Paul Thompson
@ptenigma.bsky.social
Neuroscientist, professor
AI guided tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOORfzGjCTA
ENIGMA guided tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNjP5nZsJyQ
Diffusion MRI of Brain Diseases - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2jHFm0wcN0
AI guided tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOORfzGjCTA
ENIGMA guided tour - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNjP5nZsJyQ
Diffusion MRI of Brain Diseases - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2jHFm0wcN0
Nicely organised cats
February 4, 2026 at 5:03 AM
Nicely organised cats
Although I never drove an Uber, they sent tax forms to the IRS saying I earned ~$30k (got another one today). I reported the identity theft to IRS/FTC/Uber (hopefully fixed it). Still curious who’s driving an Uber as me -ask them some tough neuro questions if Paul Thompson pops up in your Uber app!!
February 3, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Although I never drove an Uber, they sent tax forms to the IRS saying I earned ~$30k (got another one today). I reported the identity theft to IRS/FTC/Uber (hopefully fixed it). Still curious who’s driving an Uber as me -ask them some tough neuro questions if Paul Thompson pops up in your Uber app!!
If you like modern AI with latent diffusion + flow matching, take a look at [1] well before latent diffusion, you will see how natural variation can arise naturally from statistical laws built with PDEs, continuum mechanics, + Bayesian priors that arise from these operators+their Green's functions.
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
If you like modern AI with latent diffusion + flow matching, take a look at [1] well before latent diffusion, you will see how natural variation can arise naturally from statistical laws built with PDEs, continuum mechanics, + Bayesian priors that arise from these operators+their Green's functions.
This later led to metric pattern theory, a general framework to understand variation in objects, a general theory of metrics on diffeomorphisms, and procedures to construct flows that do not fold (diffeomorphisms) by integrating velocity fields.
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
This later led to metric pattern theory, a general framework to understand variation in objects, a general theory of metrics on diffeomorphisms, and procedures to construct flows that do not fold (diffeomorphisms) by integrating velocity fields.
..the deformations u(x) result from a stochastic differential equation Lu = e, where L is a self-adjoint differential operator, whose covariance can be learned from data, and may be non-stationary.
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
..the deformations u(x) result from a stochastic differential equation Lu = e, where L is a self-adjoint differential operator, whose covariance can be learned from data, and may be non-stationary.
But work by Michael Miller, Ulf Grenander, and the Brown Pattern Theory school showed that natural variation in brain geometry, and function, could be modelled as a set of probabilistic transformations of a template, where ..
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
But work by Michael Miller, Ulf Grenander, and the Brown Pattern Theory school showed that natural variation in brain geometry, and function, could be modelled as a set of probabilistic transformations of a template, where ..
In the 1990s, as statistical parametric mapping was being developed, the standard way to study disease effects on the brain was to average images together.
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
In the 1990s, as statistical parametric mapping was being developed, the standard way to study disease effects on the brain was to average images together.
Brilliant talk by Michael Miller at USC today. Michael has inspired countless generations of students, including me in the 1990s when his work with Ulf Grenander [1] helped new generations of mathematicians get involved with medical imaging and neuroscience.
[1] www.ams.org/journals/qam...
[1] www.ams.org/journals/qam...
January 31, 2026 at 5:00 AM
Brilliant talk by Michael Miller at USC today. Michael has inspired countless generations of students, including me in the 1990s when his work with Ulf Grenander [1] helped new generations of mathematicians get involved with medical imaging and neuroscience.
[1] www.ams.org/journals/qam...
[1] www.ams.org/journals/qam...
Brilliant to catch up with giants in neuroimaging + genetics, Anders Dale and Ole Andreassen. Thank you to Pravesh Parekh from the J Craig Venter Institute for a great talk on detecting time-dependent genomic effects on the brain, and his FEMA method to accelerate massively parallel GWAS analyses.
January 30, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Brilliant to catch up with giants in neuroimaging + genetics, Anders Dale and Ole Andreassen. Thank you to Pravesh Parekh from the J Craig Venter Institute for a great talk on detecting time-dependent genomic effects on the brain, and his FEMA method to accelerate massively parallel GWAS analyses.
Hurray, many congrats !! :) 🎉
January 29, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Hurray, many congrats !! :) 🎉
Thrilled to welcome Dr. Pauline Favre on a Fulbright Fellowship to work with us on international neuroimaging in bipolar disorder! International exchange speeds up science + medicine, opens doors to training+resources; helps everyone reach their potential
January 28, 2026 at 7:58 AM
Thrilled to welcome Dr. Pauline Favre on a Fulbright Fellowship to work with us on international neuroimaging in bipolar disorder! International exchange speeds up science + medicine, opens doors to training+resources; helps everyone reach their potential
Thank you to my daughter Lauren Thompson for making this cool flyer + posting it around campus !
January 27, 2026 at 5:35 AM
Thank you to my daughter Lauren Thompson for making this cool flyer + posting it around campus !
PUZZLE question (asking for a friend):
Does the fastest (shortest) flight from South Africa to Los Angeles go through: 1. Greenland*, 2. Brazil, 3. ask the cool bird ?
* so long as nobody is invading it
Does the fastest (shortest) flight from South Africa to Los Angeles go through: 1. Greenland*, 2. Brazil, 3. ask the cool bird ?
* so long as nobody is invading it
January 23, 2026 at 3:24 AM
PUZZLE question (asking for a friend):
Does the fastest (shortest) flight from South Africa to Los Angeles go through: 1. Greenland*, 2. Brazil, 3. ask the cool bird ?
* so long as nobody is invading it
Does the fastest (shortest) flight from South Africa to Los Angeles go through: 1. Greenland*, 2. Brazil, 3. ask the cool bird ?
* so long as nobody is invading it
The weather got worse
January 22, 2026 at 6:15 AM
The weather got worse
This wasn't a very sensible way to get home, or edit papers for Friday's EMBC conference deadline
January 21, 2026 at 10:18 PM
This wasn't a very sensible way to get home, or edit papers for Friday's EMBC conference deadline
A world map
*yes there are no people (only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun)
*yes there are no people (only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun)
January 21, 2026 at 1:23 PM
A world map
*yes there are no people (only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun)
*yes there are no people (only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid day sun)
Today I learned you should stand still if a paraglider is approaching
January 21, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Today I learned you should stand still if a paraglider is approaching
Haha I bet the film crew decided they had to go to Switzerland :)
January 18, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Haha I bet the film crew decided they had to go to Switzerland :)
I hadn’t see these Alex and now I am going to be hooked on them!! I miss all these places but somehow only go visit for about a day at a time - more great places for the list thank you 🙏
January 18, 2026 at 5:01 PM
I hadn’t see these Alex and now I am going to be hooked on them!! I miss all these places but somehow only go visit for about a day at a time - more great places for the list thank you 🙏
Cheerio England, sad to leave
January 17, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Cheerio England, sad to leave
Reposted by Paul Thompson
Haha you have an amazing memory !! Hoping you are warmer South of the Watford Gap :)
January 16, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Haha you have an amazing memory !! Hoping you are warmer South of the Watford Gap :)
Haha you have an amazing memory !! Hoping you are warmer South of the Watford Gap :)
January 16, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Haha you have an amazing memory !! Hoping you are warmer South of the Watford Gap :)