@chantelpratphd.bsky.social and I found a welcome moment of joy in recording this episode of Brains for Dinner, where we got to geek out about the neuroscience of dreams. Hope you all can enjoy it too: substack.com/@chantelprat...

open.substack.com/pub/chantelp... Sharing some thoughts about shaping change in the new year. #2026 #brain #neuroscience #learning #kindness #change

After our last episode of Brains for Dinner, it occurs to me that transcendental meditation (TM) is really designed for people like me who think verbally. Those who think in pictures like @andreastocco.com are free to repeat a mantra with thoughts racing in the visual domain! Got my thinking cap on!

I don’t like to play favorites but this was probably my favorite episode of B4D so far. Do you talk to yourself when you think? Or are your thoughts more like inner PowerPoints? What difference does it make (and other thoughts that keep me up at night!)

If you want to take a stab at Stocco in Love I’ll be happy to play Mercutio 🤣🤣🤣 😍

I’m excited to share that I’ve been selected for the first Research Impact Advocates cohort at UW. The faculty chosen for this program get training in science communication, which I’ve never had! It’s probably not a big deal but it feels like one to this first gen small town girl with big ideas.

I just finished the first full draft of my new book about how to partner with your brain to shape learning and growth! It feels SO GOOD! I can’t wait to share it with everyone 🤓🧠

A little weekend listen perhaps?

This resonates. T minus 60 days ‘til my deadline 🤓

I asked #ChatGPT to create a visual of the Yerkes-Dodson law which it correctly described verbally as “the classic inverted U-shaped curve” then drew this. 🤔

Our newest paper is out 🧠🧐 #brain #memory #science

#language is a code for thinking and communicating, but is computer #code also a language? In this week’s episode of Brains for Dinner @andreastocco.com and I geek out on symbolic cognition, skill learning, and #Shakespeare to name a few. Is Python a language and if so are #bilinguals better?

Calling all scientists, lovers or supporters of science, or folks just trying to make changes in their lives and wondering why they won’t stick. Do you have 5 minutes to help inform my second book—focused on how to partner with your brain to shape change? docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Dear friends and Bluesky 🧠 geeks: it's the weekend, and I want to share that @chantelpratphd.bsky.social and I recorded our second episode of Brains for Dinner. This one is about dance, language, and basal ganglia, and the burning question: why don't ducks dance? open.substack.com/pub/chantelp...

open.substack.com/pub/chantelp... This was a fun one! #brains #dance #evolution #mating #animals #language #communication

What’s in it for you? Laughs, learning, and possibly even inspiration for great date questions! I hope you’ll join me and my favorite neuroscientist @andreastocco.com for dinner!

Exciting!!!! My first European translation 💃🏻🧠

Our malleable brain enables us to encode learning and experience in a way that is much more powerful than simply data storage. @chantelpratphd.bsky.social explores this fascinating, complex superpower: buff.ly/pqcBzH9

Can’t remember the last time I saw a movie that blew my mind like this one did.

Just turned 50 in Borneo and did some thinking and writing about what it all means to me. open.substack.com/pub/chantelp... #science #power #belonging #obedience

Thankful for my naturally intelligent brain today which can spot Google Maps’ advice as “enshitification” from a mile away (sometimes). #AI #brain #cognition #intelligence

🧪🧠 #brain #belonging #different #neurodiversity Theories that are on size fits all don’t fit anyone very well.

Say you’ve been doing neuroscience research for a long time without saying you’ve been doing neuroscience research for a long time. My favorite 🧠 in 1998 and 2021 🥰 #brain #neuroscience

#sciencenotsilence Art credit goes to @andreastocco.com Today — and every day— we stand up for science!

What the duck? #vibes

My emotional support baby horse and amazing husband @andreastocco.com plus Taylor Swift for the healing moment of today. 🥰 #horses #Swiftie #connection

This is my best attempt to follow Arthur Ashe’s call to “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” #brain #talent #training #recruitment #diversity #intelligence #experience open.substack.com/pub/chantelp...

Well I guess I can cross having a dinner with Temple Grandin where I can ask her every single question I have about her brain and answer all the questions she has that I have any clue about off of my bucket list! 🙌🧠🤯🧪 What an amazing woman. #autism #brain #visualthinking #celebratedifferences

@psytoolkit.org is anyone else having difficulties uploading images? We’ve been getting this error for the past two days?

🧪 #sciencesky #language #brain #stilllearningtonavigatebluesky #worthit

Excited to be part of this line-up, presenting my research on how learning programming languages resembles natural language learning! cogneuroidall-hip.red.uic.edu

How many orchids am I away from being a crazy orchid lady? Is that a thing? Because I feel the pull…. #orchids #plants

I love to read stories written by people with different experiences. Last year I started reading books written by Black women for Black History Month, but it extended into a practice for every day because I find it expansive. Here’s my plan for 2025, with my favorites from 2024! Share yours? #books

She gets me 🥰

More bunny core 🥰 Welcome to Peanut’s grooming station. Dirty rats? No fears! #bunny #rabbit #animals #pets

Dopamine dose for the day from Peanut and Butter 🥰 #pets #animals #bunnies

Off to put my brain and heart in front of a classroom if young people, trying to make sense of the world and their place in it. If this kind of thing makes you feel nervous… 🤷🏻‍♀️

Feeling all kinds of terrible today. But also grateful for the ways 🧪science and language can help me process BIG FEELINGS. #mlk #trump #politics #brain #neuroscience #belonging #environment open.substack.com/pub/chantelp...

Why do people with Huntington's disease take so long to show symptoms? Because of a faulty DNA-repair mechanism that racks up errors until they hit a threshold, and neurons start to die www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Which one would get your treat? 🤣🤣🤣

Who is ready for the ducks versus doodles puzzle challenge? 🤩 #duck #pets #intelligence #dog

Happy New Year 🧪 #sciencesky from my 🧠 to yours! chantelpratphd.substack.com/p/how-to-par...

Happy holidays everyone!

I’m fairly sure I’m a dancer…

One last Substack musing before I go into hibernation and prepare to emerge refreshed in 2025! chantelpratphd.substack.com/p/what-does-...

“I think we are becoming increasingly aware that having different perspectives, having diverse perspectives at the decision-making table is valuable and important”. @chantelpratphd.bsky.social dropping a ton of truth in this conversation. www.ted.com/podcasts/bus...

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Day 20: Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky💙📚 #Books #BookChallenge