Philipp Brand
@pbrand.bsky.social
PI of Evolutionary Neuroscience and Behavior Group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.
Evolution of behavior, neural circuits, chemical senses, and speciation.
he/him
https://brain.mpg.de/home
Evolution of behavior, neural circuits, chemical senses, and speciation.
he/him
https://brain.mpg.de/home
Pinned
Philipp Brand
@pbrand.bsky.social
· Oct 16
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion.
Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit
shorturl.at/gGYm7
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Our preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
FERAL: A Video-Understanding System for Direct Video-to-Behavior Mapping
Animal behavior unfolds continuously in time, yet quantitative analyses often require segmenting it into discrete, interpretable states. Although manual annotation can achieve this, it remains slow, s...
www.biorxiv.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Our preprint is out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Peter Skovorodnikov and I are excited to present FERAL: a new video-understanding toolkit that maps raw video directly to behavior, no pose estimation required.
It works across species, from lab to field, and even in collective systems. (🧵1/n)
Thanks to @tollkuhn.bsky.social and @jefferis.bsky.social for the invitation to contribute to the "Sexual dimorphism in the brain" special issue!
November 17, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Thanks to @tollkuhn.bsky.social and @jefferis.bsky.social for the invitation to contribute to the "Sexual dimorphism in the brain" special issue!
@rorycoleman.bsky.social and I wrote an opinion piece called
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution
The vast diversity of animal behaviors has long inspired ethologists and neuroscientists, but circuit mechanisms driving this variation remain elusive…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:57 AM
@rorycoleman.bsky.social and I wrote an opinion piece called
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
'From neurons to novelty: Circuit mechanisms shaping courtship evolution'
We argue that now is a great time for neuro-evo research
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
@chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social
Reposted by Philipp Brand
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
October 24, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
Reposted by Philipp Brand
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Very Cool! Congrats Kelsey
October 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Very Cool! Congrats Kelsey
Reposted by Philipp Brand
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
The behavior of the flies itself. On a food patch they are much more active when in groups and so we looked into the role visual motion might play. turns out it is an important aspect of their mating behavior
October 20, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The behavior of the flies itself. On a food patch they are much more active when in groups and so we looked into the role visual motion might play. turns out it is an important aspect of their mating behavior
Thanks Jeff!! I'm glad you like it 🪰
October 17, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Thanks Jeff!! I'm glad you like it 🪰
Reposted by Philipp Brand
People thought I was bonkers studying courtship and mating in Drosophila erecta nearly 50 years ago. Sometimes you just have to wait.
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 12:41 PM
People thought I was bonkers studying courtship and mating in Drosophila erecta nearly 50 years ago. Sometimes you just have to wait.
Your foundational work on this (and so many other) Drosophila species courtship has been an inspiration for us!
October 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Your foundational work on this (and so many other) Drosophila species courtship has been an inspiration for us!
Thanks Mohammed! Means a lot coming from you
October 17, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Thanks Mohammed! Means a lot coming from you
hahaha. should be part of any ignobel..
October 17, 2025 at 8:10 AM
hahaha. should be part of any ignobel..
Also thanks to people who have been supportive throughout this journey - @danielkronauer.bsky.social, @brandonscooper.bsky.social, @leahhouri.bsky.social, @jennymerritt.bsky.social, @simonsfoundation.org junior fellows, @kavlifoundation.org NSI fellows and @maschakoenen.bsky.social 🪰🪰🪰
October 17, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Also thanks to people who have been supportive throughout this journey - @danielkronauer.bsky.social, @brandonscooper.bsky.social, @leahhouri.bsky.social, @jennymerritt.bsky.social, @simonsfoundation.org junior fellows, @kavlifoundation.org NSI fellows and @maschakoenen.bsky.social 🪰🪰🪰
This would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka,
@neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
@neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
October 17, 2025 at 7:59 AM
This would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka,
@neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
@neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
With gracious funding from @simonsfoundation.org @kavlifoundation.org & NIH
October 17, 2025 at 7:53 AM
With gracious funding from @simonsfoundation.org @kavlifoundation.org & NIH
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Our new paper would not have been possible without a brilliant team! Huge thanks to Katie Keller, @rorycoleman.bsky.social, @noelleeghbali.bsky.social, Sarah Zylka, @neuroluci.bsky.social 🪰🧪✨
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Especially grateful for guidance and inspiration by my mentor Vanessa Ruta
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thank you! Feedback would be very welcome if you have any.
October 16, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Thank you! Feedback would be very welcome if you have any.
Thanks Max! It's great to have it out.
October 16, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Thanks Max! It's great to have it out.
full title and link:
Ecological cues orchestrate concerted courtship in a Drosophila host specialist
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ecological cues orchestrate concerted courtship in a Drosophila host specialist
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ecological cues orchestrate concerted courtship in a Drosophila host specialist
Mating decisions are often attributed to the sensory signaling between prospective sexual partners. Yet these interactions are also shaped by the broader environmental context in which they unfold, to...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:39 AM
full title and link:
Ecological cues orchestrate concerted courtship in a Drosophila host specialist
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Ecological cues orchestrate concerted courtship in a Drosophila host specialist
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...