Ziyao Zhang
@bulezz.bsky.social
📤 142
📥 207
📝 27
postdoc at UC Berkeley, studying cognitive control and memory.
https://ziyaozz.github.io/
pinned post!
new preprint! 🐍 In a dynamic Snake game inspired task, we show participants flexibly replan their behaviors after distraction, but this ability is constrained by memory load and distraction strength. EEG results coming soon👀
osf.io/preprints/ps...
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OSF
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/x2rdc_v1
2 months ago
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Ziyao Zhang
Mrugank Dake
about 5 hours ago
New preprint! 🚨 Work w/ Sangita Dandekar & Clayton Curtis at NYU during my PhD. We show how prefrontal & visual cortices coordinate to keep working memories alive via localized & long-range β-band dynamics. 🧠
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
(1/5)
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https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.05.730488v1
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Ziyao Zhang
Sam Verschooren
3 days ago
🎉New paper out today in Nature Reviews Psychology🎉 with
@mjdahl.bsky.social
,
@mariamaly.bsky.social
, and
@thiasmittner.bsky.social
. We've been working on a unified framework for attentional states and the dynamics of transitions between them. 🧵
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Ziyao Zhang
Gouki Okazawa
7 days ago
New review with Cheng Xue at U Chicago
@cxue.bsky.social
in Trends
[email protected]
! We discuss the neural geometry of task-dependent computation: disentangled encoding, RNN modeling, switch cost, etc.
www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
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The ‘neat’ and ‘messy’ in task-dependent neural geometry and computation
To solve diverse real-world tasks, the brain must flexibly switch between task rules and adjust computations. Recent advances in analyzing neural data and modeling neural networks have revealed their ...
https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/abstract/S0166-2236(26)00094-9
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Ziyao Zhang
bioRxiv Neuroscience
12 days ago
Abstract and Concrete Working Memory Information in Human Visual Cortex
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.23.727368v1
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Ziyao Zhang
Joey Saito
14 days ago
Now out in Current Opinion in Neurobiology! We propose that biases in perception & memory emerge naturally from an adaptive, hierarchical human learning system. w/
@timbrady.bsky.social
+ sky-less et al.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Attraction and repulsion in perception and working memory as complementary outcomes of learning
Visual perception is imperfect. Fortunately, the environment contains an incredible amount of structure that observers can learn to exploit through ex…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959438826000553
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Ziyao Zhang
Jean-Rémi King
25 days ago
Announcing: a new interactive online tool for a quick and simple start of encoding or encoding: 🧠 fMRI, EEG, MEG, iEEG, spikes… preprocessing 💬 text 🔊 audio ▶️ video 🏞️ image… embeddings 📦 pip install neuralset 🔍https://facebookresearch.github.io/neuroai/neuralset/index.html
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MarleneRoesner.bsky.social
27 days ago
@wmsymposium.bsky.social
📢 📢 📢 ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS OPEN 📢 📢 📢 The
#workingmemory
Symposium will be held online July 14-17, 2026. 🥳 🎤🎤🎤Talks will be either a standard 12-minute length (with 3 minutes for Q&A), or a 3-minute data "blitz" style presentation.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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WMS 2026 Abstract Submission Form
The Working Memory Symposium (WMS) is a virtual conference promoting scientific discourse on working memory for researchers using any model system, targeting any population, and using any research met...
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSew2BJUkdKj3eMHGcFybz00n0Mo4d8lqnrqzx9gJ42E9ksK2Q/viewform
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Ziyao Zhang
Gus Hennings
26 days ago
I am thrilled to share that I will be joining the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at CU Boulder in January 2027, where I'll be starting the Affective Learning and Translational Memory (AltMem) Lab. I am also recruiting PhD students in the upcoming cycle (starting fall 2027)!
altmemlab.org
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AltMem Lab
AltMem Lab
https://altmemlab.org
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Ziyao Zhang
Aidan Horner
27 days ago
Very excited to have this officially published: A neural state space for episodic memories A brief thread...
#neuroskyence
#psychscisky
#cognition
🧪
@cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social
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A neural state space for episodic memories
Episodic memories are highly dynamic and change in nonlinear ways over time. This dynamism is not captured by existing systems consolidation theories …
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661325002840?via%3Dihub
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Ziyao Zhang
Botos Csabi
27 days ago
Jeee 🐦⬛ I am very proud of our joint effort with
@sreejan.bsky.social
on the project "Reason to Play" LRMs show human-like rule discovery, and their hidden states predict human brain activity during gameplay 10x better than previous methods Interactive demo + paper:
botcs.github.io/reason-to-pl...
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Reason to Play - Behavioral and Brain Alignment
32 fMRI-scanned humans and 8 frontier open weight LLMs play ARC-AGI like games with no rules given. The reasoning models match the human learning trajectories and their hidden states predict human bra...
https://botcs.github.io/reason-to-play/
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Ziyao Zhang
Valentin Schmutz
about 1 month ago
Unbelievably honoured to read Tatiana Engel's (
@engeltatiana.bsky.social
) wonderfully written Preview on our work "Linking neural manifolds to circtuit structure in recurrent networks" (with
@lpezon.bsky.social
&
@gerstnerlab.bsky.social
) in this issue of Neuron
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
🙏
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Finding clues to circuit structure in population dynamics and single-neuron selectivity
In this issue of Neuron, Pezon et al. introduce neural circuit models with flexible connectivity structure that can generate low-dimensional population dynamics with different distributions of single-...
https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(26)00282-5
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Ziyao Zhang
WMSymposium.bsky.social
about 1 month ago
Abstract submission for WMS2026 (July 14th-17th) is now open! If you are an early career researcher of working memory, please let us hear about your cool work by submitting your abstract (
forms.gle/MccRLJC1xXQ3...
). Deadline is May 31st.
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Ziyao Zhang
Davide Gheza
about 1 month ago
New preprint! Last year we showed humans adapt attention in a dimension-specific way when multiple things compete for attention. Now we read out the neural dynamics of this adaptation.
doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.16.688701
w/
@mikefreund.bsky.social
@theazalabak.bsky.social
@wouterkool.bsky.social
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Ziyao Zhang
Randolph Helfrich
about 1 month ago
Very excited to share our latest paper led by
@nbinish.bsky.social
in
@natneuro.nature.com
We demonstrate how a communication subspace channels higher-dimensional PFC dynamics into lower-D motor activity to enable efficient behavior using human iEEG.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
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A communication subspace relays context-dependent actions from human prefrontal to motor cortex - Nature Neuroscience
Context-dependent behavior selects actions according to task demands. Using direct brain recordings in humans, Binish et al. uncover how coordinated population activity efficiently channels informatio...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-026-02290-4
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Ziyao Zhang
Jay Hennig
about 1 month ago
🥳 Super excited to share our lab's first preprint, led by
@hungyun.bsky.social
"Distinct tasks engage shared neural subspaces in human hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵(1/9)
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https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.24.720703v1
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Ziyao Zhang
Brad Postle
about 1 month ago
Effects of TMS on the Decoding and Electrophysiology of Priority in Working Memory
www.eneuro.org/content/13/4...
More evidence for a (not-inhibitory) role for oscillatory dynamics in the low beta band in the encoding of priority in WM
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Effects of TMS on the Decoding and Electrophysiology of Priority in Working Memory
The flexible control of working memory (WM) requires prioritizing immediately task-relevant information while maintaining information with potential future relevance in a deprioritized state. Using do...
https://www.eneuro.org/content/13/4/ENEURO.0346-25.2026
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Ziyao Zhang
Tim Behrens
about 1 month ago
This looks absolutely amazing. Rats composing long action sequences out of short ones. mPFC constructing the long sequence on the fly. Reusing the primitive representations but composing them with progression along the composite. One of the most impressive things I have ever seen a rodent do.
add a skeleton here at some point
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Ziyao Zhang
Kanaka Rajan
about 2 months ago
✍️ In the
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
blog: our new tool built to compare the dynamics of complex systems when both internal circuitry and external inputs shape their behavior. Catch
@annhuang42.bsky.social
presenting this work at
#ICLR
!
kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/research/dee...
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InputDSA: Demixing then comparing recurrent and externally driven dynamics in complex systems - Kempner Institute
We explored how to measure the similarity between two complex systems when they are driven by external inputs, like biological neural circuits or reinforcement learning agents. Our novel method, calle...
https://kempnerinstitute.harvard.edu/research/deeper-learning/inputdsa-demixing-then-comparing-recurrent-and-externally-driven-dynamics-in-complex-systems/"
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Ziyao Zhang
Eliza Bliss-Moreau
about 2 months ago
Spread the word! We are recruiting for 6 new research professors at UC Davis' California National Primate Research Center. Open rank, open area, but must leverage 🐒 resources.
recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07561
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6 Positions - Assistant, Associate, Full Professional Researcher
University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!
https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07561
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Ziyao Zhang
Joey Saito
about 2 months ago
Many claim memory biases toward percepts reflect corruption in sensory signals. We challenge this view by showing that ppl adapt their integration rationally w/ experience. w/
@timbrady.bsky.social
Humans adaptively integrate memory and perception based on stimulus history |
osf.io/preprints/ps...
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https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/bej5n_v1
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Ziyao Zhang
Richard Allen
about 2 months ago
Exciting news for ICOM7 (International Conference on Memory), in Glasgow, 26th-30th July 2027. The conference website is live and we can announce our keynote speakers!
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Ziyao Zhang
Christos Constantinidis
about 2 months ago
Very excited to announce that my textbook on “Working Memory” is now available for pre-order!
shop.elsevier.com/books/workin...
A few thoughts
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Working Memory
Working Memory provides a comprehensive examination of the neural basis of working memory, defined as the cognitive ability to maintain information ov
https://shop.elsevier.com/books/working-memory/constantinidis/978-0-443-44982-6
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Ziyao Zhang
Hugo Spiers
about 2 months ago
This looks like a significant discovery from Doris Tao's lab: Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex
@nature.com
"..our findings indicate that there is a previously unknown mechanism for neural representation:.."
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Rapid concerted switching of the neural code in the inferotemporal cortex - Nature
Face cells in the macaque inferotemporal cortex are initially able to detect faces and then rapidly switch to a face-specific neural code to discriminate between different face identities.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10267-3
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Ziyao Zhang
Joey Saito
about 2 months ago
A shared code for perceiving and imagining objects in human ventral temporal cortex | Science
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt8343
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Ziyao Zhang
Runhao Lu | 陆润豪
2 months ago
Using time-resolved EEG/MEG decoding?🧠 Here’s a new approach! No feature engineering (decode from raw signals), but capturing info that standard decoding often misses (oscillatory/aperiodic activity, connectivity). Lightweight, INTERPRETABLE, and easy to use. (1/6)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.04.716475v1
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Ziyao Zhang
Mariam Aly
2 months ago
The Memory Disorders Research Society (
www.memorydisorders.org
) is now seeking nominations for new members! Self-nominations are welcome. Application is open until April 15 @ 11:59pm PT. Reach out if you have questions about the society or its (amazing) annual meeting!
forms.gle/Qn7mchoPpaqL...
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MDRS
MDRS is a professional society dedicated to the study of memory. Members engage in basic and clinical research into how memory works and why it fails.
https://www.memorydisorders.org/
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Preprint! Representations in working memory wax and wane with relevance. How does this affect what we remember later? We show that temporal expectations drive competition between items in working memory and that these neural dynamics predict long-term forgetting.
add a skeleton here at some point
2 months ago
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new preprint! 🐍 In a dynamic Snake game inspired task, we show participants flexibly replan their behaviors after distraction, but this ability is constrained by memory load and distraction strength. EEG results coming soon👀
osf.io/preprints/ps...
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https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/x2rdc_v1
2 months ago
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32
7
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Ziyao Zhang
tbiba.bsky.social
3 months ago
I am excited to share my first paper, showing that episodic memory formation is theta rhythmic, is now published in Nature Human Behavior! Check it out here:
rdcu.be/e6pzS
. Thanks to my PI, Katherine Duncan, and to my collaborators for their support on this journey! Stay tuned for iEEG follow up 🧠
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Episodic memory encoding fluctuates at a theta rhythm of 3–10 Hz
Nature Human Behaviour - Biba et al. show that episodic memory encoding fluctuates at a theta rhythm of 3–10 Hz.
https://rdcu.be/e6pzS
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Ziyao Zhang
4 months ago
Excited to share my first PhD paper with
@ashenhav.bsky.social
@shenhavlab.bsky.social
“Rejection-based choices discourage people from opting out of voting.”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Rejection-based choices discourage people from opting out of voting - Nature Communications
When people dislike their options for candidates, they tend to refrain from voting rather than voting for the candidate they like best. Here, the authors show that this tendency to opt out of lose-los...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-68472-7
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Our paper is now out at JNeuro!
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
How do we avoid attentional capture by salient stimuli? We found that inversions of singleton distractor representations support attentional suppression of salient items.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
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Ziyao Zhang
SueYeon Chung
4 months ago
Our paper is out in
@natneuro.nature.com
!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We develop a geometric theory of how neural populations support generalization across many tasks.
@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
@flatironinstitute.org
@kempnerinstitute.bsky.social
1/14
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I’m now a proud alum of Lewis-Peacock lab🦚. I’ll be joining the
@shenhavlab.bsky.social
at UCB in January to study adaptive behaviors and dynamic cognitive control. So grateful for the great journey and excited for what’s next!
6 months ago
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Ziyao Zhang
William Ngiam | 严祥全
6 months ago
Do you have an open working memory dataset and want it to be findable and reused? You can now add it to the Open WM Data Hub:
williamngiam.github.io/OpenWMData
! The collection of datasets tagged with useful metadata is steadily growing thanks to a small team of volunteers!
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OpenWMData
A collection of publicly available working memory datasets
https://williamngiam.github.io/OpenWMData
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Check out my SfN poster if you are interested in how retrospective and prospective representations in working memory work together to create plans and replans when being distracted! I will present it at the early career poster session at 6:45 pm on Saturday or from 1-5 on Tuesday.
7 months ago
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Ziyao Zhang
Soroush Mirjalili
8 months ago
🧠🚨 How does the hippocampus transform the visual similarity space to resolve memory interference? In this new preprint, we found that the hippocampus sequentially inverts the behaviorally relevant dimensions of similarity 🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Hippocampal transformations occur along dimensions of memory interference
The role of the hippocampus in resolving memory interference has been greatly elucidated by considering the relationship between the similarity of visual stimuli (input) and corresponding similarity o...
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.13.682242v1
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We found attentional suppression might be related to re-coding salient singleton locations in a inverted format to target locations
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Rapid inversion of singleton distractor representations underlies learned attentional suppression
In visually complex and dynamically changing environments, humans often face the challenge of filtering out salient stimuli that are presently irrelevant to their tasks. Recent evidence suggests that ...
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.08.680699v1
8 months ago
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Excited to share my first fMRI paper in
@pnas.org
We found that suppressing the encoding of one event can strengthen the neural representation of the next in CA1, and bias retrieval-related neural restatement away from suppressed information.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Maintenance suppression enhances subsequent associative learning | PNAS
Removing irrelevant information from working memory (WM) can free cognitive resources and reduce interference with current task goals. Beyond these...
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512322122
10 months ago
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Excited to share our work @jarrod on reconciling divergent distraction effects in visual working memory.
osf.io/preprints/psya…
. This project began as a learning experience in modeling memory errors during my first year at UT, and I’m thrilled to see it will be ou
t @psychscience.bsky.soci
al
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https://osf.io/preprints/psya…
about 1 year ago
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