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Jon Simons

@jonsimons.bsky.social

3.8K followers 350 following 220 posts

Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, and Head of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge. Husband, father of two boys and one dog, half-pint rower and ex-cricketer www.memlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk

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Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · Nov 11

Great to see this platform thriving. Kinda like how the other one was way back when. Let's keep it this way!

Hi to new followers: I'm a cognitive neuroscientist who investigates the cognitive and brain mechanisms responsible for the subjective experience of remembering #psychscisky #neuroskyence

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University of Cambridge @cam.ac.uk · 1d

It is with great sadness that the University shares the news of the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon, founder of the @gurdoninstitute.bsky.social

Read our tribute to the visionary Nobel Laureate and watch an interview from 2012, just after he won: https://bit.ly/4mM8o3r

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University of Cambridge @cam.ac.uk · 7d

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jane Goodall.

Jane was a much-loved member of the conservation community in Cambridge and worldwide. She completed her PhD at @darwincollegecam.bsky.social and was an Honorary Fellow at @newnhamcollege.bsky.social.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIzR...

Jane Goodall - Finding our way to a better future

YouTube video by Cambridge University

www.youtube.com

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 27d

Can reading a book make you a better person?

Reading books is declining. But people who read weekly book excerpts & podcasts instead of meditating had the greatest reductions in aggression and growth in compassionate love, positive attitudes & altruism
www.powerofusnewsletter.com/p/can-readin...

Can reading a book make you a better person?

Research from our lab investigates if reading non-fiction books can make us more prosocial and less polarized.

www.powerofusnewsletter.com

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Rolf Zwaan @rolfzwaan.bsky.social · Sep 8

Invitation to a potential replication project. rolfzwaan.substack.com/p/memory-mis...

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Uta Frith @utafrith.bsky.social · Aug 27

A review just in time for our 59th Wedding Anniversary on 1st September
Scenes from a Marriage: How We Found Our Way from Experimental Psychology to Social Neuroscience | Annual Reviews - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Scenes from a Marriage: How We Found Our Way from Experimental Psychology to Social Neuroscience | Annual Reviews

Looking back on our life and work, we reflect on the changes in our thinking due to three scientific and technological revolutions. These are information processing, computers, and brain imaging, and ...

www.annualreviews.org

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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · Aug 18

THIS

Daniel Lakens @lakens.bsky.social · Aug 15

An abbreviation (ABB) in a journal article (JA) or Grant Application (GA) is rarely worth the words it saves. Every ABB requires cognitive resources (CR) and at my age by the time I'm halfway through a JA or GA I no longer have the CR to remember what your ABB stood for.

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Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · Aug 16

Very sad to hear this news. The Creative Mind one of the books that inspired me to study cognition and the brain. Lucky to meet Maggie a couple of times years later, emphasised value of conversations across disciplines. Didn’t understand everything, but learned a lot!

Anil Seth @anilseth.bsky.social · Aug 16

Maggie Boden's passing is a sad loss to many of us personally, and to cognitive science and philosophy as a whole. This obituary, by Michael Rosenwald, was published the other day in @nytimes.com

Margaret Boden, Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88

www.nytimes.com

Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Cambridge Alumni Magazine wanted to find out what a few MemLab researchers are up to. Read about Martha McGill, Will Duckett and Julia Maybury and their fascinating research in this article from the latest issue.

Remember this...

Memory is strange: sometimes crystal clear on people and places we came across years ago, often much more cloudy on things that happened just last week.

www.alumni.cam.ac.uk

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University of Cambridge @cam.ac.uk · Jul 18

Could Cambridge be your next career move?

Hear what attracted three international academics to come to Cambridge, and explore 150+ vacancies on our new look website at cam.ac.uk/jobs

#HEjobs #Careers #UniJobs #AcademicJobs #ResearchJobs #PhDChat #Hiring #UniversityJobs #Careers

Jobs

Job opportunities at the University of Cambridge, Colleges and affiliated institutions.

cam.ac.uk

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Tiziana Metitieri @timetit.bsky.social · Jul 15

Happy birthday Brenda Milner! 🧠🎉
Today is her 107th birthday, she's a legend, a superhero.

Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · May 13

My favorite account of the early history is this one:

www.jneurosci.org/content/jneu...

ALSO: AWARD BRENDA MILNER THE NOBEL PRIZE (for work with H.M. and the discovery that the hippocampus the structure that stores memories) - SHE'S 106!)
www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=25635

Heroes of the Engram
In 1904, Richard Semon introduced the term “engram” to describe the neural substrate responsible for (or at least important in) storing and recalling memories (i.e., a memory trace). The recent introduction of a vast array of powerful new tools to probe and manipulate memory function at the cell and neuronal circuit level has spurred an explosion of interest in studying the engram. However, the present “engram renaissance” was not borne in isolation but rather builds on a long tradition of memory research. We believe it is important to acknowledge the debts our current generation of scientists owes to those scientists who have offered key ideas, persevered through failed experiments and made important discoveries before us. Examining the past can also offer a fresh perspective on the present state and future promise of the field. Given the large amount of empirical advances made in recent years, it seems particularly timely to look back and review the scientists who introduced the seminal terminology, concepts, methodological approaches, and initial data pertaining to engrams. Rather than simply list their many accomplishments, here we color in some details of the lives and milestone contributions of our seven personal heroes of the engram (Richard Semon, Karl Lashley, Donald Hebb, Wilder Penfield, Brenda Milner, James McConnell, and Richard Thompson). In reviewing their historic role, we also illustrate how their work remains relevant to today’s studies.

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Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · Jul 2

I'm proud that @cambridgebiosci.bsky.social is leading the way in advancing our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of women's biology, which is essential to improving lifelong health and supporting intergenerational health outcomes

Putting women’s health in the spotlight

Cambridge researchers are working to undo a longstanding male bias in health research, to help drive more effective healthcare for all.

www.cam.ac.uk

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Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · Jun 16

So very sorry to hear this news. Simon was a regular contributor to our Subjective Experience of Remembering workshops, and was always so warm and supportive and full of interesting things to say. I'm very sorry to think that our paths won't cross again. Sincere condolences to all who knew him.

Durham UCU @ducu.bsky.social · Jun 15

Absolutely heartbroken to learn that Professor Simon James has passed away after a short illness. Simon was a stalwart union rep in the English Department, and a personal friend to many of us in the branch. We'll miss his humour, his passion, and his dedication to making things better for people.

Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · Jun 11

I am recruiting a postgraduate research assistant to work in the Cambridge Memory Lab, administering cognitive tasks and helping with lab administration. Would suit someone who's just finished their degree and wants to gain research experience before further study. Please apply!

Research Assistant (Fixed Term) - Job Opportunities - University of Cambridge

Research Assistant (Fixed Term) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge.

www.jobs.cam.ac.uk

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Cambridge Diary @cambridgediary.bsky.social · Jun 8

8th June 2020
The summer of 2020 saw the stunning installation of King’s College’s Back Lawn of a wildflower meadow. The conversion of the previously manicured lawn, dating back to 1722, has boosted biodiversity as well as being a glorious sight.
Picture from my book 'Cambridge - Time & Space'.

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Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · Jun 3

URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯

Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.

This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.

Marc Dionne @marcsdionne.bsky.social · Jun 3

My lab studies bacterial infections. We spend a lot of time looking at (or for) species-specific genetic and genomic databases for hosts and microbes. FlyBase is the best of all—there is literally no comparison. Its existence is under threat. Please donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

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The Memory Palace @philmemopalace.bsky.social · Jun 3

Episodic remembering comes with a complex phenomenology. How can we account for it? Which methodology is best suited to study it? Today, Francesca Righetti (Ruhr University Bochum) shares some very interesting ideas about these questions.
open.substack.com/pub/thememor...

What does it mean to relive an experience through remembering?

Francesca Righetti (Ruhr University Bochum)

open.substack.com

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Paul Frankland @franklandlab.bsky.social · May 30

For anyone in the memory field, an incredible summary and tribute to Endel Tulving from Gus Craik. Read it for the writing alone.

royalsocietypublishing.org/action/oidcS...

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Jan R. Boehnke @jrboehnke.bsky.social · May 30

Difficult to get independent figures, but a London Economics report (for #UniversitiesUK) summarised economic impact of universities in the UK as:

768,000 jobs
£71bn gross value added
£116bn general economic output

@houseoflords.parliament.uk summary:
lordslibrary.parliament.uk/higher-educa...

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Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · May 29

The list of candidates for the position of Chancellor of the University of Cambridge has now been finalised. Candidate statements are available on the website. The person elected will be the University's formal and ceremonial head, a key role. Voting will take place in July. Please vote if eligible!

University of Cambridge @cam.ac.uk · May 28

Today we are announcing the full list of candidates for the next Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

Explore the list of candidates and why they are standing 👉 cam.ac.uk/chancellor-candidates

Senate House against a blue sky, with the text: List of candidates for the next Chancellor of the University of Cambridge announced

Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · May 15

We all stand on the shoulders of giants, and I'm very aware of how fortunate I am to follow in the footsteps of so many @cambridgeuni.bsky.social researchers who made fundamental contributions to our understanding of memory

The Cambridge view on memory

By tying together more than a century of memory research at Cambridge, the Memory Lab gives us tangible ways to improve, preserve and understand our memory.

www.cam.ac.uk

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Lluís Fuentemilla @fuentemilla.bsky.social · May 7

1/2 Just like social groups, human memory is organized in interconnected patterns. Activating one memory can trigger related ones, similar to how information spreads through a community. Could social sharing shape how memories are formed?

#PsychSciSky

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Louis Renoult @renoultlouis.bsky.social · May 6

Please share; My lab at @psychologyuea.bsky.social @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social is recruiting a post-doc for a cognitive neuroscience memory project. It is a 3-year post, with a proposed start date of 8th September. Application deadline is 15th of June.

vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...

Senior Research Associate (RA2312) in University of East Anglia | UEA

View details and apply for this Senior Research Associate (RA2312) vacancy in University of East Anglia. School of Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences Senior Research Associate Ref: RA...

vacancies.uea.ac.uk

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Sander van der Linden @profsanderlinden.bsky.social · May 6

Decades of research suggest that authoritarian leaders and their admirers consistently share one thing in common: they twist the truth!

Our OP-ED in @time.com today about how to fight harmful misinformation! And the need to speak out against it. More speech, not less! 💪

time.com/7282640/how-...

How to Address Misinformation Without Censorship

Too often, we excuse misinformation as a matter of opinion or free speech. And the consequences are dire.

time.com

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Jon Simons @jonsimons.bsky.social · May 6

This is, like all of @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's work, simply wonderul.

Robert Macfarlane @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social · May 4

Hello—Is A River Alive? has been adapted as Radio 4’s Book of the Week next week.
Five episodes, read by me—& we’ve folded in field recordings & some beautiful Max Richter music.
First episode, Anima, broadcasts tomorrow at 11.45am.
You can listen here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane, Episode 1: Anima

Robert Macfarlane explores an idea that changes the world – that a river is alive.

www.bbc.co.uk

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