Jonny Smallwood
@themindwanders.bsky.social
Psychology professor who also makes music. See link below:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4zrxJCawAG85dzMxug7HNM?si=nsT7_QR_R-ahMs0MHFgVIA
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4zrxJCawAG85dzMxug7HNM?si=nsT7_QR_R-ahMs0MHFgVIA
Pinned
In a non trivial way the #climate_crisis is reducible to shortcomings in human intelligence. This idea is behind my new release with the Natural Philosophers with Attitude: "Hot Summer Nights". Please check it out!
Spotify
open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
Spotify
open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
New in TiCS w @dgrand.bsky.social @gordpennycook.bsky.social
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
August 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
New in TiCS w @dgrand.bsky.social @gordpennycook.bsky.social
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
the scenario we all feared
August 5, 2025 at 6:33 PM
the scenario we all feared
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Congrats @josephsalvo.bsky.social and @rementurus.bsky.social !
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Joseph J. Salvo, Rodrigo M. Braga, et al:
Intrinsic functional connectivity delineates transmodal language functions
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Intrinsic functional connectivity delineates transmodal language functions
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
August 5, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Congrats @josephsalvo.bsky.social and @rementurus.bsky.social !
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
When I started my PhD (and until my 1st fac appt) I believed advances in large-scale neuro would come from more powerful modeling. There’s still a place for that oc, but we’re still in imaging infancy, and the best value per $ in terms of new insight comes from well designed common sense experiments
🔥Damn. Tour de force.
Targeting intracranial electrical stimulation to network regions defined within individuals causes network-level effects https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.31.667730v1
August 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
When I started my PhD (and until my 1st fac appt) I believed advances in large-scale neuro would come from more powerful modeling. There’s still a place for that oc, but we’re still in imaging infancy, and the best value per $ in terms of new insight comes from well designed common sense experiments
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Join our department! We're hiring an Assistant Professor of Teaching (Tenure-track), located at UBC's Vancouver campus, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2026. Apply by Oct 1, 2025. Learn more & apply: psych.ubc.ca/jobs. Please share!
August 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Join our department! We're hiring an Assistant Professor of Teaching (Tenure-track), located at UBC's Vancouver campus, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2026. Apply by Oct 1, 2025. Learn more & apply: psych.ubc.ca/jobs. Please share!
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
🧠 New paper on breathing and the brain, out now
@plos.org Computational Biology! 🫁
"The respiratory cycle modulates distinct dynamics of affective and perceptual decision-making"
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
We show how respiratory 'tidal computations' alter our decisons!
@plos.org Computational Biology! 🫁
"The respiratory cycle modulates distinct dynamics of affective and perceptual decision-making"
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
We show how respiratory 'tidal computations' alter our decisons!
The respiratory cycle modulates distinct dynamics of affective and perceptual decision-making
Author summary Breathing is more than just a vital process for survival — it influences how we perceive and interact with the world around us. Recent research suggests that the rhythm of breathing, fr...
doi.org
August 1, 2025 at 10:35 AM
🧠 New paper on breathing and the brain, out now
@plos.org Computational Biology! 🫁
"The respiratory cycle modulates distinct dynamics of affective and perceptual decision-making"
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
We show how respiratory 'tidal computations' alter our decisons!
@plos.org Computational Biology! 🫁
"The respiratory cycle modulates distinct dynamics of affective and perceptual decision-making"
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
We show how respiratory 'tidal computations' alter our decisons!
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Almost missed that this is out! Former postdoc Liz Necka led this long overdue FMRI study formally comparing two types of pain modulation: Placebo analgesia & predictive cues. TLDR: these are NOT the same! Placebo analgesia reduced cue effects, & brain mechanisms were nearly all dissociable. 1/4
New in #JNeurosci from Necka et al: External cues and treatments shape expectations about pain in different ways, and their mechanisms distinctly influence how people experience pain. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0050-25.2025
July 31, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Almost missed that this is out! Former postdoc Liz Necka led this long overdue FMRI study formally comparing two types of pain modulation: Placebo analgesia & predictive cues. TLDR: these are NOT the same! Placebo analgesia reduced cue effects, & brain mechanisms were nearly all dissociable. 1/4
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Hi world - its been a hard year with #cancer meaning I missed out lots of fun things. It would mean a lot if you checked out my new album of tracks. Out on all platforms including #Soundcloud (free). Let me know which tracks you like and a special prize if you work out the two levels to the project
Hot Summer Nights the new album by the Natural Philosophers is out now.
If you would like to help:
Stream it a few times
Post reply mentioning a track you like by name.
Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Apple Music
music.apple.com/us/album/hot...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
If you would like to help:
Stream it a few times
Post reply mentioning a track you like by name.
Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Apple Music
music.apple.com/us/album/hot...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
July 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Hi world - its been a hard year with #cancer meaning I missed out lots of fun things. It would mean a lot if you checked out my new album of tracks. Out on all platforms including #Soundcloud (free). Let me know which tracks you like and a special prize if you work out the two levels to the project
Congrats @leahbanellis.bsky.social @micahgallen.com et al! This looks great.
I’m elated to share our latest publication - out now in @natmentalhealth.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s44... - tour de force by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @brainandstomach.bsky.social and the rest of the VMP team!
Stomach–brain coupling indexes a dimensional signature of mental health - Nature Mental Health
Using a relatively large and diverse sample of mostly young adults, this study by Banellis, Rebollo and colleagues examines associations between regional stomach–brain coupling and mental health and i...
www.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Congrats @leahbanellis.bsky.social @micahgallen.com et al! This looks great.
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
I’m elated to share our latest publication - out now in @natmentalhealth.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s44... - tour de force by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @brainandstomach.bsky.social and the rest of the VMP team!
Stomach–brain coupling indexes a dimensional signature of mental health - Nature Mental Health
Using a relatively large and diverse sample of mostly young adults, this study by Banellis, Rebollo and colleagues examines associations between regional stomach–brain coupling and mental health and i...
www.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 10:25 AM
I’m elated to share our latest publication - out now in @natmentalhealth.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s44... - tour de force by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @brainandstomach.bsky.social and the rest of the VMP team!
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Check out our new review/perspective (w/ @juangallego.bsky.social & Devika Narain) on neural manifolds in the brain! It was a lot of fun to think through these ideas over the past couple of years, and I'm excited it's finally out in the world!
🔗: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📄: rdcu.be/ex8hW
🔗: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📄: rdcu.be/ex8hW
A neural manifold view of the brain - Nature Neuroscience
Recent advances in neuroscience have revealed how neural population activity underlying behavior can be well described by topological objects called neural manifolds. Understanding how nature, nurture...
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Check out our new review/perspective (w/ @juangallego.bsky.social & Devika Narain) on neural manifolds in the brain! It was a lot of fun to think through these ideas over the past couple of years, and I'm excited it's finally out in the world!
🔗: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📄: rdcu.be/ex8hW
🔗: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📄: rdcu.be/ex8hW
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Enjoyed this article. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Why AI chatbots lie to us
A few weeks ago, a colleague of mine needed to collect and format some data from a website, and he asked the latest version of Anthropic’s generative AI system, Claude, for help. Claude cheerfully agr...
www.science.org
July 26, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Enjoyed this article. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
A Friday afternoon post to share our new paper (pre-print)! We modelled brain & behaviour & physiology from 27 unconstrained social learning interactions.
Learning emerged from non-linear brain-gaze coupling and asymmetric neural dependencies suggesting mutual prediction. Full thread below ⬇️
Learning emerged from non-linear brain-gaze coupling and asymmetric neural dependencies suggesting mutual prediction. Full thread below ⬇️
July 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
A Friday afternoon post to share our new paper (pre-print)! We modelled brain & behaviour & physiology from 27 unconstrained social learning interactions.
Learning emerged from non-linear brain-gaze coupling and asymmetric neural dependencies suggesting mutual prediction. Full thread below ⬇️
Learning emerged from non-linear brain-gaze coupling and asymmetric neural dependencies suggesting mutual prediction. Full thread below ⬇️
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
If you are in Paris on October 1-3 : we are organizing a fantastic cognitive neuroscience conference at Collège de France, on topics ranging from language to math, education and consciousness, with many of my favorite scientists !
Full program here:
www.unicog.org/seeing-the-m...
Full program here:
www.unicog.org/seeing-the-m...
Seeing the Mind, Educating the Brain
www.unicog.org
July 23, 2025 at 2:46 PM
If you are in Paris on October 1-3 : we are organizing a fantastic cognitive neuroscience conference at Collège de France, on topics ranging from language to math, education and consciousness, with many of my favorite scientists !
Full program here:
www.unicog.org/seeing-the-m...
Full program here:
www.unicog.org/seeing-the-m...
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Call for papers @jneurolang.bsky.social: Towards a Deeper Understanding of the Relationship Between the Neurobiology of Language and Consciousness. 🧠🗨️
direct.mit.edu/DocumentLibr...
☎️ DM me for more details.
direct.mit.edu/DocumentLibr...
☎️ DM me for more details.
July 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Call for papers @jneurolang.bsky.social: Towards a Deeper Understanding of the Relationship Between the Neurobiology of Language and Consciousness. 🧠🗨️
direct.mit.edu/DocumentLibr...
☎️ DM me for more details.
direct.mit.edu/DocumentLibr...
☎️ DM me for more details.
This looks interesting👇
Predictive processing models posit top-down influences of internal models on brain processing at multiple levels...but how deeply does predictive info penetrate into perception? What are the limits? New paper with @rotembot.bsky.social and @fmristats.bsky.social
link.growkudos.com/1mmf28pbmkg
link.growkudos.com/1mmf28pbmkg
How our expectations change what we feel and see
This study explores how our expectations influence what we feel and see. We asked participants to predict how painful or visually intense an upcoming stimulus would be based on cues that they believed...
link.growkudos.com
July 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
This looks interesting👇
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Predictive processing models posit top-down influences of internal models on brain processing at multiple levels...but how deeply does predictive info penetrate into perception? What are the limits? New paper with @rotembot.bsky.social and @fmristats.bsky.social
link.growkudos.com/1mmf28pbmkg
link.growkudos.com/1mmf28pbmkg
How our expectations change what we feel and see
This study explores how our expectations influence what we feel and see. We asked participants to predict how painful or visually intense an upcoming stimulus would be based on cues that they believed...
link.growkudos.com
July 2, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Predictive processing models posit top-down influences of internal models on brain processing at multiple levels...but how deeply does predictive info penetrate into perception? What are the limits? New paper with @rotembot.bsky.social and @fmristats.bsky.social
link.growkudos.com/1mmf28pbmkg
link.growkudos.com/1mmf28pbmkg
This looks cool!! cc @hardigirl.bsky.social @ravenwallace.bsky.social
1/2
Press release @unileiden.bsky.social about our upcoming JoPACS paper led by @bsiepe.bsky.social, showing that the overlap of similar constructs assessed via wearable vs EMA data is surprisingly low (n~850, 3 months).
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Press release @unileiden.bsky.social about our upcoming JoPACS paper led by @bsiepe.bsky.social, showing that the overlap of similar constructs assessed via wearable vs EMA data is surprisingly low (n~850, 3 months).
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Does your smartwatch say you’re stressed? It may often be wrong
Consumer grade smartwatches may not be as accurate as promised when measuring tiredness or stress. That conclusion is drawn by researchers Björn Siepe and Eiko Fried based on a comparison between smar...
www.universiteitleiden.nl
July 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
This looks cool!! cc @hardigirl.bsky.social @ravenwallace.bsky.social
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
1/2
Press release @unileiden.bsky.social about our upcoming JoPACS paper led by @bsiepe.bsky.social, showing that the overlap of similar constructs assessed via wearable vs EMA data is surprisingly low (n~850, 3 months).
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Press release @unileiden.bsky.social about our upcoming JoPACS paper led by @bsiepe.bsky.social, showing that the overlap of similar constructs assessed via wearable vs EMA data is surprisingly low (n~850, 3 months).
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Does your smartwatch say you’re stressed? It may often be wrong
Consumer grade smartwatches may not be as accurate as promised when measuring tiredness or stress. That conclusion is drawn by researchers Björn Siepe and Eiko Fried based on a comparison between smar...
www.universiteitleiden.nl
July 24, 2025 at 11:05 AM
1/2
Press release @unileiden.bsky.social about our upcoming JoPACS paper led by @bsiepe.bsky.social, showing that the overlap of similar constructs assessed via wearable vs EMA data is surprisingly low (n~850, 3 months).
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Press release @unileiden.bsky.social about our upcoming JoPACS paper led by @bsiepe.bsky.social, showing that the overlap of similar constructs assessed via wearable vs EMA data is surprisingly low (n~850, 3 months).
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
In a non trivial way the #climate_crisis is reducible to shortcomings in human intelligence. This idea is behind my new release with the Natural Philosophers with Attitude: "Hot Summer Nights". Please check it out!
Spotify
open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
Spotify
open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
July 19, 2025 at 7:03 PM
In a non trivial way the #climate_crisis is reducible to shortcomings in human intelligence. This idea is behind my new release with the Natural Philosophers with Attitude: "Hot Summer Nights". Please check it out!
Spotify
open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
Spotify
open.spotify.com/album/0Tju52...
Soundcloud
soundcloud.com/npwa/sets/ho...
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
RIP Ozzy. You blazed your own trail.
July 22, 2025 at 11:48 PM
RIP Ozzy. You blazed your own trail.
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
Excited to share my first publication! TLDR; mind-wandering is contagious & classmate behavior can cause an increase in task-unrelated thoughts! Thank you to my collaborator, @michaeljkane.bsky.social for guidance throughout this project.
You can read it here - online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...
You can read it here - online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...
July 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Excited to share my first publication! TLDR; mind-wandering is contagious & classmate behavior can cause an increase in task-unrelated thoughts! Thank you to my collaborator, @michaeljkane.bsky.social for guidance throughout this project.
You can read it here - online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...
You can read it here - online.ucpress.edu/collabra/art...
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (mostly cortex)
Can someone recommend a recent review that is *assessible* to beginning PhD students. More/somewhat mathematical is fine. thanks
#neuroskyence
Can someone recommend a recent review that is *assessible* to beginning PhD students. More/somewhat mathematical is fine. thanks
#neuroskyence
July 21, 2025 at 4:38 PM
𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (mostly cortex)
Can someone recommend a recent review that is *assessible* to beginning PhD students. More/somewhat mathematical is fine. thanks
#neuroskyence
Can someone recommend a recent review that is *assessible* to beginning PhD students. More/somewhat mathematical is fine. thanks
#neuroskyence
Reposted by Jonny Smallwood
So excited to share this new preprint, spearheaded by the brilliant @benjyb.bsky.social! We report that people are consistently slower to report that their imagery is weak than to report that it is vivid ✨🤔
🚨New preprint🚨 out with the dream team @matanmazor.bsky.social @giuliacabbai.bsky.social and @nadinedijkstra.bsky.social!
We report a novel and robust effect across five different datasets: vivid imagery is reported faster than weak imagery.
📝: osf.io/preprints/ps...
We report a novel and robust effect across five different datasets: vivid imagery is reported faster than weak imagery.
📝: osf.io/preprints/ps...
July 21, 2025 at 4:22 PM
So excited to share this new preprint, spearheaded by the brilliant @benjyb.bsky.social! We report that people are consistently slower to report that their imagery is weak than to report that it is vivid ✨🤔