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meenakshiasokan.bsky.social
Meenakshi Asokan
@meenakshiasokan.bsky.social
900 followers 700 following 9 posts
Neuroscience postdoc, Jane Coffin Childs Fellow, Falkner Lab @ Princeton| Interested in hormones, brain & behavior| PhD @ Harvard| BTech @ IIT Madras| Stories of WiN🎙️| https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Ql5Nm9UAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
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meenakshiasokan.bsky.social
Meenakshi Asokan @meenakshiasokan.bsky.social · May 30
Stoked to share our new review on why neuroendocrinology needs a systems lens and why hormones should matter to systems neuroscience. It’s time for serious cross-talk!
neurrriot.bsky.social
Annegret Falkner @neurrriot.bsky.social · May 30
Is it finally time for systems neuroscience to take hormones seriously? OMG YES! @meenakshiasokan.bsky.social and I share some of our thoughts about recent work in this review www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Hormonal regulation of behavioral and emotional persistence: Novel insights from a systems-level approach to neuroendocrinology
Gonadal sex steroid hormones regulate internal states, social drive, perception of external cues, and learning and memory. Fluctuating hormones influe…
www.sciencedirect.com
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
broberger.bsky.social
Christian Broberger @broberger.bsky.social · 3d
1/n. New paper from us: here we explore the mechanisms underlying maternal aggression in mice as a means of addressing how an individual transiently can gain access to a behaviour normally outside of its repertoire. Lead investigator Stefanos Stagkourakis (not on 🦋)🧵:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Maternal aggression driven by the transient mobilisation of a dormant hormone-sensitive circuit - Nature Communications
Mothers can fiercely defend their young, but how the brain triggers this response remains to a large extent a mystery. Here, authors show that a dormant, hormone-sensitive brain circuit switches on to spark maternal aggression during the lactation period.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
mohebial.bsky.social
Ali Mohebi @mohebial.bsky.social · 3d
Excited to hear the latest science updates from @czimmerman.bsky.social on Monday, 1-2 pm CST. You can join us too—either on Zoom or in person! bit.ly/3VOJrcy
Neuroscience lecture by Dr. Chris Zimmerman on Body-Brain interactions in learning
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
emilyjacobs.bsky.social
Emily G. Jacobs @emilyjacobs.bsky.social · 5d
When @laurapritschet.bsky.social & Pavel Shapturenka set out to build the 28&Me + 28&He datasets, I don't think any of us could've predicted the spectacularly creative ways the datasets would be used years later. That's the power of open science. 👇🏼
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meenakshiasokan.bsky.social
Meenakshi Asokan @meenakshiasokan.bsky.social · 13d
Check this out!! Neat unsupervised quantifications of rich social behavior, while simultaneously recording from the entire hormone-sensitive subcortical social behavior network. Massive effort, congrats @endoeartha.bsky.social !!
endoeartha.bsky.social
eartha mae @endoeartha.bsky.social · 13d
Very excited and proud to share my postdoctoral research with @neurrriot.bsky.social looking at the context-specific encoding of social behavior 💃🕺 in hormone-sensitive, large-scale brain networks in mice!

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

#neuroskyence #compneurosky 🧪
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
thomas-zhihao-luo.bsky.social
Thomas Luo @thomas-zhihao-luo.bsky.social · 21d
How does the brain decide? 🧠

Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.

After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.

rdcu.be/eGUrv
Transitions in dynamical regime and neural mode during perceptual decisions - Nature
Simultaneous recordings were made of hundreds of neurons in the rat frontal cortex and striatum, showing that decision commitment involves a rapid, coordinated transition in dynamical regime and neura...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
ardemp.bskyverified.social
Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · 20d
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
Mechanical forces are extensively involved in pregnancy and parturition, but their precise roles and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mechanically activated ion channels PIEZO1 a...
www.biorxiv.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
harshag.bsky.social
Harsha Gurnani @harshag.bsky.social · 23d
Job post alert!👩‍🔬 Postdoctoral fellow in CompNeuro/ML in the Artificial and Biological Computation lab at NYU (csavin.wixsite.com/savinlab).
Exciting opening in the Data and Theory team in the new Simons Collaboration in Ecological Neuroscience!
www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/04/24/s...
#neuroskyence
Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience
Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
oyiz.bsky.social
Ofer Yizhar @oyiz.bsky.social · 26d
Excited to share our latest paper - now out in @science.org - we showed how oxytocin modulates maternally-directed behavior in young mice (P15).
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meenakshiasokan.bsky.social
Meenakshi Asokan @meenakshiasokan.bsky.social · Sep 6
Congrats Ross! Looks wonderful, excited to read!!
Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
rswilliamson.bsky.social
Ross Williamson @rswilliamson.bsky.social · Sep 6
Really excited to share the latest work from my lab, where we identify how distinct cortical projections differentially encode sensory category and choice.
A cortical output channel for perceptual categorization
Perceptual categorization allows the brain to transform diverse sensory inputs into discrete representations that support flexible behavior. Auditory cortex (ACtx) has been implicated in this process,...
www.biorxiv.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
herbertwu.bsky.social
Herbert Wu @herbertwu.bsky.social · Sep 4
Super excited to share the first cooperative foraging paradigm in freely interacting mouse pairs! Stable leader and follower roles emerge spontaneously and predict learning. Well-trained mice show stereotyped, role-specific “behavioral motifs” absent in naive animals (1/5)
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
kishoreneuro.bsky.social
Kishore Kuchibhotla @kishoreneuro.bsky.social · Sep 4
🚨 We’re hiring a postdoc! 🚨

Excited for our new NiCE grant with @lauerlab.bsky.social @batwoman123.bsky.social 🎉We use a comparative approach, two-photon imaging & optogenetics to identify why bats🦇 and deer mice resist noise but lab mice don't.

If you're interested, please DM or e-mail me!
kavlifoundation.org
The Kavli Foundation @kavlifoundation.org · Sep 2
The Kavli Foundation & #NSF announce four new NiCE grants to study how brains adapt to a changing world - linking genes, cells, behavior, and ecosystems.

From bees to bats to jellyfish, check out the 2025 awardees. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/4fYz8vK

#KavliNeuro #Neuroscience
Kavli and NSF Announce New Grant Awards to Advance Neurobiology in…
An initiative to explore how nervous systems function and evolve in dynamic natural environments
bit.ly
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
analog-ashley.bsky.social
ashley juavinett @analog-ashley.bsky.social · Sep 3
Writing is thinking, not just word production.

(And we need thinking.)

Agree strongly with Tim's take for @thetransmitter.bsky.social here: "The problem is not that the tools don’t work—it’s that they work too well."
thetransmitter.bsky.social
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · Sep 2
“Competent prose generated by a machine, I’ve come to realize, might not be what science actually needs.” ?

By Tim Requarth

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/from-bench-t...
From bench to bot: Why AI-powered writing may not deliver on its promise
Efficiency isn’t everything. The cognitive work of struggling with prose may be a crucial part of what drives scientific progress.
www.thetransmitter.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
npp-journal.bsky.social
Neuropsychopharmacology @npp-journal.bsky.social · Sep 2
#ThisWeekInNPP

This 🔥 Hot Topic 🔥 emphasizes that ovarian hormone fluctuations - across the menstrual cycle, postpartum, & menopause - are key drivers of psychiatric risk in ♀️, yet remain understudied / @kundakoviclab.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Leveraging high-resolution brain imaging and (epi)genomic approaches to improve women’s mental health - Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology - Leveraging high-resolution brain imaging and (epi)genomic approaches to improve women’s mental health
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
engeltatiana.bsky.social
Tatiana Engel @engeltatiana.bsky.social · Sep 2
New work with @shiyanliang.bsky.social‬, @roxana-zeraati.bsky.social, @intlbrainlab.bsky.social, Anna Levina. We uncover the principles that organize single-neuron timescales across the entire brain, unifying regional specialization with universal brain-wide dynamics: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
shiyanliang.bsky.social
Yanliang Shi @shiyanliang.bsky.social · Sep 2
Excited to share our new preprint on the brain-wide organization of intrinsic timescales at single neuron resolution. Work w/ @roxana-zeraati.bsky.social, @intlbrainlab.bsky.social, Anna Levina, @engeltatiana.bsky.social : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
schandralab.bsky.social
Sreeganga Chandra Lab at Yale @schandralab.bsky.social · Aug 8
Postdocs: Apply now for the SYNAPSES series @kavliatyale.bsky.social @yaleneuro.bsky.social! Deadline to apply is September 7th
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meenakshiasokan.bsky.social
Meenakshi Asokan @meenakshiasokan.bsky.social · Aug 6
Excited to share this profile + interview with Dr. Emily Jacobs! Amazing work on human precision brain imaging across hormonal fluctuations, and such an inspiring story! I had such a great time interviewing her!
storiesofwin.bsky.social
Stories of WiN @storiesofwin.bsky.social · Aug 6
Our latest profile just dropped! Dr. Emily Jacobs (‪@emilyjacobs.bsky.social‬) studies how hormonal fluctuations influence the brain. Follow the link below to listen to the full interview!

www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...

#WomenInNeuroscience #StoriesOfWiN
Dr. Emily Jacobs — Stories of WiN
studies how hormonal fluctuations influence the brain
www.storiesofwin.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
cate-cholamine.bsky.social
Dr. Cate Peña @cate-cholamine.bsky.social · Aug 6
Review now out in @npp-journal.bsky.social!
Epigenetic regulation of brain development, plasticity, and response to early life stress
rdcu.be/ezzYq
Epigenetic regulation of brain development, plasticity, and response to early-life stress
Neuropsychopharmacology - Epigenetic regulation of brain development, plasticity, and response to early-life stress
rdcu.be
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
annmclemens.bsky.social
Ann Clemens @annmclemens.bsky.social · Aug 5
late to share, but still exciting 🤩 our latest paper is now published tinyurl.com/2s4zecr9

✨Ontogeny of tactile, vocal and kinship dynamics in rat pup huddling

👏 great work team
@flor-bela.bsky.social
@hughtakemoto.bsky.social
@kinshiplab.bsky.social
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
storiesofwin.bsky.social
Stories of WiN @storiesofwin.bsky.social · Jun 26
Our next profile is here! Dr. Melissa Caras studies the neurophysiological mechanisms of auditory perceptual learning. Follow the link to listen and learn more!

www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...

#WomenInNeuroscience #StoriesOfWiN
Dr. Melissa Caras — Stories of WiN
studies the neurophysiological mechanisms of auditory perceptual learning.
www.storiesofwin.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
princetonneuro.bsky.social
Princeton Neuroscience Institute @princetonneuro.bsky.social · Jun 25
“Like a group of skiers descending a mountain, each [neuron] prefers a slightly different path, but all are shaped by the same slope,” says PNI's @engeltatiana.bsky.social‬ on her lab’s new ‪@nature.com‬ study revealing how the brain makes decisions.

📰: pni.princeton.edu/news/2025/al...
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
michaelgoard.bsky.social
Michael Goard @michaelgoard.bsky.social · Jun 25
Very happy to see a Transmitter (@thetransmitter.bsky.social) piece on our recent work on estrous cycle modulation of hippocampal structure and function. Thanks to Sydney Wyatt (@sydneywyatt.bsky.social) for covering the work and its context:

www.thetransmitter.org/neuroendocri...
Spatial learning circuitry fluctuates in step with estrous cycle in mice
Cyclic shifts in estradiol levels coincide with changes in dendritic spine density and the activity of place cells in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, a new study shows.
www.thetransmitter.org
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
nickjourjine.bsky.social
Nick Jourjine @nickjourjine.bsky.social · Jun 18
Very happy to share the latest from my postdoc‬!

10 yrs of mouse social networks + 1.25 yrs of acoustic data ➡️ insight into vocalization & sociality in a wild population of your favorite lab model 🐁

paper: bit.ly/4n93yyD
data: bit.ly/4lfFBEk
code: bit.ly/4kNnMwx

#bioacoustics #neuroskyence

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Graphical abstract for "Vocal communication is seasonal in social groups of wild, free-living house mice." The abstract has, from top to bottom, a title, four middle image panels, and two bottom text panels. Image title: "Vocal communication in social groups of wild-free living house mice" Middle image panels from left to right: (1) An aerial snap shot of the region where the study site is located, an agricultural landscape in rural Switzerland. (2) An image of the study site, a small barn in the forest inhabited by mice. (3) An image of a radio frequency identification (RFID) box used to track mouse social interactions. A mouse is entering the box from the left while another sits outside. (4) A spectrogram showing example vocalizations - one low frequency squeak and one ultrasonic call - recorded from an RFID box. Bottom panels: Left: Data Collection  - 10 years of RFID-based tracking data (from 6,946 mice) - 15 months of acoustic monitoring (totaling 6,594 hours) - Machine learning for vocal detection and labeling (CNN) Right: Key Findings - Vocalization is seasonal (most in spring and summer) - Vocalization is associated with the presence of pups - Vocalization is correlated with social group dynamics
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
schreinerdrew.bsky.social
Drew Schreiner @schreinerdrew.bsky.social · Jun 16
Lovely work from my colleague @Cell Reports! He shows that mouse vocalizations activate posterior insula, and actvity onset precedes vocal production -even in deaf mice - indicative of a motor signal. Also, neurons that respond to conspecific vocalizations seem to multiplex voc. w/ social context!
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Reposted by Meenakshi Asokan
briantrainor.bsky.social
Brian Trainor @briantrainor.bsky.social · Jun 11
A new preprint from @valentina-cs.bsky.social using @ajboender.bsky.social CRISPR tool shows that locally expressed oxytocin receptor in BNST modulates effects of stress on social approach and vigilance www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
CRISPR-mediated knockdown of oxytocin receptor in extended amygdala reduces stress-induced social avoidance and vigilance
Oxytocin receptors (OTR) within the extended amygdala and nucleus accumbens have been implicated in modulating social behaviors, particularly following stress. The effects of OTR could be mediated by ...
www.biorxiv.org
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