Our open-access article - Testing circuit-level theories of consciousness in humans - together with Yunkai Zhu, Carolina Fernandez Pujol, @dvwz.bsky.social, @jonescompneurolab.bsky.social, @tmarvan.bsky.social, and @danclab.bsky.social, was just published @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social.

Could we understand vision as a type of problem-solving? In this new paper, we develop a computational model that iteratively refines the hypothesis about the visual input with evolutionary search. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... work led by @tarunkhajuria.bsky.social #visionscience #neuroAI

We systematically reviewed 23 in vitro and 26 in vivo electrophysiological studies on psychedelic compounds, with an emphasis on layer 5 pyramidal neurons. Our results challenge the simplified view that psychedelics uniformly increase cortical excitability www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

If you're interested in consciousness, please check this accepted chapter where I try to confront two major assumptions 1) the NCC is probably some type of pattern of spiking 2) we're close to figuring out the computations underlying consciousness arxiv.org/abs/2506.21485 #consci #assc28 🧵👇

Researchers in Estonia created a logic game that requires creating a mental model of a haunted house. It's not easy! Only 31% of humans can solve it. But that's way better than generative AI models. The game is fun, try it via the link below. Whatever we mean by reasoning, this is reasoning.

A great thread by Matthew Larkum on our recent paper🧵 He clarifies how we model the experiment with the Turing machine and ends his thread with the hard choice the computational functionalist must face😢

The belief that artificial consciousness is coming crucially depends on the assumption that consciousness is a computation. In this new paper, we'll try to convince you that consciousness cannot be a computation w Albert Gidon and M.Larkum www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu... #neuroAI #consci

'The illusion of Conscious AI' - new short piece of @bigthink.com bigthink.com/neuropsych/t... (for the longer version, see my Behavioural and Brain Sciences target article, which is now accepting commentary proposals): www.cambridge.org/core/journal... 🧠

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸? Don't expect simple mappings between mind and brain. Check out this piece I wrote for Aeon. aeon.co/essays/how-t...

With immense pleasure, here is our #TICS opinion paper on "mind blanking"! @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social **Where is my mind?** A neurocognitive investigation of mind blanking www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... With Jenny Windt, @antoinelutz.bsky.social and @ademertzi.bsky.social

Proud to announce our primer on "Ten principles for reliable, efficient, and adaptable coding in psychology and cognitive neuroscience" www.nature.com/articles/s44... This primer is for beginners to get started, advanced programmers to improve, and PIs. #psychology #psychsci #cogsci #neuroskyence

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 How can network science tackle complex biological systems? Substantially reworked version Largely conceptual, would be happy to see others fill in details or collaborate if people find it of value osf.io/preprints/os... #complexity

I am so happy—this is the first 1st author paper I have written, since the cancer diagnosis of my late wife seven years ago. 📑 PAPER ALERT: "Beyond binding: from modular to natural vision" in Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2025) sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New paper from the Neurosurgery Research Team at BCM! "Learning and language in the unconscious human hippocampus" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We created the simplest possible scenario for testing the flexibility of world models in LLMs and humans🌍 Your favorite model cannot really solve the game (also tested DeepSeek and O3 mini). If you try hard, you can💪 paper osf.io/preprints/os... game paul-henryp.github.io/hauntedhouse

2.5 years after ‘the great debate’ at ASSC Amsterdam, we revisit it: Lamme, @standehaene.bsky.social , @smfleming.bsky.social , Boly and @anilseth.bsky.social present their theories, and Melloni and myself try to extract some insights and criticisms. >>> www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

From tiny aha's to big realizations: The bigger the conflict, the deeper the insight💡 🌩️ We propose a new theory of mental breakthroughs bridging insights from problem-solving, psychotherapy, psychedelics, and meditation. out now in Cognition Free access: authors.elsevier.com/a/1ka-O2Hx2-...

I have a post-doc position to study the effect of AI on education. How can we ensure that AI tools enhance natural intelligence? The position is a part of the Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. Please repost - not easy to get people to work in Estonia 🥶 #edusky #neuroAI

What's the difference between artificial and human creativity? In this new paper, I also discuss how AI may negatively affect the internal processes of human creativity, such as the development of skills, creative authenticity, and the diversity of ideas onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The issue is perhaps this: biological neurons are cells, artificial neurons are just a piece of code. H1: this difference doesn't matter as all computation is done by weights & spiking patterns H2: this difference matters, as weights & spiking are just one aspect To me, this is far from settled.

Post-doc position: AI might often enhance natural stupidity But which factors determine whether AI will lead to smarter humans or more natural stupidity? Let's figure it out 👋 🙏 Please repost so I could find someone crazy enough to work w me in Estonia on this✍️ ✉️ #edusky #psychscisky #neuroAI

Post-doc position: AI might often enhance natural stupidity But which factors determine whether AI will lead to smarter humans or more natural stupidity? Let's figure it out 👋 🙏 Please repost so I could find someone crazy enough to work w me in Estonia on this✍️ ✉️ #edusky #psychscisky #neuroAI

Interesting paper by @jaanaru.bsky.social on human vs AI creativity. Argues while both can produce similar creative products, the internal processes are very different - from neural architecture to the role of conscious experience.

How similar are artificial and human creativity? What is the effect of artificial creativity on our creativity? In a new paper, I approach these questions through the lens of neuroscience and consciousness research and make some observations🔍 #psychscisky #neuroAI #consci arxiv.org/abs/2412.04366

A new experimentally-supported theoretical framework to analyze individual variability in biological and artificial systems performing flexible decision-making tasks A fresh Nature paper from the Brody lab 🍾 #neuroskyence #neuroAI www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"A central challenge for our brain lies in the selective activation of only those model components that are relevant to the current task at hand." In this new paper, the authors propose a novel scheme of how the brain might do it: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Consciousness science is stuck. Hence, we need more papers like 👇: a bold and beautiful new hypothesis on the functions of consciousness. 🍾

Unifying prefrontal sequence memory with hippocampal maps The authors "develop a mathematical theory relating the algorithms and representations of episodic memory and working memory by unveiling a duality between storing memories in synapses versus neural activity". www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

'A Drive to Survive' is available for pre-order! mitpress.mit.edu/978026255132... And while it doesn't yet have a cover it does have some very nice blurbs from @evanthompson.bsky.social and Andy Clark, two of the philosophers who most inspired its content.

The craziest paper I have ever done is this thought experiment with Albert Gidon and Matt Larkum. In the first journal, reviewer 1 recommended that we should not try to publish this; reviewer 2 called it "wacky". Thanks for the motivation: A sequel is coming up! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

A potential role for the thalamus in demixing cortical signals while providing a low-dimensional pathway for cortico-cortical communication New paper from Halassa lab in Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Here’s the result of a massive collaboration within the Human Brain Project to pinpoint what we know about the neural mechanisms of consciousness across scales. ⚖️ led by J.Storm, with @chrisklink.bsky.social and many others accepted in Neuron osf.io/preprints/ps...

We did @jaanaru.bsky.social's Shallow Brain Hypothesis in journal club this week. It was a fun discussion! #neuroskyence #brains #deeplearning My hot take for you, @jaanaru.bsky.social, is that the core idea is 100% correct, but I think "shallow" is the wrong word (explanation in next post):

Our paper on mental navigation as a framework for psychotherapy has been accepted 🍾🥳 osf.io/preprints/ps... Here's also a pop-science article about our approach by @kabrel.bsky.social : psyche.co/ideas/boost-... #NeuroSkyence #PsychSciSky

How will work on artificial intelligence change our understanding of consciousness? I think it demonstrates that the neural mechanisms of consciousness are way more complex than our current theories of consciousness assume. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJa7... #neuroskyence #consciousness #PsychSciSky

Perhaps it is time to rethink some assumptions about the importance of hierarchical processing in the cortex. Neuroanatomical facts tell us that cortical hierarchical processing cannot be the only game in town. #NeuroSkyence #PsychSciSky

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀, neuroscience meeting is over, what are we to do?? Join Jaan Aru @jaanaru.bsky.social in discussing his recent review paper in the Neuroscience & Philosophy Salon. Nov 22, 12:30pm (US eastern) Register here: umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Join us for @jaanaru.bsky.social's talk on Monday! 👉 amcs-community.org/events/progr... #consci

Important new paper by @jaanaru.bsky.social matthew larkin & @macshine.bsky.social on the limitations of LLMs with regard to consciousness www.cell.com/trends/neuro...

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗼-𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺! How deep is the brain? The shallow brain hypothesis www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Many researchers in cognitive neuroscience and deep learning seem to assume that inference in the brain is hierarchical.  Our new Nature Reviews Neuroscience paper questions this assumption and proposes the shallow brain hypothesis. #neuroskyence #brain www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Check out this new paper! Led by @mehdiazabou.bsky.social and @evadyer.bsky.social, we show that it is possible to get SOTA brain decoding with transfer across individuals and tasks! The key is a clever way to tokenize spiking data for transformers. #neuroskyence #brain #neurotech

Is machine consciousness just around the corner? In our new paper, we approach this question from the neuroscientific perspective and explain why this is unlikely to be the case out in Trends in Neuroscience w @macshine.bsky.social #neuroskyence #consciousness authors.elsevier.com/a/1hxp2botq0...

This review in Trends in Cognitive Sci. was fun to write with Pablo Fernandez-Velasco Wayfinding across ocean and tundra: what traditional cultures teach us about navigation A range of insights from research in anthropology to help psychologists/cog-sci/neuroscientists www.cell.com/trends/cogni...

Hippocampal neurons code individual episodic memories in humans. The neurons don't code for a particular element in the episode (e.g., concept or time). They code for the conjunction of the different elements. #neuroscience #psychology #PsychSciSky #NeuroSkyence www.nature.com/articles/s41...

`Decoding speech perception from non-invasive brain recordings`, led by the one an only Alexandre Défossez is just out in the latest issue of Nature Machine Intelligence: - open-access paper: www.nature.com/articles/s42... - full training code: github.com/facebookrese...

First post here! New paper out now! Here we simultaneously study the laminar representation of visual expectations and high confidence false percepts. We find that these are represented in different layers of the early visual cortex. A thread!

Fascinating new study from @smfleming.bsky.social finds an illusion of overconfidence in AI decision making - humans judge artificial systems to be more confident and take their advice more readily. psyarxiv.com/mjx2v/ #psyscisky 🧠🤖

I'm making a 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱 to help us move over. 👉 It follows all of the wonderful people in consciousness science. Everyone from ASSC, AMCS, MESEC, etc. is cordially invited! Ping me or answer to be added! Find it here: bsky.app/profile/did:... Initial list 😍 ⬇️