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Thiago F. A. França

@thiago-franca.bsky.social

200 followers 470 following 110 posts

Professor of Physiology at UFFS in Brazil. Studying the physiology of behavior. Substack (em português): https://thiagofranca.substack.com/

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · May 27

My paper on exploring undiscovered public knowledge in neuroscience is now online at EJN, as part of a special issue on the relevance of a philosophical toolkit for neuroscience:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
The text is also available as a preprint here: osf.io/preprints/ps...

Exploring undiscovered public knowledge in neuroscience

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · 7d

www.researchgate.net/journal/Jour...

Journal of General Physiology (JGP) - Editor Pick by Ben Short

JGP editors are pleased to present a collection of some of the most read and discussed papers published in JGP over the past 12 months. This week's selections explore the modulation of acid-sensing io...

www.researchgate.net

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · 12d

Fully agree w/ the tread. I have strong reservations about using LLMs to summarize papers, organize notes, writing outlines/drafts, and finding research questions, but what strikes me the most is that people would *want* to automate these tasks. These are the tasks were we often learn new things...

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Reposted by Thiago F. A. França

BehavEcolPapers @behavecolpapers.bsky.social · Aug 16

What do we measure when we measure pubertal development? Conceptual challenges in measuring and interpreting pubertal effects on #brain and #behavior HormBehav

What do we measure when we measure pubertal development? Conceptual challenges in measuring and interpreting pubertal effects on #brain and #behavior

Publication date: October 2025 Source: Hormones and Behavior, Volume 175 Author(s): Thiago F.A. França, Hugo Cogo-Moreira, Sabine Pompeia

dlvr.it

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Aug 14

This may not be the best solution for all research questions. Depending on the hypothesis being tested, specific pubertal indicators are preferable. But the latent variable approach has the potential of being broadly applicable and to allow the production of a more coherent body of evidence.

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Aug 14

We argue that one way to deal with these issues when investigating pubertal effects of brain and behavior is to use a latent variable approach, combining different pubertal measures to yield more reliable and interpretable estimates. +

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Aug 14

Moreover, while there are strong correlations between different measures of pubertal development (eg, diff physical indicators/hormonal measures) these are far from perfect. So using different measures leads to different estimated effects, and is often unclear which measure is best in each context +

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Aug 14

Here we analyze the different measures currently used to assess pubertal development and to determine pubertal effects on brain and behavior. We show that interpreting such pubertal effects can be tricky because of complex relationships between pubertal measures and the physiology of puberty +

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Aug 14

Our paper on pubertal measures is finally out!

What do we measure when we measure pubertal development? Conceptual challenges in measuring and interpreting pubertal effects on brain and behavior

authors.elsevier.com/c/1lblI,QxXs...

A preprint is also available here: osf.io/preprints/ps... +

authors.elsevier.com

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Aug 12

Our review of puberty and the development of self-regulation/executive functions is finally out!

We show that behavioral evidence don't fit well w/ standard models of adolescent cognitive development, and discuss ways to address current limitations.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The Effect of Pubertal Status on Self‐Regulation of Behavior and Executive Functions—A Systematic Review

Behavioral self-regulation (SR) refers to a set of abilities that enable flexible, adaptive, and goal-directed behavior, including the abilities known as hot (emotional regulation) and cool (e.g., co...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jul 21

An effort to trick AI tools *that should not be used to review papers according to pretty much everyone's policy*. The whole thing keeps going further down the cynical rabbit hole...

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jul 12

I think you are going to like this one: aeon.co/essays/the-e...

The evidence is clear: learning styles theory doesn’t work | Aeon Essays

A teaching approach that is based on students’ preferences sounds laudable. But this misunderstands how learning happens

aeon.co

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jul 12

...there is prediction and inference, for sure, but early processing also seems to have a very constructive nature, where it does not make sense to throw information out just yet.

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jul 12

Sounds interesting, will read! I've always been skeptical of the idea of implementing predictive coding very early in sensory cortices. It does not seem to match the general workflow of sensory processing...

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 27

open.substack.com/pub/statmode...

Reckless disregard for the truth coming from cops, doctors, and scientists

: A rant.

open.substack.com

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 21

Great talk by @matthewcobb.bsky.social on the life and times of Francis Crick. Can't wait for the book!

www.youtube.com/live/JkXcteR...

The life and times of Francis Crick | The Royal Society

YouTube video by The Royal Society

www.youtube.com

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

I wouldn't say we have none, but wouldn't say the case is settled either, so I get your point. In any case, this was an interesting conversation. If you happen to have something written on this topic that you can share, I would very much like to read it.

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

Thanks for clarifying. We are indeed on the same page regarding the definition of FW.

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

OK, then I have underestimated this possibility. Still, I think the main issue stands.
bsky.app/profile/thia...

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

This is theoretically sound, but I find this line of argumentation somewhat unsubstantial. No one seems to have a plausible mechanism for exploring indeterminacy to obtain FW instead of just random behavior, and none of this seem necessary to explain agency, which is the thing we know really exists.

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

Of course, the whole thing also dependes on what exactly we count as free will. There are many definitions and it is easy to talk past one another...

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

Oh, yes, that is pretty much my point (though I could be wrong, of course). I was just clarifying that this point is not based on the workings of the brain specifically, but on the basic observation that quantum effects are extremely hard to maintain as systems get larger.

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

Just to clarify, when I say quantum indeterminacy doesn't carry over to macro levels I say this because of particle interactions constraining quantum states, not based on mind-related considerations at all.

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

...how we could possibly exploit this beyond higher level constraints that would work even in a deterministic setting. And just being able to constrain lower level dynamics does not grant an agent FW. The agent's structure as a system could be determined so as to not allow true counterfactuals. 2/2

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Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

I think this asks too much from quantum indeterminacy. Not only there are deterministic interpretations that cannot be ruled out, but this does not seem to carry over to macro levels. Moreover, even if we take things as only probabilistically determined, it is unclear...1/

Thiago F. A. França @thiago-franca.bsky.social · Jun 16

My problem w/ this point is that I have never seen a clear definition of what is this middle ground between randomness and determinism. It seems to amount to saying the agent has causal power while being in some ill-defined state of not being causally determined nor being random.