we study learning and decision-making circuitry.
Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21001/r...
Pls share w/ anyone who might be interested!
Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21001/r...
Pls share w/ anyone who might be interested!
August 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
We're looking for a research assistant to work in our neuroscience lab at @princetonneuro.bsky.social @hhmi.org where we study learning and decision-making circuitry.
Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21001/r...
Pls share w/ anyone who might be interested!
Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21001/r...
Pls share w/ anyone who might be interested!
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
🚨Amazing opportunity: position available for a new associate/full professor at the FIL @imagingneuroucl.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social! Do you have a neuroimaging-focused research program? Get applying! 🚨
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
August 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
🚨Amazing opportunity: position available for a new associate/full professor at the FIL @imagingneuroucl.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social! Do you have a neuroimaging-focused research program? Get applying! 🚨
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
The story — written by journalist @emmaanne.bsky.social — raises tough questions about the perverse incentives at play in mine action.
Emma reached out @thehalotrust.bsky.social for comment. They declined.
Read the full story: spoileralerts.substack.com/p/questionab...
Emma reached out @thehalotrust.bsky.social for comment. They declined.
Read the full story: spoileralerts.substack.com/p/questionab...
Questionable incentives
Why is the CEO of the world’s largest demining organisation defending banned landmines?
spoileralerts.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:24 PM
The story — written by journalist @emmaanne.bsky.social — raises tough questions about the perverse incentives at play in mine action.
Emma reached out @thehalotrust.bsky.social for comment. They declined.
Read the full story: spoileralerts.substack.com/p/questionab...
Emma reached out @thehalotrust.bsky.social for comment. They declined.
Read the full story: spoileralerts.substack.com/p/questionab...
🚨🚨Job Alert🚨🚨!! Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology are recruiting a new lecturer/associate professor! an amazing opportunity to join our fantastic dept! @ucl.ac.uk @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @uclnpp.bsky.social post here:
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Lecturer / Associate Professor - London, England job with University College London (UCL) | 12840324
About usThe Division of Biosciences at UCL is one of the world's foremost centres for research and teaching in the biological sciences. We have an out
www.nature.com
June 19, 2025 at 12:59 PM
🚨🚨Job Alert🚨🚨!! Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology are recruiting a new lecturer/associate professor! an amazing opportunity to join our fantastic dept! @ucl.ac.uk @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @uclnpp.bsky.social post here:
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Our work, out at Cell, shows that the brain’s dopamine signals teach each individual a unique learning trajectory. Collaborative experiment-theory effort, led by Sam Liebana in the lab. The first experiment my lab started just shy of 6y ago & v excited to see it out: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
June 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Our work, out at Cell, shows that the brain’s dopamine signals teach each individual a unique learning trajectory. Collaborative experiment-theory effort, led by Sam Liebana in the lab. The first experiment my lab started just shy of 6y ago & v excited to see it out: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
This is a nice paper which applies and refines some of the ideas we put forward in our Psych Review paper. Our model combined multiple Successor Representations which it switches between based on uncertainty. Jess's model adds reward outcomes to this process and captures splitter cells and more!
Congrats to the fantastic Jess P for her new paper! She compared how feature Vs outcome focussed agents learn to solve contextual inference problems. She found that you need a balance of both to learn these tasks - and that this mix recapitulates pfc and hippocampal activity in rodent tasks!
Contextual inference through flexible integration of environmental features and behavioural outcomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.28.656607v1
June 6, 2025 at 3:10 PM
This is a nice paper which applies and refines some of the ideas we put forward in our Psych Review paper. Our model combined multiple Successor Representations which it switches between based on uncertainty. Jess's model adds reward outcomes to this process and captures splitter cells and more!
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
How does in-context learning emerge in attention models during gradient descent training?
Sharing our new Spotlight paper @icmlconf.bsky.social: Training Dynamics of In-Context Learning in Linear Attention
arxiv.org/abs/2501.16265
Led by Yedi Zhang with @aaditya6284.bsky.social and Peter Latham
Sharing our new Spotlight paper @icmlconf.bsky.social: Training Dynamics of In-Context Learning in Linear Attention
arxiv.org/abs/2501.16265
Led by Yedi Zhang with @aaditya6284.bsky.social and Peter Latham
June 4, 2025 at 11:22 AM
How does in-context learning emerge in attention models during gradient descent training?
Sharing our new Spotlight paper @icmlconf.bsky.social: Training Dynamics of In-Context Learning in Linear Attention
arxiv.org/abs/2501.16265
Led by Yedi Zhang with @aaditya6284.bsky.social and Peter Latham
Sharing our new Spotlight paper @icmlconf.bsky.social: Training Dynamics of In-Context Learning in Linear Attention
arxiv.org/abs/2501.16265
Led by Yedi Zhang with @aaditya6284.bsky.social and Peter Latham
Really interesting stuff here!! Looking forward to digging in
We just pushed “Memory by a 1000 rules” onto bioRxiv, where we use clever #ML to find #plasticity quadruplets (EE, EI, IE, II) that learn basic stability in spiking nets. Why is it cool? We find 1000s!! of solutions, and they don’t just stabilise. They #memorise! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Memory by a thousand rules: Automated discovery of functional multi-type plasticity rules reveals variety & degeneracy at the heart of learning
Synaptic plasticity is the basis of learning and memory, but the link between synaptic changes and neural function remains elusive. Here, we used automated search algorithms to obtain thousands of str...
www.biorxiv.org
June 2, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Really interesting stuff here!! Looking forward to digging in
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
We just pushed “Memory by a 1000 rules” onto bioRxiv, where we use clever #ML to find #plasticity quadruplets (EE, EI, IE, II) that learn basic stability in spiking nets. Why is it cool? We find 1000s!! of solutions, and they don’t just stabilise. They #memorise! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Memory by a thousand rules: Automated discovery of functional multi-type plasticity rules reveals variety & degeneracy at the heart of learning
Synaptic plasticity is the basis of learning and memory, but the link between synaptic changes and neural function remains elusive. Here, we used automated search algorithms to obtain thousands of str...
www.biorxiv.org
June 2, 2025 at 6:50 PM
We just pushed “Memory by a 1000 rules” onto bioRxiv, where we use clever #ML to find #plasticity quadruplets (EE, EI, IE, II) that learn basic stability in spiking nets. Why is it cool? We find 1000s!! of solutions, and they don’t just stabilise. They #memorise! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Finishing your undergraduate and interested in neuroscience research?
The Neuroscience streams of our Biosciences MRes degree provide a unique opportunity to conduct a year-long research project in any UCL neuro lab, plus taught modules to prepare you for a PhD.
🧪🧠📈
www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/...
The Neuroscience streams of our Biosciences MRes degree provide a unique opportunity to conduct a year-long research project in any UCL neuro lab, plus taught modules to prepare you for a PhD.
🧪🧠📈
www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/...
Want to find out more about the neuroscience stream of UCL's Biosciences MRes? Register for our online open event on Friday 13 June, 11am-12pm: app.geckoform.com/events-embed...
May 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Finishing your undergraduate and interested in neuroscience research?
The Neuroscience streams of our Biosciences MRes degree provide a unique opportunity to conduct a year-long research project in any UCL neuro lab, plus taught modules to prepare you for a PhD.
🧪🧠📈
www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/...
The Neuroscience streams of our Biosciences MRes degree provide a unique opportunity to conduct a year-long research project in any UCL neuro lab, plus taught modules to prepare you for a PhD.
🧪🧠📈
www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/...
Congrats to the fantastic Jess P for her new paper! She compared how feature Vs outcome focussed agents learn to solve contextual inference problems. She found that you need a balance of both to learn these tasks - and that this mix recapitulates pfc and hippocampal activity in rodent tasks!
Contextual inference through flexible integration of environmental features and behavioural outcomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.28.656607v1
May 29, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Congrats to the fantastic Jess P for her new paper! She compared how feature Vs outcome focussed agents learn to solve contextual inference problems. She found that you need a balance of both to learn these tasks - and that this mix recapitulates pfc and hippocampal activity in rodent tasks!
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Sharing a new paper from the lab. This paper, led by Sangyoon Ko, represents a merging of two longstanding research themes in the lab-- adult neurogenesis and systems consolidation.
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
Systems consolidation reorganizes hippocampal engram circuitry
Nature - A study shows that loss of memory precision associated with systems consolidation can be explained by neurogenesis-dependent reorganization of engram circuitry within the hippocampus over...
rdcu.be
May 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Sharing a new paper from the lab. This paper, led by Sangyoon Ko, represents a merging of two longstanding research themes in the lab-- adult neurogenesis and systems consolidation.
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
*** Come join us !! We are recruiting !! ***
How does the brain generate beliefs that go beyond direct experience? How do these mechanisms go awry in psychosis?
The Barron lab tinyurl.com/bdf4drjf @MRCBNDU @NDCNOxford are recruiting a new postdoc tinyurl.com/ut4vbwt4 to work in mouse models
How does the brain generate beliefs that go beyond direct experience? How do these mechanisms go awry in psychosis?
The Barron lab tinyurl.com/bdf4drjf @MRCBNDU @NDCNOxford are recruiting a new postdoc tinyurl.com/ut4vbwt4 to work in mouse models
Barron Group | mrcbndu
Our group investigates how cells and circuits in the brain work together to perform computations that support memory. Using a wide range of technical approaches, we investigate how these computations ...
tinyurl.com
May 13, 2025 at 11:01 AM
*** Come join us !! We are recruiting !! ***
How does the brain generate beliefs that go beyond direct experience? How do these mechanisms go awry in psychosis?
The Barron lab tinyurl.com/bdf4drjf @MRCBNDU @NDCNOxford are recruiting a new postdoc tinyurl.com/ut4vbwt4 to work in mouse models
How does the brain generate beliefs that go beyond direct experience? How do these mechanisms go awry in psychosis?
The Barron lab tinyurl.com/bdf4drjf @MRCBNDU @NDCNOxford are recruiting a new postdoc tinyurl.com/ut4vbwt4 to work in mouse models
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Reward-based prosocial choices in mice https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.21.639526v1
February 22, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Reward-based prosocial choices in mice https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.21.639526v1
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Inspired by recent posts, here is my Christmas gift for you: the worst postdoc interview ever.
December 25, 2023 at 6:01 PM
Inspired by recent posts, here is my Christmas gift for you: the worst postdoc interview ever.
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
If you haven’t read this yet, drop everything and do it. Thought provoking, based on fantastic & insightful examples (how much info do you need to solve Rubik’s cube?)
In PhD, while training rats on a Y-maze, I could not help thinking that the outcome was just 1 bit (left/right). I now have answers
In PhD, while training rats on a Y-maze, I could not help thinking that the outcome was just 1 bit (left/right). I now have answers
The unbearable slowness of being: Humans still clock in at just 10 bits/s. Even after peer review :) Share link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1kHVa3BtfH.... ArXiv: arxiv.org/abs/2408.10234
authors.elsevier.com
December 17, 2024 at 7:59 PM
If you haven’t read this yet, drop everything and do it. Thought provoking, based on fantastic & insightful examples (how much info do you need to solve Rubik’s cube?)
In PhD, while training rats on a Y-maze, I could not help thinking that the outcome was just 1 bit (left/right). I now have answers
In PhD, while training rats on a Y-maze, I could not help thinking that the outcome was just 1 bit (left/right). I now have answers
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Our preprint of my PhD’s work in @gisellavetere.bsky.social lab is finally out on BiorXiv: doi.org/10.1101/2024..., and I’m so excited to share it! If you’ve ever wondered about reconciling engram manipulation experiments and neuronal activity during encoding, you’re on the right thread! 1/14
Deconstruction of a memory engram reveals distinct ensembles recruited at learning
How are associative memories formed? Which cells represent a memory, and when are they engaged? By visualizing and tagging cells based on their calcium influx with unparalleled temporal precision, we ...
doi.org
December 13, 2024 at 12:50 PM
Our preprint of my PhD’s work in @gisellavetere.bsky.social lab is finally out on BiorXiv: doi.org/10.1101/2024..., and I’m so excited to share it! If you’ve ever wondered about reconciling engram manipulation experiments and neuronal activity during encoding, you’re on the right thread! 1/14
Reposted by Andrew MacAskill
Jake has been busy in Klosterneuburg. Many interesting insights from the intact Hp of TLE patients.
Mind (or at least, CA3) blown. 🤯
Congrats @jakefwatson.bsky.social and the team.
#synapses #humanNeuroscience
Mind (or at least, CA3) blown. 🤯
Congrats @jakefwatson.bsky.social and the team.
#synapses #humanNeuroscience
Is neuroscience research really working to understand the human brain? Or do we get lost in mouse cognition? I’ve asked myself this a lot since starting to work with human tissue. Our first Jonas Lab foray into untangling human hippocampal circuits is now online! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... 1/a few
Human hippocampal CA3 uses specific functional connectivity rules for efficient associative memory
Human hippocampal CA3 networks use sparse and broad synaptic connectivity, and their recurrent synapses employ reliability, precision, and long integration times to enhance memory capacity. Thus, the human hippocampus is distinct from both rodent counterparts and human neocortical circuits.
www.cell.com
December 11, 2024 at 8:36 PM
Jake has been busy in Klosterneuburg. Many interesting insights from the intact Hp of TLE patients.
Mind (or at least, CA3) blown. 🤯
Congrats @jakefwatson.bsky.social and the team.
#synapses #humanNeuroscience
Mind (or at least, CA3) blown. 🤯
Congrats @jakefwatson.bsky.social and the team.
#synapses #humanNeuroscience