Rob Mok
@robmok.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.3K following 230 posts
Computational Cognitive Neuroscientist at CiNet & Osaka University. Category learning to concepts & everything between (semantic/episodic memory). Cognitive aging/damage in models & brains. To understand the brain & AI.
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Reposted by Rob Mok
rodbraga.bsky.social
📣 New preprint from the Braga Lab! 📣

The ventral visual stream for reading converges on the transmodal language network

Congrats to Dr. Joe Salvo for this epic set of results

Big Q: What brain systems support the translation of writing to concepts and meaning?

Thread 🧵 ⬇️
Reposted by Rob Mok
hannesmehrer.bsky.social
🧠 New preprint: we show that model-guided microstimulation can steer monkey visual behavior.

Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2510.03684

🧵
Reposted by Rob Mok
brialong.bsky.social
We’re recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to join our team! 🎉

I’m happy to share that I’ve opened back up the search for this position (it was temporarily closed due to funding uncertainty).

See lab page and doc below for details!
Reposted by Rob Mok
mehr.nz
postdoc, in an esoteric field, preparing for the job market
Reposted by Rob Mok
masudhusain.bsky.social
The current environment is making it near impossible to run clinical trials in the UK.
One key issue discussed in @brain1878.bsky.social
is the duplication - or worse - of regulatory oversight at NHS hospitals & universities.

My views on how to change the system
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
Reposted by Rob Mok
nicolecrust.bsky.social
CW: depression, ideation (& the brain)

Case study: stimulation of the sustantia nigra produces acute, intense depression that dissipates as soon as stimulation stops. Wow.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17561432/

(FYI: In follow-up, the individual had no mood issues 5 yrs out; whew!).
Within a couple of seconds, the patient’s face showed an expression of utmost sorrow and he started to sob and cry violently. He repeated over and over again the words ‘‘everything is so dark’’, ‘‘please doctor I don’t want to live.’’ Upon direct questioning, the patient said that he felt very depressed. The stimulation was stopped, and within 10 s, the patient stopped crying and returned to his previous mental status.
Reposted by Rob Mok
samnastase.bsky.social
I'm recruiting PhD students to join my new lab in Fall 2026! The Shared Minds Lab at @usc.edu will combine deep learning and ecological human neuroscience to better understand how we communicate our thoughts from one brain to another.
Reposted by Rob Mok
ondrejzika.bsky.social
Postdoc affordability index for ERC starting grants (based on Eurozone inflation)

While in 2014, the fixed 1.5 mil EUR budget amounted to 9.84 theoretical 3-postdoc positions, in 2024 we are at 6.67, that's 32.3% loss in purchasing power.

I will just leave it here.
Reposted by Rob Mok
mbeyeler.bsky.social
👁️🧠 New preprint: We demonstrate the first data-driven neural control framework for a visual cortical implant in a blind human!

TL;DR Deep learning lets us synthesize efficient stimulation patterns that reliably evoke percepts, outperforming conventional calibration.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Diagram showing three ways to control brain activity with a visual prosthesis. The goal is to match a desired pattern of brain responses. One method uses a simple one-to-one mapping, another uses an inverse neural network, and a third uses gradient optimization. Each method produces a stimulation pattern, which is tested in both computer simulations and in the brain of a blind participant with an implant. The figure shows that the neural network and gradient methods reproduce the target brain activity more accurately than the simple mapping.
Reposted by Rob Mok
Reposted by Rob Mok
janderz8.bsky.social
Hi #canadian researchers - please sign this petition to help ensure funding isn’t cut to tri council agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR). We’re looking at potential 15% cuts to ALL federal spending including grants win.newmode.net/canadianasso...
New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore
win.newmode.net
robmok.bsky.social
I would think talks in conference symposia are not, as you and the group applied for it? You can be invited by the group I guess..
Reposted by Rob Mok
robmok.bsky.social
I'm now in the alternative universe where "corresponding author" (not just 1st/last author) and officially listed as "invited" talks/lectures matter. Now I have to decide what counts as invited. Like if I ask people if I can give a talk, and they "invite" me to give a talk.
Reposted by Rob Mok
neural-reckoning.org
Is anarchist science possible? As an experiment, we got together a large group of computational neuroscientists from around the world to work on a single project without top down direction. Read on to find out what happened. 🤖🧠🧪
Diagram of how the "collaborative modelling of the brain" (COMOB) project started. Starting material lead to group research or solo research, coming together in online workshops (monthly) in an iterative cycle, finishing with writing up together. The diagram is illustrated with colourful cartoon blob characters.
Reposted by Rob Mok
iris-meredith.bsky.social
I found a delightful new Russian joke today.

"Would the people of Russia ever be OK with a female president?"

"Yes, but I don't think he's going to transition"
Reposted by Rob Mok
bradpostle.bsky.social
The Dept. of Psychology at the U. Wisconsin–Madison has an opening for an Assistant Professor in the area of Computational Neuroscience and/or Cognitive Science, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI).

Domain of behavior or cognition is open. Details at jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/assista...
Assistant Professor of Psychology - Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...
jobs.wisc.edu
Reposted by Rob Mok
Prince of Persia was a groundbreaking game for its accurate character movement back in the late 80's. To do this, the creator videotaped his own brother running and jumping on the sidewalk and then did pixel mapping frame by frame as shown here at the Strong Museum of Play
Photo of the frames of a video of someone running and jumping for the game Prince of Persia.
Reposted by Rob Mok
wiringthebrain.bsky.social
We're going to see a lot of bullshit in the coming days and weeks about "causes of autism", and most will be based on flawed, over-interpreted observational studies (1/n)
robmok.bsky.social
And possibly inspire more to do more to solve the debate
robmok.bsky.social
Well the CCN GACs have no money, you just do it 😂. More for a debate and putting the arguments out there. It's true it won't solve anything immediately, but the questions are raised in an interesting way and some progress might be made.
robmok.bsky.social
One difficulty is nailing down what people actually think. 1) info/function is in specific brain areas vs distributed everywhere. 2) info/function is in specific areas vs it is flexible - it can depend on task/context/etc. Probably many more possible views
robmok.bsky.social
This is such an amazing thread (and subthreads), there are many people who might want to specify their predictions for an adversarial collaboration. Maybe you should try to organize it for the next @cogcompneuro.bsky.social GAC?