Is this a model of how the brain works?

The University approves plans for the Cambridge Mind and Brain Institute (CMBi). An evolution of the renowned CBU, bridging across Schools and Departments, the new Institute will integrate discovery science with clinical innovation to transform brain health. #Neuroscience #MentalHealth

Our review of 103 studies of the neonatal brain at rest shows group-level developmental changes in functional connectivity, but also evidence for significant inter-individual variability. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

How do #prenatal & #postnatal periods shape the developing human #cortex? This study uses #neonatal MRI to show that time in the womb drives widespread, uniform maturation, whereas time after birth produces more region- & depth-specific changes across the cortex @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/47o6rpk

How does the brain adapt when a child is born with an upper limb difference? Research from @mrccbu.bsky.social @durham.ac.uk reveals widespread changes across the brain, highlighting its remarkable ability to reorganise and support adaptation to the world around them. Find out more: bit.ly/3Ov88dT

"Babies can categorise objects better at two months than previously known." - Professor Rhodri Cusack from Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and co-author of the research speaks to NewsTalk. Listen to the interview: ow.ly/MqA650Y8ZbB @rhodricusack.bsky.social @trinityneuro.bsky.social

I'm very fortunate to have been continuously funded by the MRC for most of my career despite some funding squeezes. However, things now look dire; first cutting all proper unit funding, then scrapping programme grants, and now circa 2% funding rate: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Thrilled to share our paper on the formation of brain shape in human newborns, just out @natneuro.nature.com: tinyurl.com/2ty4ef43 Using #fractal analysis of #MRI data from the developing Human Connectome Project (lnkd.in/dxeHbJX6), we show that brain shape closely captures infant age and genetics ⬇️

Subtle changes in the body may reveal how the #brain develops before behaviours emerge. In their new blog, Drs Chloe Wong & Laurel Fish explore how #DNA methylation is linked to the pupillary light reflex, offering insight into #autism development. 🔗 www.kcl.ac.uk/what-the-eye...

Direct Fit to Nature: An Evolutionary Perspective on Biological and Artificial Neural Networks www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... - thought-provoking (2019) paper from @urihasson.bsky.social and colleagues

Mapping the Developmental Trajectory of Functional Brain Networks in Early Infancy: Insights into Typical Maturation | bioRxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵

Annette Karmiloff-Smith. She ended every seminar/keynote I ever saw with a picture of her kids and grandkids as a note on what's important and that succesful women in academia can have a family too. I told her the second time how inspirational I'd found that and she was absolutely lovely.

First human newborn paper from my NSF CAREER Award! Automated detection of mouth opening in newborn infants - with our amazing @umiamipsych.bsky.social team: Guangyu Zung, Yeojin Amy Ahn, @tiffany6390.bsky.social, @semaylott.bsky.social, Arushi Malik, @dmessinger.bsky.social doi.org/10.3758/s134...

The world through infant eyes: Evidence for the early emergence of the cardinal orientation bias www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

And a very helpful and informative commentary on the paper by @tuckerdrob.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 “Steven Rose obituary: Vituperative neuroscientist,” in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...

Join our #NewBONDS study at #Cambridge #Babylab ✨ Expectant and young parents are invited take part investigating what effect early interactions have on developing brain🔎🧠🐣 📨Get in touch to learn more! #developmental #psychology #neuroscience #research #family #interaction

Join us for a 2-day international conference "Interventions & Recovery"🧠 bit.ly/46QQ1WG We'll cover cell & gene therapies, pharmaceutical innovations, and cutting-edge neurotechnology Check out our Programme!👇https://neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/camneuro-events/8th-cambridge-neuroscience-symposium/?tab=2

thrilled to share this project over a decade in the making out now in @pnas.org! We show that precocious GABA boosting in neonates by early sevoflurane/propofol anesthetic exposure accelerates visual cortical maturation in human infants www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Excellent work from my colleague Daniel Wechsler showing that "Mother–child autism trait similarity positively predicted both social functioning and psychological well-being in children..". Trait similarity may act as a protective or promotive factor. acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

1/ New paper out in @commsbio.nature.com, led by @marinv.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1038/s420...! Across several past studies, we showed how newborns' degraded vision may benefit human development and inspire more robust deep networks. We have referred to this as Adaptive Initial Degradations (AID).

DNA is often called a “blueprint for life”. In common parlance a blueprint refers to (e.g.) an architect plan, technical drawing or engineering design. DNA does indeed contain information to guide construction, in this case of a living organism. But beyond that, similarities rapidly break down. 2/n

The latest essay in our #NeuroAI series explores how inspiration from how babies learn language might improve language models.

Delighted to be part of the team on this breakthrough infant behaviour genetics study led by @angelicaronald.bsky.social and Anna Gui: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

From our 'infant sibs' cohorts we are finding increasing evidence for Chronogeneity as a way to view heterogeneity in autism. In other words, different ages of onset may reflect different types of neurodiversity. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Along with the new statue, proud that my College (Kings) has now acquired some of Turing's notebooks (thanks to a generous donation). Kings was also an early career haven for David Marr and Geoff Hinton, so there must be something in the water? www.kings.cam.ac.uk/news/2025/al...

The media circus on the slightly modified wolf mixed with the nonsensical hype of de-extinction only highlights the need to greatly shift how we talk about genes and genetic "information" in popular discourse. Oyama's groundbreaking book and Lewontin's prescient forward should be a starting point.

Great paper adding to the recent evidence for pulvinar as an organiser of human cortical development, and potentially "training" cortical specialisation. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Shocked at the cuts to University staff and research funding across UK, Netherlands and, of course, the situation in US. I'm old enough to remember the massive cuts to science in the early Thatcher years, but at least we young scientists could join the 'brain drain' to the US at the time.

There is still a week left to apply! www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/49974/

So excited to share our Perspective out this week in Translational Psychiatry! We provide a conceptual framework for studying brain function in infancy. A true labor of love and hopefully useful for many related questions! @drbcallaghan.bsky.social Open access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The developmental emergence of reliable cortical representations 🧠🤖 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.nature.com/articles/s41... Understanding continuities and discontinuities between pre and postnatal behaviour in humans..

After 8 years as Head of Department (Cambridge, Psychology), I am standing down in September... which will give me time for things like Bluesky!