New preprint on sensory cortex dysfunction in Scn2a+/- mouse. Profoundly degraded sensory tuning and maps in S1--most dramatic of any ASD model. And rescued in post-critical period adults with CRISPRa. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Congrats to Teresa Puthussery, who is a terrific circuit-systems neuroscientist at Berkeley, on receiving the MacArthur award!

Representing @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social #Neuroscience chair @danfeldman.bsky.social and @standupforscience.bsky.social at annual #BT5k fundraiser for brain tumor research. GO BEARS!

Turns out that the “loudest” neurons are not always the most relevant ones. Great article about a fascinating and important result by @hayleybounds.bsky.social , graduate of @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social neuroscience.

New paper from Deepa Ramamurthy in my lab, just out. Mice flexibly shift attention between different whiskers based on the recent history of whisker stimuli and rewards, during a tactile detection task. We saw a strong neural correlate of this attentional capture in S1 cortex. rdcu.be/euij3

Thousands at #NoKings in Oakland!

About 2000 people at #HandsOff in sleepy North Berkeley!

Hey! Are you an American considering a PhD or a postdoc, and the funding / academic situation just went absolutely bonkers? Canada's federal funding awards just added eligibility for international applicants if at Cdn institutions. www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NewsDetail-D...

Proud to be among ~2000 people at SUFS today in San Francisco. Inspiring speakers and great energy! @standupforscience.bsky.social @mfeller.bsky.social and @adernburg.bsky.social were organizers!

We study how neural circuits and coding are affected in mouse models of severe genetic forms of autism. New from Han Chin Wang in my lab. The Cntnap2 model of autism has a blurry, unstable whisker map. Adds to growing evidence for degraded neural coding in forms of ASD. #neuroskyence

Recent Curr. Biol. paper by Deepa Ramamurthy in my lab. Asks what behavioral signals are encoded by VIP neurons in whisker S1 during goal-directed behavior (beyond locomotion & arousal). Answer: local whisker signals, licking, and expected value of reward. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37499665/

Finally moving to Bluesky! Will be posting papers, lab news, neuroscience at Berkeley. Hope people find it useful. #Neuroskyence #neuroscience