The mechanisms by which reward-based behaviors are learned are poorly understood. Using Voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging, researchers at @riceneuro.bsky.social and @uthealthhouston.bsky.social have found that an extensive neuronal network may be involved in longer-term reward-based learning.

Congratulations to @riceneuro.bsky.social Christina Tringides, who has received "The Distinguished Scientist Award" by the Sontag Foundation for her work with hydrogel implants designed to enhance clinicians' ability to monitor and treat #glioblastoma🎖️ Read More: bit.ly/4rBjeNh

How can serum marker tests be made more sensitive? The lab of @jerzyszablowski.bsky.social shows that editing markers in vivo to reduce their half-life can provide more sensitive measurement of gene expression dynamics. Read more: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Utilizing microendoscopic imaging, a team of core and affiliate faculty from @riceneuro.bsky.social has published their work in @nature.com, which illuminates the neural mechanisms that modulate certain aspects of cued food-seeking behavior in animals. Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@riceuniversity.bsky.social launched the Amyloid Research Center today, led by biophysicist Pernilla Wittung. A fantastic and important addition to the continued expansion of neuro-research on our campus! news.rice.edu/news/2025/ri...

Big news coming out of Rice University. The Rice Brain Institute has launched to foster new collaborative research on our campus! A new era of research in brain health that links Biosciences, Engineering, Social Science, with Government Policy. bit.ly/4oAE6C0

In this month's @jamapsychiatry.com Rice NEI faculty members @sameershethmd.bsky.social and Wayne Goodman examine the recent approval of adaptive #DBS for Parkinson's and whether closed-loop neuromodulation strategies are ready for clinical practice in neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Cool work coming out of Mechanical Engineering here at Rice that could advance medical engineering news.rice.edu/news/2025/ri...

Researchers from the joint @riceneuro.bsky.social and Houston Methodist Center for Neural Systems Restoration recently developed an approach to noninvasively measure CSF dynamics along blood vessels using advanced MRI and image processing techniques.

Traditional implantable devices with more electrodes also entail more wires and invasive surgeries. A new system from Robinson Lab offers a distributed network where implants are individually programmable and respond to unique digital instructions from a single transmitter. bit.ly/4pTHIAS

A wonderful write-up in the Fall Rice Research Review outlining a few of our initiatives' ongoing projects in the areas of neural recording, synthetic serum biomarkers, and other brain research from the NEI and across campus. Read more: bit.ly/4gMWrsQ

Congratulations to Dr. Marcia O'Malley on this lifetime achievement! engineering.rice.edu/news/marcia-...

This week's Engineering Minds Seminar welcomes Dr. Nanshu Lu from the @cockrellschool.bsky.social . Dr. Lu will present her lab's work developing a breakthrough e-tattoo technology that leverages automated, on-scalp non-contact printing of PEDOT: PSS-based conductive inks.

Our seminar speaker tomorrow, Dr. Seth Hays from UTDallas Bioengineering, will talk about his work with closed-loop #vagus nerve stimulation and discuss the ongoing efforts to develop and optimize a next-generation #CLV system.

Tomorrow, Dr. Bozhi Tian will discuss how his lab is expanding the frontier of electrophysiological modulation and biosensing. We look forward to his visit and discussions with our faculty and students!

Congratulations @riceneuro.bsky.social member Jessica Butts, who was funded by @apdaparkinsons.bsky.social to use a new model that identifies and characterizes neurons in a part of the brainstem vulnerable to PD progression called the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg). More: bit.ly/488vXjf

More funding news last month includes a collaborative grant between Chong Xie and Lan Luan from @riceneuro.bsky.social and Samuel Pfaff from @salkinstitute.bsky.social on a $750K grant, "Recording Spinal Neural Activity Across Genetic Classes During Hindlimb Motor Behaviors." 🎉

Congratulations @nicoleprovenza.bsky.social from @bcmneurosurgery.bsky.social and @riceneuro.bsky.social who is the recipient of a $3.7m R01 award from NIH/NIMH for her project, "Neurophysiological investigation of the approach-avoidance axis in OCD: applications to neuromodulation."🎉

@riceneuro.bsky.social researcher Jacob Robinson @jacobrobinson.bsky.social and his team are developing next-gen wireless miniature bioelectric implants that are opening doors to new treatments for a multitude of chronic conditions. Read more about their recently published work here: bit.ly/45VfTi5

Understanding visual representations and their longitudinal stability requires neuronal recording at multiple scales. Results published in Nature Communications indicate that temporal coding may be essential in ensuring consistent sensory experiences over time. Read more: bit.ly/3HPe7aq

@riceneuro.bsky.social Researchers Christina Tringides and Ava Zoba have published a recent review in APL Materials discussing materials advances for therapies that are trying to address the complex challenges presented by the blood-brain barrier. Read more: pubs.aip.org/aip/apm/arti...

@riceneuro.bsky.social will again host a Neuro section at #GCURS 2025 here at Rice University. Undergraduate research in all fields of neuroengineering and neuroscience are welcome to apply. Christina Tringides, Scott Keene, David Lipshutz, Nishal Shah will be our 2025 faculty mentors.

A new npj Flexible Electronics Perspective is out this month from Luan and Xie Labs at @riceneuro.bsky.social. It explores high-dimensional neural stimulation using flexible microelectrode arrays, supported by cortical simulations, to guide next-gen brain-machine interfaces. bit.ly/3U9wlWH

New and junior researchers at Rice University and TX Medical Center affiliates are invited to register for our Fall NeuroNetworking event next month! It is a great opportunity to make new contacts in the fields of brain research and pitch your own lab's interests.

@riceneuro.bsky.social Researcher Valentin Dragoi and his team found that visual cortex neurons can learn and replay complex timing patterns after repeated light stimulation, providing clues to how our brains extract and reproduce temporal regularities from a wide range of sensory inputs.

A recent study out in @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social from @jerzyszablowski.bsky.social lab builds on their RMA platform as a cost-efficient, noninvasive tool that, "enables sensitive, multiplexed, and repeatable measurements of gene expression in the brain with a blood test." More: bit.ly/3ZygaW9

🎉An incredible honor that acknowledges the stellar work that Dr. Marcia O'Malley and the generations of MAHI lab students have contributed to this field. Congratulations! 🎉 engineering.rice.edu/news/omalley...

By recording motor cortical activity, researchers from @riceneuro.bsky.social, @stanfordbrain.bsky.social , and other key institutes found that multi-finger movements are represented in the brain using a pseudo-linear summation of individual finger movements. Read more: go.nature.com/4kUVuzz

A new review paper this week in Development @biologists.bsky.social from @riceneuro.bsky.social Butts Lab, explores the importance of the Notch signaling pathway in neurogenesis. (more)

As part of Brain Tumor Awareness Month, "Meeting of the Minds" is focusing on advancements in brain cancer research, showcasing the many promises that are on the horizon @mdanderson.bsky.social, @riceneuro.bsky.social, and @uthealthhouston.bsky.social. Register here: bit.ly/43t5Pgm #GrayMay

Had a wonderful time this week at #InterfaceNeuro in Atlanta as did our many students who presented posters! Congratulations @gt-neuro.bsky.social and everyone who helped to make this event a success!

The final #InterfaceNeuroGT session covered joint modeling of brain and behavior. Speakers highlighted how they're using innovative computational and experimental approaches to understand how neural activity influences behavior and intention. Chaired by @vulcnethologist.bsky.social.

Day one of Rice-TMC Ecosystem Health Innovations conference in the books! Looking forward to day two at TMC Helix Park. Thanks to the Rice ENRICH Office for putting on this incredible event! If you're attending tomorrow, stop by our booth and say hello!

@riceneuro.bsky.social researcher Scott Keene @scottkeene.bsky.social and colleagues from Stanford University and Cambridge University show how a new understanding of PEDOT: PSS polymers can make bioelectronic devices easier and more reliable to manufacture. Read more: bit.ly/4iFoGcE

@riceuniversity.bsky.social Magazine's spring issue features @riceneuro.bsky.social and @cpritt.bsky.social investigator Christina Tringides and her work applying hydrogel-based electrodes to improve outcomes during complex brain cancer surgeries. Read more: magazine.rice.edu/spring-2025/...

Researchers from @riceneuro.bsky.social , @bcmhouston.bsky.social, and @mdanderson.bsky.social have developed a more reliable model for high-resolution low-intensity neuromodulation in clinical settings with less invasive measurements. Read more : www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congratulations to @riceneuro.bsky.social researcher @jerzyszablowski.bsky.social for being selected as the inaugural recipient of The Dr. Joe G. Hollyfield New Investigator Award for Macular Degeneration Research from the #BrightFocusFoundation. (More)

A recent study from @riceneuro.bsky.social Luan Lab in #AdvancedScience explores the neurophysiological effects of single #microinfarcts using an advanced platform that combines high-resolution imaging and #neuralrecordings. Read more: bit.ly/3GkrOgg

A team from @riceneuro.bsky.social uro and @utmbhealth.bsky.social are developing a new method for stimulating deep brain regions without drilling into the skull. This minimally invasive technique could pave the way for improved therapies for patients with neurological disorders. bit.ly/4iEEJbe

A feature article in Rice News that provides more content to our earlier post on haptic research and review from our team of RiceNeuro and RiceMECH researchers: news.rice.edu/news/2025/re...

@biotechniques.bsky.social published an interview today with @riceneuro.bsky.social investigator Lan Luan. Here, she discusses her work tracing the development of flexible electrodes as a tool for large-scale, long-lasting, and bidirectional interfacing with the brain. bit.ly/4kLxfoy

Multi-sensory haptic devices present an array of challenges to engineers including placement, perception, and other factors. A publication in @natrevbioeng.bsky.social features @riceuniversity.bsky.social researchers reviewing the current state of these devices.

Thank you, @danafoundation.bsky.social, for this wonderful write-up of our event last month. dana.org/article/meet...

We're coming up on the deadline for submissions to InterfaceNeuro in just a few days on March 14! Please consider joining us for this unique mixture of neuroscience, neuroengineering, clinical research and lived experience voices! I promise you will learn something exciting!

🎉Today, we celebrate #WorldEngineeringDay 2025 by taking a moment to recognize the outstanding achievements of our core investigators who are advancing innovation in brain health. 2024 has been a year of growth in so many areas of our research and we look forward to 2025 and beyond! 🎉

At the Meeting of the Minds event hosted by @riceneuro.bsky.social and Rice's ENRICH program, Dana VP of Neuroscience & Society Khara Ramos spoke about the Foundation’s focus on neuroscience education, training, and public engagement. #neuroethics #neurosociety #policy #law

Insightful and informative presentations on neuroethics, society, and health policy at last week's Meeting of the Minds event. Thank you to @danafoundation.bsky.social VP for Neuroscience and Society Khara Ramos and @bcmhouston.bsky.social ethics and policy researcher Amy McGuire for joining us.

Thanks to @danafoundation.bsky.social VP Khara Ramos for visiting @riceneuro.bsky.social and outlining the foundation’s work to reimagine neuroscience grounded in the public.

Research from @riceneuro.bsky.social and @houstonmethodist.bsky.social CNSR researcher Valentin Dragoi says there are real benefits to that nap you are considering this afternoon. bit.ly/42U7fkj

Working with a national team of researchers to understand how certain neurons function during memory retrieval, Rice NEI @riceneuro.bsky.social RNEL lab constructed a system that measures and decodes the activity of individual neurons in real-time with millisecond-scale latency.