#neuroesc — Public Fediverse posts

Paper resubmitted! ✅ 🤞It's a review about the #Tolman #Sunburst maze and how, despite many attempts, its results have not been consistently replicated (at all)... And no, the light is not really the problem!
I'll post a thread when / if it comes out!

Written with Roddy Grieves in the #NeuroESC lab!

#Neuroscience #SpatialCognition

#SpikeGadgets upping their game with some goodies coming with out latest order! I am not usually impressed by these but.. I quite like these ones 😅

#NeuroESC lab

#NeuroESC #JournalClub
Reading Mental exploration of future choices during immobility theta oscillations

If you've read it, will you let me know what you think?

The authors look at #ThetaSequences in a working memory task in a radial arm maze. They find theta during immobility (makes sense, e.g. we saw that in our two-goals task). They also find that theta sequences might preferentially represent the next goal (also makes sense, e.g. Hippocampal theta sequences reflect current goals)!

I have only done a quick reading so far, but am confused by a few points:

• the decoding is done on all cells (pyramidals and interneurons), shouldn't it be done on pyramidal or #PlaceCells only?
• the cell counts are quite low (often less than 40 pyrs) when I would have thought at least 50 place cells would be needed for this kind of maze. I guess that shows that #Neuropixels are not the best to record from dCA1!

• the decoded algorithm itself includes a ' position transition matrix' which seems like it would bias decoding towards realistic trajectories that the rat is about to do??? (but I probably missed something)

• also, this study is very related to this other paper, which is not discussed or even cited (😕 ):
  Assembly Responses of Hippocampal CA1 Place Cells Predict Learned Behavior in Goal-Directed Spatial Tasks on the Radial Eight-Arm Maze #CsisvariLab

Let me know what you think!

#LeutgebLab #NeuroRat #Neuroscience #SpatialCognition

Do I know anyone who has recently (past few years) secured a New Investigator #BBSRC Research grant? We are writing one and could really do with an example of what works..
If you do and would be willing to share all or part of the application material the #NeuroESC lab would be eternally grateful 🙏

Edit: this is what we're applying to: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/bbsrc-new-investigator-award-2025-round-one-responsive-mode/

Edit 2: Thanks to you all we've already got 3 example applications! You are all awesome 🤗 This will already help a lot, the last thing we would need is one from the most recent call (Jan 2024?) and as a "New Investigator", especially if you are also willing to share the reviewers' comments which are really useful to see what people look for in these applications - DM me if so 🙏
(It's our first one... lots to learn but not so many opportunities for learning!)
#Research #ResearchFunding #ResearchGrants

My latest #Neuroesc #JournalClub was on this:
Rat anterior cingulate neurons responsive to rule or strategy changes are modulated by the hippocampal theta rhythm and sharp-wave ripples

I won't do a super-long summary like last time, but please share your thoughts if you've read it!

The author line-up is quite interesting, I think they were all students at the time of data collection which seems to have happened a long time ago, and now many are PIs (@BenoitGirard probably knows about the backstory...)! Probably a pandemic paper??

The scientific question (what supports rule recognition and strategy shift) is really interesting, and they record in the frontal cortex (#ACC) as well as #Hippocampus (ventral CA1!), but the rats just were not up to the task (1/5 rats actually did what they wanted). I am also not fully convinced by some of the analysis. @jessetm I'd be interested to know what you think of their strategy detection method!

Why is it that all papers looking at these themes always end up being.. quite complex??

#Neuroscience #NavigationStrategies #theta #swr #NeuroRat

For our next #NeuroESC #JournalClub I will read this paper from @jessetm :

Flexible decision-making is related to strategy learning, vicarious trial and error, and medial prefrontal rhythms during spatial set-shifting

get the PDF at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qmfyeNkOwe_R-tvCOc0uSq3AX2WkMt4I/view?usp=sharing

Anyone else interested? We could all pledge to read it and then discuss it here afterwards (Next Friday) 👀

#Neuroscience #VTE #FlexibleDecisions #SpatialCognition #mPFC #NavigationStrategies

Yoo-hoo we received our new #SpikeGadgets order!!
It has all we need to do 128ch and 32ch wired or wireless recordings!!

For context this is in my new lab at the #UniversityOfGlasgow (apparently we might be the only ones in the UK to use SpikeGadgets ?!?!) with Roddy Grieves as PI! Our lab name is #NeuroeSC for #Neuroethology and #SpatialCognition 😁