Merridee Lefner
@merridee.bsky.social
65 followers 86 following 2 posts
Postdoc studying the neurobiology of flexible behavior in the Moghaddam lab @OHSU 🧠 PhD from the Wanat lab @UTSA
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merridee.bsky.social
Yeah dopamine encodes reward but what about when contingencies shift and behavior needs to be flexible? Turns out VTA GABA neuron activity plays a role, check it out in my first postdoctoral research article here!👇
bita137.bsky.social
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility

GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
eurbehavpharm.bsky.social
Congratulations to this year's cohort of travel awardees. The committee had an incredibly hard job with over 100 applications! We look forward to seeing you all in Spain next month. Attendees, the data blitz highlighting the awardee's work is on Day 1 at 15:10. #EBPS2025
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
bita137.bsky.social
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility

GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
merridee.bsky.social
Yeah dopamine encodes reward but what about when contingencies shift and behavior needs to be flexible? Turns out VTA GABA neuron activity plays a role, check it out in my first postdoctoral research article here!👇
bita137.bsky.social
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility

GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
mattjwanat.bsky.social
Ever wonder how stress and the estrous cycle affects reward learning? Well we have answers for you in our paper led by @askaneuroscientist.bsky.social published in
@npp-journal.bsky.social

And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning
Neuropsychopharmacology - Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning
nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
gbosslet.bsky.social
Well the NIH has cancelled the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women in history

It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women

Unreal

www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH cancels its first and largest study centered on women
The Women’s Health Initiative has produced numerous influential findings
www.science.org
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
lkfazio.bsky.social
Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale
rebekahtromble.bsky.social
NSF has posted an “update on priorities.”

They’re canceling all “DEI and misinformation/disinformation” grants.

And the guidance on how to fulfill the longstanding, legally mandated Broadening Participation requirement is utterly incoherent.

www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Updates on NSF Priorities
www.nsf.gov
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
roxanadaneshjou.bsky.social
The NIH diversity supplement pages have all been pulled down. What is a diversity supplement and why should the public care? A diversity supplement is funding to help diversify the research workforce. You may be wondering, “so what?”. Let me explain. www.nigms.nih.gov/Pages/PageNo...
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
NIGMS supports basic research to understand biological processes and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
www.nigms.nih.gov