Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tim Viney

@vineytj.bsky.social

700 followers 260 following 42 posts

Associate Professor of Neuroscience @ Dept. Pharmacology, University of Oxford. Spatial memory, cell types, amyloids, dementia, brain rhythms. https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=tgCeCVwAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

scholar.google.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

*New preprint from the lab* – “Granularity of thalamic head direction cells”
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
🧠📈 🧪
1/11

Granularity of thalamic head direction cells

Head direction signaling is fundamental for spatial orientation and navigation. The anterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (ADn) contains a high density of head direction (HD) cells that process sensori...

doi.org

2 10 20

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 16h

This is a strange and surprising finding. Need to study the electron micrographs in the suppl material carefully (without the colourful shading) to learn more. Note that neurons can have cilia, I wonder if this is what they have detected e.g. recent review here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.tc...

Christophe 🔬 L @christlet.bsky.social · 6d

Nanotubes everywhere between neurons! A bit skeptical about these "dendrite-dendrite nanotubes" from a phalloidin staining in culture, but let's read on… www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 6d

After many months of work on the revision, we have a paper accepted today (pending minor revisions). Also had a paper rejected at the same time (but going to ignore this email for today!)

Reposted by Tim Viney

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 7d

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91

Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour The world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91, her institute has said. The Jane Goodall Institute announced that she had passed away of natural causes while in California as part of a US speaking tour. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

32 260 670

Reposted by Tim Viney

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience @kingsioppn.bsky.social · 12d

What do we know about the causes of #autism? @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social Professor Laura Andreae speaks with BBC Radio 4's Inside Science about the genetic factors behind autism, particularly around twin studies.

🔊 Listen now: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

BBC Inside Science - The science behind autism - BBC Sounds

What do we know about the causes of autism?

www.bbc.co.uk

1 10 20

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 14d

This is incredible news!
It is also a good example of why it is so important to identify and define the most vulnerable brain regions and cell types for a given disease. In this case it is medium spiny neurons of the striatum.

UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences @uclbrainscience.bsky.social · 14d

🧵 BREAKING: Gene therapy shows promise in slowing Huntington’s disease progression. A major milestone in neurodegenerative disease research. @uclqsion.bsky.social @ucl-hd.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time

One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Tim Viney

RCSB Protein Data Bank @rcsbpdb.bsky.social · 19d

September 21 is #WorldAlzheimersDay
Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases are linked to unnatural aggregation of proteins into amyloid fibrils.

PDB101: Molecule of the Month: Amyloids

Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases are linked to unnatural aggregation of proteins into amyloid fibrils.

pdb101.rcsb.org

4 9

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 21d

Thanks Abhilasha! And still using the same amplifiers. ADn HD cells also have a distinctive sound that is different from neurons in AV, DG, LD, etc.

Reposted by Tim Viney

Adrien Peyrache @apeyrache.bsky.social · 22d

🚨New preprint alert!

The thalamus has long been seen as a relay of sensory signals to cortex.
But could it also generate its own structured activity?
Our study explores this question in the head-direction (HD) system.

Some explanation 🧵👇 1/13

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

Coherent dynamics of thalamic head-direction neurons irrespective of input

While the thalamus is known to relay and modulate sensory signals to the cortex, whether it also participates in active computation and intrinsic signal generation remains unresolved. The anterodorsal...

www.biorxiv.org

2 25 91

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

We suggest this ‘HD hub’ consists of different cell types and circuits, acting as ‘parallel channels’ coordinating sensory-modulated updates of the head direction for spatial navigation.

11/11

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

Type III HD cells were highly unusual as they avoided the TRN and projected ventrally to the cortex. These cells had distinctive twisted dendrites, were CR+, and were located in the dorsomedial ADn.

10/11

1 2

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

We found 3 types of projection patterns: type I HD cells formed collaterals in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) and cortex, projecting via the striatum and cingulum bundle. Type II HD cells additionally innervated the dorsomedial striatum.

9/11

1 3

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

We found a mediolateral gradient of calretinin (CR)-expressing HD cells, with CR+ cells tending to have narrower HD tuning widths, lower firing rates, and produced fewer spikes during rebound bursts compared to CR- cells.

8/11

1 2

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

We confirmed that HD cells could respond to sound stimuli, but found that not all cells were responsive, suggesting cell-type-specificity. Also, some sound-responsive cells were ‘boosted’ by muscle twitches. Other HD cells strongly increased or decreased firing during running periods.

7/11

1 1

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

We recorded HD cells with a range of short-latency responses to light pulses e.g. ‘ON inhibition OFF excitation’, or ‘ON excitation’. We suggest these patterns could help anchor various allocentric cues.

6/11

1 2

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

We used single neuron extracellular recordings and juxtacellular labelling to define the firing patterns, neurochemical profiles, and connectivity of individual HD cells in the ADn of awake mice.

5/11

1 5

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

Interestingly, some but not all HD cells stop firing when the animal is held by the experimenter (Taube, J Neurosci 1995) and others increase firing in response to sensory stimuli (Blanco-Hernandez et al, Nat Neuro 2024). This hints at some diversity of thalamic HD cells.

4/11

1 1

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

A high density of HD cells are found in the anterodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (ADn). The central dogma is that they act as a single functional unit for routing HD signals to the cortex.

3/11

1 2

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

Have you ever wondered how you know which direction you are facing? This is to do with specialised neurons in the brain known as head direction (HD) cells, which are fundamental for spatial navigation.

(Image from Taube 2024 doi.org/10.1002/hipo...)

2/11

1 1

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · 23d

*New preprint from the lab* – “Granularity of thalamic head direction cells”
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
🧠📈 🧪
1/11

Granularity of thalamic head direction cells

doi.org

2 10 20

Reposted by Tim Viney

Wolberslab @DZNE Magdeburg @wolberslab.bsky.social · Aug 25

15 Sep is the deadline to submit your abstract for a poster or data blitz talk at #iSCAN 2025. Don't miss this opportunity and join us for an exciting meeting on spatial cognition in aging and neurodegeneration!
Abstract submission: tinyurl.com/2r7f8dup
Meeting website: tinyurl.com/mry28bfc

Tim Viney @vineytj.bsky.social · Jul 28

It is great to see Teevra cells specifically named and included in a model from 2021. Although most other papers still use generic 'medial septal inhibition' as a single modulatory input. See update from same group, which includes Komal cells! PMCID PMC10027749

1 1

Reposted by Tim Viney

Nicole Rust @nicolecrust.bsky.social · Jul 13

(buried in a reply, but) This is mind-blowing & deserves a post. Scroll to "video" in this article to watch what happens when the human hypothalamus is stimulated: it's a combo of embarrassment/shame and intense body sensations emanating from the heart. WOW.

www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S193...

Complex negative emotions induced by electrical stimulation of the human hypothalamus

Stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamic region in animals has been reported to cause attack behavior labeled as sham-rage without offering information about the internal affective state of the an...

www.brainstimjrnl.com

7 24 100

Reposted by Tim Viney

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Jun 26

NEW: An Oxford study has found that a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is associated with a 29% reduction in dementia risk over the following 18 months.

The findings suggest a novel explanation for how vaccines produce this effect.

Read more ⬇️

How do vaccines reduce the risk of dementia? | University of Oxford

A new study by the University of Oxford, published in the journal npj Vaccines, shows that a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is associated with a 29% reduction in dementia risk in

www.ox.ac.uk

8 21

Reposted by Tim Viney

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Jun 25

NEW: Eight exceptional individuals whose achievements have made lasting contributions to the world were recognised today with honorary degrees at Oxford University’s Encaenia.

More information ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-06...

Honorary degrees awarded at Encaenia 2025 | University of Oxford

Recipients of honorary degrees at Oxford University today included a Nobel laureate and a multiple Olympic, World and European champion, and represented the fields of sport, entertainment,

www.ox.ac.uk

7 4 31

Reposted by Tim Viney

Exeter College, Oxford @exeter.ox.ac.uk · Jun 25

Exeter College was honoured to host Lord Crewe’s Benefaction this morning in the Fellows’ Garden, part of @ox.ac.uk Encaenia ceremony.

The Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and honorands gathered with other University dignitaries, before processing to the Sheldonian Theatre.

Honorands, Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor at Encaenia

1 1