Nicole Petersen
@npetersen.bsky.social
assistant professor @UCLA - neuromodulation, neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology :)
"Taking this literature as a whole, there may be a sense that where there’s smoke, there must be fire,' but experience from other fields ... has shown that actually there can sometimes just be lots of smoke."
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism
Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in
the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential
studies underpinning these...
www.cell.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:57 AM
"Taking this literature as a whole, there may be a sense that where there’s smoke, there must be fire,' but experience from other fields ... has shown that actually there can sometimes just be lots of smoke."
seems like this should be a bigger deal than it currently is:
"Currently, industry-led experiments are publishable without [IRB] approval [39]. There is little reason to exempt
industry from standard journal policies..."
"Currently, industry-led experiments are publishable without [IRB] approval [39]. There is little reason to exempt
industry from standard journal policies..."
1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
October 24, 2025 at 1:30 AM
seems like this should be a bigger deal than it currently is:
"Currently, industry-led experiments are publishable without [IRB] approval [39]. There is little reason to exempt
industry from standard journal policies..."
"Currently, industry-led experiments are publishable without [IRB] approval [39]. There is little reason to exempt
industry from standard journal policies..."
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
Hormonal milieu influences whole-brain structural dynamics across the menstrual cycle using dense sampling in multiple individuals
@carinaheller.bsky.social, @uni-jena.de,
@umn-midb.bsky.social, @icsantabarbara.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@carinaheller.bsky.social, @uni-jena.de,
@umn-midb.bsky.social, @icsantabarbara.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hormonal milieu influences whole-brain structural dynamics across the menstrual cycle using dense sampling in multiple individuals - Nature Neuroscience
Heller et al. showed dense longitudinal imaging in four females, including one with endometriosis and one using oral contraceptives, and the finding that different hormonal milieus influence widespread brain volume changes linked to progesterone or estradiol.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Hormonal milieu influences whole-brain structural dynamics across the menstrual cycle using dense sampling in multiple individuals
@carinaheller.bsky.social, @uni-jena.de,
@umn-midb.bsky.social, @icsantabarbara.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@carinaheller.bsky.social, @uni-jena.de,
@umn-midb.bsky.social, @icsantabarbara.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
We wrote a piece for @naturemedicine.bsky.social 🧠
Menstrual cycle irregularities can be both cause and consequence of wide-ranging health issues.
Embracing this complexity could reveal novel brain–body interactions and advance neuroscience.
Check out our commentary www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Menstrual cycle irregularities can be both cause and consequence of wide-ranging health issues.
Embracing this complexity could reveal novel brain–body interactions and advance neuroscience.
Check out our commentary www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Why menstrual cycle irregularities belong in brain research - Nature Medicine
The menstrual cycle requires tight orchestration between the brain and body, and irregularities can be both the cause and the consequence of wide-ranging health issues. Embracing this complexity, inst...
www.nature.com
August 13, 2025 at 9:27 AM
We wrote a piece for @naturemedicine.bsky.social 🧠
Menstrual cycle irregularities can be both cause and consequence of wide-ranging health issues.
Embracing this complexity could reveal novel brain–body interactions and advance neuroscience.
Check out our commentary www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Menstrual cycle irregularities can be both cause and consequence of wide-ranging health issues.
Embracing this complexity could reveal novel brain–body interactions and advance neuroscience.
Check out our commentary www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
An Analysis of 200 pairwise statistics for functional brain connectivity in tasks such as hub mapping, distance relationships, structure-function coupling and behavior prediction highlights their effectiveness for neurophysiological applications.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Benchmarking methods for mapping functional connectivity in the brain - Nature Methods
In this Analysis, Liu et al. benchmark more than 200 pairwise statistics for functional brain connectivity in tasks such as hub mapping, distance relationships, structure–function coupling and behavio...
www.nature.com
June 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM
An Analysis of 200 pairwise statistics for functional brain connectivity in tasks such as hub mapping, distance relationships, structure-function coupling and behavior prediction highlights their effectiveness for neurophysiological applications.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
we are entering a whole new era of brain imaging analytics 🤩🧠
RELEASE THE KRAKEN(CODER)!
Ever struggle deciding which connectome pipeline to use or want to map between structure and function? Our multi-modal connectome mapping and fusion tool-the Krakencoder-can help! Brilliant Keith Jamison led this work, code available! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ever struggle deciding which connectome pipeline to use or want to map between structure and function? Our multi-modal connectome mapping and fusion tool-the Krakencoder-can help! Brilliant Keith Jamison led this work, code available! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
June 5, 2025 at 11:20 PM
we are entering a whole new era of brain imaging analytics 🤩🧠
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
My med school textbook says stimulants like Ritalin treat hyperactivity by “stimulating” the brain’s attention and cognitive control systems. We studied children taking stimulants in the ABCD Study, and the largest differences were actually in arousal and reward networks! Check out our preprint!
May 22, 2025 at 9:33 PM
My med school textbook says stimulants like Ritalin treat hyperactivity by “stimulating” the brain’s attention and cognitive control systems. We studied children taking stimulants in the ABCD Study, and the largest differences were actually in arousal and reward networks! Check out our preprint!
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
It's finally here! Use the Network Correspondence Toolbox to help contextualize your neuroimaging findings 🧠
A network correspondence toolbox for quantitative evaluation of novel neuroimaging results - Nature Communications
Here, the authors present the Network Correspondence Toolbox, which enables researchers to examine and report spatial correspondence between their neuroimaging results and widely used brain atlases.
www.nature.com
March 26, 2025 at 1:54 AM
It's finally here! Use the Network Correspondence Toolbox to help contextualize your neuroimaging findings 🧠
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
Caio is having a good day. Another preprint on which he's first author -- this time, describing pathways through the connectome for indirectly stimulating subgenual cingulate cortex in the context of depression.
Neuroanatomical pathways of TMS therapy for depression
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neuroanatomical pathways of TMS therapy for depression
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
February 12, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Caio is having a good day. Another preprint on which he's first author -- this time, describing pathways through the connectome for indirectly stimulating subgenual cingulate cortex in the context of depression.
Neuroanatomical pathways of TMS therapy for depression
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Neuroanatomical pathways of TMS therapy for depression
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
New landmark TMS trial dropped by Jonathan Downar's team, which will revolutionize care for depression even more than the SAINT trial did – extensive (10 hour!) sessions of TMS in a single day, enhanced by single dose of cycloserine. 90% response, 70% remission!
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Real-world effectiveness of a single-day regimen for transcranial magnetic stimulation using Optimized, Neuroplastogen-Enhanced techniques in Depression (ONE-D)
PDF | Background: Conventional transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) regimens are logistically burdensome, requiring days or weeks of clinic visits.... | Find, read and cite all the research you nee...
www.researchgate.net
December 27, 2024 at 2:35 PM
New landmark TMS trial dropped by Jonathan Downar's team, which will revolutionize care for depression even more than the SAINT trial did – extensive (10 hour!) sessions of TMS in a single day, enhanced by single dose of cycloserine. 90% response, 70% remission!
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
2/2
The second is my solution for the replication crisis. It was recently accepted at Assessment.
"How to Produce, Identify, and Motivate Robust Psychological Science: A Roadmap and a Response to Vize et al."
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
The second is my solution for the replication crisis. It was recently accepted at Assessment.
"How to Produce, Identify, and Motivate Robust Psychological Science: A Roadmap and a Response to Vize et al."
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
October 24, 2024 at 9:45 PM
2/2
The second is my solution for the replication crisis. It was recently accepted at Assessment.
"How to Produce, Identify, and Motivate Robust Psychological Science: A Roadmap and a Response to Vize et al."
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
The second is my solution for the replication crisis. It was recently accepted at Assessment.
"How to Produce, Identify, and Motivate Robust Psychological Science: A Roadmap and a Response to Vize et al."
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
New paper out in @ScienceMagazine! In 8 studies (multiple platforms, methods, time periods) we find: misinformation evokes more outrage than trustworthy news, when it does it's shared more + ppl are less likely to read before sharing. w/ @killianmcl1 @Klonick @mollycrockett 🧵👇
November 28, 2024 at 7:07 PM
New paper out in @ScienceMagazine! In 8 studies (multiple platforms, methods, time periods) we find: misinformation evokes more outrage than trustworthy news, when it does it's shared more + ppl are less likely to read before sharing. w/ @killianmcl1 @Klonick @mollycrockett 🧵👇
A LITTLE LOUDER FOR THE STUDY SECTIONS IN THE BACK: ". . . classical functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) . . . can be reliable when averaged across tens of people, or even in an individual, given sufficient repetition."
Great conversations with @ndosenbach.bsky.social while preparing this Nature News & Views on the new Kang et al. Ready to have the same with everyone here. Thoughts? What other practice should be investigated to help BWAS reproducibility?
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Design tips for reproducible studies linking the brain to behaviour
Sampling schemes for reproducible brain-wide association studies.
www.nature.com
November 27, 2024 at 7:10 PM
A LITTLE LOUDER FOR THE STUDY SECTIONS IN THE BACK: ". . . classical functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) . . . can be reliable when averaged across tens of people, or even in an individual, given sufficient repetition."
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
Love to see this conversation starting!
"Study design features increase replicability in brain-wide association studies"
Full article led by Kaidi Kang and Simon Vandekar + awesome News+Views by @roselynechauvin.bsky.social & @ndosenbach.bsky.social!
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
"Study design features increase replicability in brain-wide association studies"
Full article led by Kaidi Kang and Simon Vandekar + awesome News+Views by @roselynechauvin.bsky.social & @ndosenbach.bsky.social!
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
November 27, 2024 at 6:28 PM
Love to see this conversation starting!
"Study design features increase replicability in brain-wide association studies"
Full article led by Kaidi Kang and Simon Vandekar + awesome News+Views by @roselynechauvin.bsky.social & @ndosenbach.bsky.social!
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
"Study design features increase replicability in brain-wide association studies"
Full article led by Kaidi Kang and Simon Vandekar + awesome News+Views by @roselynechauvin.bsky.social & @ndosenbach.bsky.social!
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
🧠 hello #neuroskyence! happy to share my early career commentary in neuropsychopharmacology, highlighting the importance of understanding sex hormones for understanding the brain: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 19, 2024 at 7:06 PM
🧠 hello #neuroskyence! happy to share my early career commentary in neuropsychopharmacology, highlighting the importance of understanding sex hormones for understanding the brain: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
my lab's first data paper is here 🤩 do you love neuromodulation, treating substance use disorders, persevering through a pandemic, or superstar trainees? if so, read on!
my lab's first data paper is here 🤩 do you love neuromodulation, treating substance use disorders, persevering through a pandemic, or superstar trainees? if so, read on!
www.nature.com
November 17, 2023 at 1:51 AM
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
my lab's first data paper is here 🤩 do you love neuromodulation, treating substance use disorders, persevering through a pandemic, or superstar trainees? if so, read on!
my lab's first data paper is here 🤩 do you love neuromodulation, treating substance use disorders, persevering through a pandemic, or superstar trainees? if so, read on!
#neuroskyence
neuromodulation, neuroimaging, and substance use friends -- don't miss Michael's SFN poster Monday morning!
in this very cool (and ENTIRELY trainee-executed) project, our group looked at factors that differentiate people who respond to TMS (1/)
neuromodulation, neuroimaging, and substance use friends -- don't miss Michael's SFN poster Monday morning!
in this very cool (and ENTIRELY trainee-executed) project, our group looked at factors that differentiate people who respond to TMS (1/)
November 10, 2023 at 5:03 AM
#neuroskyence
neuromodulation, neuroimaging, and substance use friends -- don't miss Michael's SFN poster Monday morning!
in this very cool (and ENTIRELY trainee-executed) project, our group looked at factors that differentiate people who respond to TMS (1/)
neuromodulation, neuroimaging, and substance use friends -- don't miss Michael's SFN poster Monday morning!
in this very cool (and ENTIRELY trainee-executed) project, our group looked at factors that differentiate people who respond to TMS (1/)
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
Check out this amazing new work from @giuliaabaracc.bsky.social uncovering mechanisms of brain signal variability! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The biological role of local and global fMRI BOLD signal variability in human brain organization
bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution
www.biorxiv.org
October 24, 2023 at 4:52 PM
Check out this amazing new work from @giuliaabaracc.bsky.social uncovering mechanisms of brain signal variability! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
I’m excited to share our new preprint – led by @hyejinjadelee.bsky.social & Derek Smith – where we applied precision approaches (i.e., extensive per-participant data collection) to behavioral measures of inhibitory control.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Attempting my first bluesky 🧵 in the following....
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Attempting my first bluesky 🧵 in the following....
October 20, 2023 at 5:50 PM
I’m excited to share our new preprint – led by @hyejinjadelee.bsky.social & Derek Smith – where we applied precision approaches (i.e., extensive per-participant data collection) to behavioral measures of inhibitory control.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Attempting my first bluesky 🧵 in the following....
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Attempting my first bluesky 🧵 in the following....
happy Saturday #neuroskyence! check out our new preprint finding that neuromodulation dramatically (!) reduces sample entropy throughout the brain: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... this is a new area for me so kind feedback is very welcome! 🧠⚡🧲
September 16, 2023 at 10:27 PM
happy Saturday #neuroskyence! check out our new preprint finding that neuromodulation dramatically (!) reduces sample entropy throughout the brain: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... this is a new area for me so kind feedback is very welcome! 🧠⚡🧲
Reposted by Nicole Petersen
An interactive, clickable fMRI atlas (n = 40k, ukbiobank data) for associations with hundreds of traits and diseases. fmriatlas.org/index.html #neuroskyence #psyscisky
September 8, 2023 at 3:18 PM
An interactive, clickable fMRI atlas (n = 40k, ukbiobank data) for associations with hundreds of traits and diseases. fmriatlas.org/index.html #neuroskyence #psyscisky
hi bluesky! here for fun papers so I'll start by sharing one :D in this preprint we found that a small dose of TMS to the posterior parietal cortex reduced risk-taking propensity. super fun collaboration with Vaughn Steele and Anna Konova (are either of you here?!)
psyarxiv.com/ag72n
#neuroskyence
psyarxiv.com/ag72n
#neuroskyence
psyarxiv.com
September 9, 2023 at 7:04 PM
hi bluesky! here for fun papers so I'll start by sharing one :D in this preprint we found that a small dose of TMS to the posterior parietal cortex reduced risk-taking propensity. super fun collaboration with Vaughn Steele and Anna Konova (are either of you here?!)
psyarxiv.com/ag72n
#neuroskyence
psyarxiv.com/ag72n
#neuroskyence