Caroline Runyan
caroline-runyan.bsky.social
Caroline Runyan
@caroline-runyan.bsky.social
Neuroscientist in Pittsburgh

https://runyanlab.org
Pinned
Check out our new paper, that reveals both the striking generality of cortical circuit organization, but also what we think are key differences in the scales of local excitatory and inhibitory networks across cortical areas. www.jneurosci.org/content/45/1...
Local Differences in Network Organization in the Auditory and Parietal Cortex, Revealed with Single Neuron Activation
The structure of local circuits is highly conserved across the cortex, yet the spatial and temporal properties of population activity differ fundamentally in sensory-level and association-level areas....
www.jneurosci.org
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
Excited to share my PhD paper! In it, we use targeted 2-photon optogenetic stimulation to determine how V1 activity is read-out in a detection task. We found that network influence, not visual coding properties, predicted the impact of ensembles on behavior - contradicting our expectations (1/5).
May 15, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
Speak up! Important to register widespread opposition to transitioning NIH to funding ideologically-motivated science. If you want advancements in knowledge and eventual cures, it is critical that research is steered by knowledgeable scientists, not political appointees
Please consider making a public comment opposing the possibility of making NIH directors, program officers, and other staff (e.g. SRO, GMS) political appointees. This only took me ~90 seconds. Please repost. Thanks 👍
The notice and COMMENT PERIOD OPENED TODAY AND CLOSES MAY 23.

Anyone who would like to register an objection or comment should go to this page and click on the green “public comment” button at the top:

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

6/n
April 26, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
🗣️AMPLIFY AMPLIFY AMPLIFY!!! Please comment!
ACTION ITEM-----ACTION ITEM

Implementation of Schedule F

This is what a lot of us have been worried about.

This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs.

BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD...

1/n
the word alert is in a purple circle
ALT: the word alert is in a purple circle
media.tenor.com
April 23, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
Our new paper is out in Science.

What is the synaptic plasticity rule in the brain, we asked. It turns out there are multiple, even within individual neurons.

Congrats Jake!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Distinct synaptic plasticity rules operate across dendritic compartments in vivo during learning
Synaptic plasticity underlies learning by modifying specific synaptic inputs to reshape neural activity and behavior. However, the rules governing which synapses will undergo different forms of plasti...
www.science.org
April 17, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
🚨iGluSnFR4 is finally out!🚨🧪

We present iGluSnFR4f and 4s, a novel pair of genetically-encoded glutamate indicators designed for high-fidelity imaging of synaptic activity in the living brain. ⬇️

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🎥 Below: iGluSnFR4s detecting minis in cultures w/ TTX

#Neuroscience
March 25, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
Thrilled to share the latest paper from the lab! Huge congrats to first author Dr. Celine Drieu and the amazing team of Ziyi Zhu, Sarah Elnozahy, Joy Wang, Aaron Wang, and Kylie Fuller! Lots of fun stuff in the paper so check it out - and let us know what you think :)
March 21, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
1/7 Our paper on individual variability in decision-making is finally out in @nature.com! Inspired by the classic work by Mante and Sussillo, we trained many rats to solve context-dependent decision-making, and we found that different brains use different neural mechanisms to solve the same task!
Individual variability of neural computations underlying flexible decisions - Nature
Behavioural experiments to study decision-making in response to context-dependent accumulation of evidence provide testable models that are consistent with the heterogeneity in neural signatures among...
www.nature.com
March 21, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Join us for SAND in June - Abstracts due this Friday!

The focus is on joining experimental and computational neuroscientists to drive progress in analyzing neural data
📣 The 11th Statistical Analysis of Neuronal Data (SAND11) workshop will be held June 11-13, 2025 in New York at the @flatironinstitute.org with generous support from @simonsfoundation.org

Submissions for talks+posters are due March 21. See our website for details 👇

sandworkshop.github.io
SAND - 2025
SAND - 2025
sandworkshop.github.io
March 18, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Check out our new paper, that reveals both the striking generality of cortical circuit organization, but also what we think are key differences in the scales of local excitatory and inhibitory networks across cortical areas. www.jneurosci.org/content/45/1...
Local Differences in Network Organization in the Auditory and Parietal Cortex, Revealed with Single Neuron Activation
The structure of local circuits is highly conserved across the cortex, yet the spatial and temporal properties of population activity differ fundamentally in sensory-level and association-level areas....
www.jneurosci.org
March 17, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
I'm trying to make something- if your university is on the list, could you post here with your school's most famous public-facing discovery?

e.g. for University of Pittsburgh: Salk polio vaccine

Please repost!

www.ed.gov/about/news/p...
U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment
The Office for Civil Rights today sent letters to 60 institutions of higher education warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil...
www.ed.gov
March 12, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
Are you using GCaMP8 or are planning to switch from GCaMP6? Then check out this new preprint from our lab! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

- Calcium imaging
- GCaMP8 vs. GCaMP6
- Spike inference
- Imaging + ephys ground truth

With F. Helmchen, K. Svoboda, M. Rozsa & X. Fang.
March 11, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
www.nature.com/articles/s41... awesome new work out today! From the Lee lab in the intramural research program at NIMH!
Brain-wide presynaptic networks of functionally distinct cortical neurons - Nature
Behavioural-state-dependent pyramidal neurons have a distinct pattern of long-range glutamatergic inputs, with a larger proportion of thalamic versus motor cortex inputs compared with non-behavio...
www.nature.com
February 27, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
Can the mouse visual cortex harbor a functional organization for stimulus features? TLDR: Yes, we found ocular dominance columns in this tiny cortical region! Check our paper, open access in @naturecomms.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... and/or read the 🧵 below. @mpiforbi.bsky.social (1/7)
February 25, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
#StandUpforScience local rally in Pittsburgh is confirmed!

📅 March 7, 2025
⏰ 11 AM-1:30 PM
📍Schenley Plaza, Pittsburgh

Follow the local rally’s Instagram @savesciencepgh for updates

Spread the word 🔥

@standupforscience.bsky.social
#StandUpForScience2025
#ScienceForAll
#ScienceNotSilence
#STEM
February 25, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Caroline Runyan
📣 The 11th Statistical Analysis of Neuronal Data (SAND11) workshop will be held June 11-13, 2025 in New York at the @flatironinstitute.org with generous support from @simonsfoundation.org

Submissions for talks+posters are due March 21. See our website for details 👇

sandworkshop.github.io
SAND - 2025
SAND - 2025
sandworkshop.github.io
February 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM