Alireza Modirshanechi
@modirshanechi.bsky.social
Postdoc at Helmholtz Munich (Schulz lab) and MPI for Biological Cybernetics (Dayan lab) || Ph.D. from EPFL (Gerstner lab) || Working on computational models of learning and decision-making in the brain; https://sites.google.com/view/modirsha
Pinned
New in @pnas.org: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
We study how humans explore a 61-state environment with a stochastic region that mimics a “noisy-TV.”
Results: Participants keep exploring the stochastic part even when it’s unhelpful, and novelty-seeking best explains this behavior.
#cogsci #neuroskyence
We study how humans explore a 61-state environment with a stochastic region that mimics a “noisy-TV.”
Results: Participants keep exploring the stochastic part even when it’s unhelpful, and novelty-seeking best explains this behavior.
#cogsci #neuroskyence
Come and join us in beautiful Munich! 🧠
We have a friendly, collaborative, and inclusive environment, where scientific rigour and curiosity are celebrated. 🎉
#psychology #AI #intelligence #cogsci #neurosky #neuroskyence #ScienceCareer #AcademicJobs #Researcher #ResearchOpportunities #JobSearch
We have a friendly, collaborative, and inclusive environment, where scientific rigour and curiosity are celebrated. 🎉
#psychology #AI #intelligence #cogsci #neurosky #neuroskyence #ScienceCareer #AcademicJobs #Researcher #ResearchOpportunities #JobSearch
🚨 Hiring in Munich 🇩🇪: 2 open-topic PhD positions in human & machine learning (TVöD E13 80%).
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
February 6, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Come and join us in beautiful Munich! 🧠
We have a friendly, collaborative, and inclusive environment, where scientific rigour and curiosity are celebrated. 🎉
#psychology #AI #intelligence #cogsci #neurosky #neuroskyence #ScienceCareer #AcademicJobs #Researcher #ResearchOpportunities #JobSearch
We have a friendly, collaborative, and inclusive environment, where scientific rigour and curiosity are celebrated. 🎉
#psychology #AI #intelligence #cogsci #neurosky #neuroskyence #ScienceCareer #AcademicJobs #Researcher #ResearchOpportunities #JobSearch
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🚨 Hiring in Munich 🇩🇪: 2 open-topic PhD positions in human & machine learning (TVöD E13 80%).
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
February 5, 2026 at 1:03 PM
🚨 Hiring in Munich 🇩🇪: 2 open-topic PhD positions in human & machine learning (TVöD E13 80%).
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Start ~June 2026 (flexible). Deadline: March 2, 2026.
Apply/info: hcai-munich.com/PhD_Job_Ad.pdf
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Iranians are experiencing a collective trauma. Thousands have been killed/injured in recent events, the economy is crippled & the threat of a wider conflict is real. This is especially difficult for those living in Iran, as many have lost (or fear losing) loved ones. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
February 3, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Iranians are experiencing a collective trauma. Thousands have been killed/injured in recent events, the economy is crippled & the threat of a wider conflict is real. This is especially difficult for those living in Iran, as many have lost (or fear losing) loved ones. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Do people's internal representations of natural objects differ? We (@ericschulz.bsky.social) show so by incorporating idiosyncrasies into neural nets to create better models of human behavior. We also reliably extract idiosyncrasies and map them to demographics. More: osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/pxt9a
February 3, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Do people's internal representations of natural objects differ? We (@ericschulz.bsky.social) show so by incorporating idiosyncrasies into neural nets to create better models of human behavior. We also reliably extract idiosyncrasies and map them to demographics. More: osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/pxt9a
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
These days I drink Iranian tea everyday so I don't forget.
Media coverage of these events have been very poor in my internet bubble so far.
Media coverage of these events have been very poor in my internet bubble so far.
January 26, 2026 at 1:29 PM
These days I drink Iranian tea everyday so I don't forget.
Media coverage of these events have been very poor in my internet bubble so far.
Media coverage of these events have been very poor in my internet bubble so far.
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
New report from doctors shows the Iranian regime slaughtered 16,500 protesters during the communications shutdown.
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’ — The Times and The Sunday Times
‘You have ten minutes to cry,” came the officer’s curt command to the couple as he revealed the corpse of their twentysomething daughter, gunned down in the historic streets of Isfahan. After searchin...
apple.news
January 18, 2026 at 6:04 PM
New report from doctors shows the Iranian regime slaughtered 16,500 protesters during the communications shutdown.
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
“If Trump chooses not to act, his encouragement of the Iranian people to rise up, his repeated promises of U.S. support, and his subsequent abandonment of them will be remembered as one of the most callous examples of presidential betrayal in modern history”
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Trump’s Fateful Choice in Iran
Taking military action is risky. Falsely encouraging freedom fighters would be shameful.
www.theatlantic.com
January 18, 2026 at 4:09 PM
“If Trump chooses not to act, his encouragement of the Iranian people to rise up, his repeated promises of U.S. support, and his subsequent abandonment of them will be remembered as one of the most callous examples of presidential betrayal in modern history”
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
estimates of the death toll in Iran is now >16000
January 18, 2026 at 4:23 PM
estimates of the death toll in Iran is now >16000
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
January 9, 2026 at 1:27 AM
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
I don't know enough to have my own view on this paper or response, but to me this is science social media at its best: doing post publication peer review of papers that make big claims. Bravo @alexanderhuth.bsky.social
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Would love to hear expert views on this paper. It appears to show that the operationalization of brain activity the field has relied on for 3 decades—the BOLD response—is not actually a sensible measure of brain activity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 5, 2026 at 7:43 PM
I don't know enough to have my own view on this paper or response, but to me this is science social media at its best: doing post publication peer review of papers that make big claims. Bravo @alexanderhuth.bsky.social
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Would love to hear expert views on this paper. It appears to show that the operationalization of brain activity the field has relied on for 3 decades—the BOLD response—is not actually a sensible measure of brain activity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
BOLD signal changes can oppose oxygen metabolism across the human cortex - Nature Neuroscience
Using quantitative brain imaging, the authors show opposite fMRI BOLD signal to metabolic activity due to variable oxygen extraction across the human cortex. This questions the canonical interpretatio...
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Please repost to get the word out! @nkgarg.bsky.social and I are excited to present a personalized feed for academics! It shows posts about papers from accounts you’re following bsky.app/profile/pape...
March 10, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Please repost to get the word out! @nkgarg.bsky.social and I are excited to present a personalized feed for academics! It shows posts about papers from accounts you’re following bsky.app/profile/pape...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🚀 Deadline for this is this Sunday! 🏃♀️
🚀 Excited to announce that I'm looking for people (PhD/Postdoc) to join my Cognitive Modelling group @uniosnabrueck.bsky.social.
If you want to join a genuinely curious, welcoming and inclusive community of Coxis, apply here:
tinyurl.com/coxijobs
Please RT - deadline is Jan 4‼️
If you want to join a genuinely curious, welcoming and inclusive community of Coxis, apply here:
tinyurl.com/coxijobs
Please RT - deadline is Jan 4‼️
January 2, 2026 at 9:40 AM
🚀 Deadline for this is this Sunday! 🏃♀️
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Interested in the latest advances in neuroscience (neural dynamics and internal models) and how they can be leveraged to build smarter, adaptive AI?
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
Leveraging insights from neuroscience to build adaptive artificial intelligence
Nature Neuroscience - Adaptive intelligence envisions AI that, like animals, learns online, generalizes and adapts quickly. This Perspective reviews biological foundations, progress in AI and...
rdcu.be
December 31, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Interested in the latest advances in neuroscience (neural dynamics and internal models) and how they can be leveraged to build smarter, adaptive AI?
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Way back in 1999, Kenji Doya sketched a big picture theory of the brain:
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 1, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Way back in 1999, Kenji Doya sketched a big picture theory of the brain:
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
New Perspective from myself, Sarah Heilbronner and @myoo.bsky.social . “Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization” in Nature Neuroscience. 🧵
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
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...
rdcu.be
December 23, 2025 at 1:02 PM
New Perspective from myself, Sarah Heilbronner and @myoo.bsky.social . “Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization” in Nature Neuroscience. 🧵
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
A trending PNAS article in the last week is “Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil.” Explore now: https://ow.ly/Lj1550XNIgO
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
December 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM
A trending PNAS article in the last week is “Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil.” Explore now: https://ow.ly/Lj1550XNIgO
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Postdoctoral research position in #ComputationalPsychiatry and #EEG as part of relmed.ac.uk trial testing reinforcement learning as biomarker for antidepressant treatment response. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @mikebrowning.bsky.social @relmed.bsky.social
Antidepressant treatment shouldn't be a guessing game. RELMED is working towards using advanced research to predict which medication is most likely to help each person along their individual path to recovery.
relmed.ac.uk
December 21, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Postdoctoral research position in #ComputationalPsychiatry and #EEG as part of relmed.ac.uk trial testing reinforcement learning as biomarker for antidepressant treatment response. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @mikebrowning.bsky.social @relmed.bsky.social
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Our paper is finally out in Nature Human Behavior!!
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
Happy to share our new paper in @nathumbehav.nature.com: t.co/Ciq7AKvle5. Using 500k+ behavioral trials, we show that #serialdependence deviates from #Bayesian predictions, pointing to a new narrative about how recent experience shapes perception. @aozkirli.bsky.social @achetverikov.bsky.social
December 22, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Our paper is finally out in Nature Human Behavior!!
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🐒 Would you like to study the fantastic Assamese macaques at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand? Apply for a PhD position in our A2 project led by @primbehavecol.bsky.social!
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
December 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
🐒 Would you like to study the fantastic Assamese macaques at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand? Apply for a PhD position in our A2 project led by @primbehavecol.bsky.social!
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🔬 We're hiring a Junior Group Leader for Data-Driven Digital Twins/System Models in medicine/life sciences at @uni_goettingen! Perfect opportunity for early-career researchers who want to:
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
December 19, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🔬 We're hiring a Junior Group Leader for Data-Driven Digital Twins/System Models in medicine/life sciences at @uni_goettingen! Perfect opportunity for early-career researchers who want to:
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Our paper on data constrained RNN that generalize to optogenetic perturbations now citable on eLife:
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
December 18, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Our paper on data constrained RNN that generalize to optogenetic perturbations now citable on eLife:
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
PhD position in Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience at CHUV (Lausanne, Switzerland) focused on social cognition.
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
December 18, 2025 at 9:12 AM
PhD position in Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience at CHUV (Lausanne, Switzerland) focused on social cognition.
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
I am very excited and grateful to have been awarded a Consolidator grant by @erc.europa.eu. We will use it to investigate the role of memory in perception, focused on the hippocampus. Thank you to all the colleagues in my team and the department for their support in making this possible!
We are pleased to share that Peter Kok has been awarded the Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC)!
www.in.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/news/blog-po...
www.in.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/news/blog-po...
EU funding awarded to Imaging Neuroscience PI — Department of Imaging Neuroscience
European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant awarded to Peter Kok
www.in.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk
December 11, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I am very excited and grateful to have been awarded a Consolidator grant by @erc.europa.eu. We will use it to investigate the role of memory in perception, focused on the hippocampus. Thank you to all the colleagues in my team and the department for their support in making this possible!
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Fully-funded International Neuroscience Doctoral Programme🧠 Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
December 16, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Fully-funded International Neuroscience Doctoral Programme🧠 Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!