jkubie.bsky.social

Important: a behavioral response, such as withdrawal, does not mean the subject feels pain.

... Caveats: 1. response to nociception, such as withdrawal, does not require conscious awareness. 2. The aversiveness of pain is variable. Reports that morphine can leave a subject pain-aware, but without much of a negative hedonic response. 3. Learning affects pain percepts.

Not sure of the thread, but I'll jump in. Important to distinguish 'pain' from 'nociception'. Nociceptors are the peripheral receptors that respond to tissue damage. Pain is in the brain; In general, nociceptor activation leads to pain, an aspect of conscious awareness. (continued).

the knee and the elbow, same joint, modified for different purposes. Also, compare the shoulder and the hip. All joints have big compromises; biggest is that angle of insertion of tendons, permitting action. If wanted strength and efficiency, angles would be much greater; but the design!

Not surprised. Her book about the brain full of serious errors, such as not understanding what a gene is. (different brain region have different/similar genes, when I assume she meant gene products)

Thermostats depend on feedback loops.

#nokings Mountainside, NJ

2/ for example, the right post-central gyrus represents the surface of the contralateral body. Who is the observer? The neuroscientist looking at the distribution. It "may be" regions of the brain that receive the output of the post-central gyrus — that's a guess. But there is no confusion.

IMO, this is an example where philosophy messes things up. The word 'representation' can be used many ways. 'The US flag represents core US principles of democracy'. Deconstructing the word helps. Re-presents. one distribution --> output to an observer. Re-presents. ... /1

Correction. Objects below the horizon are perceived as nearer and should project to a larger retinal image.

They are not crabs; they are 2d images that resemble the 2d image a real crab makes when reflected light reaches the retina.

I don't understand the mystery. retinas are 2d but we see the world as 3d. Lots of inborn and learned inference. Linear perspective. Objects above the horizontal are perceived as farther (thus should be smaller). Near objects obscure distant objects. Color differences. Sharpness.

NIH freezes all research grants to Columbia University Amid negotiations with Trump, the university could risk losing nearly $700 million

www.science.org/content/arti...

Left–right-alternating theta sweeps in entorhinal–hippocampal maps of space - Nature A study in rats proposes a mechanism for how the brain maps the surrounding environment, including places it has never seen, by alternating left and right forward sweeps in successive theta cycles.

Grid cells have a geometry in time. Thanks to @azvollan.bsky.social l & @rjgardner.bsky.social for this heroic discovery. @ercresearch.bsky.social
#KiloNeurons @m-bmoser.bsky.social @kavlintnu.bsky.social @nature.com
@kavlifoundation.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Book Review: ‘Careless People,’ by Sarah Wynn-Williams “Careless People,” a memoir by a former Facebook executive, portrays feckless company leaders cozying up to authoritarian regimes.

Our critic Jen Szalai reviews the explosive new Facebook memoir by Sarah Wynn Williams: "Not only does she have the storytelling chops to unspool a gripping narrative; she also delivers the goods."

As I interpret this, “meaning” is having a world model (“reality”) and interpreting stimuli in terms of the world model. Efficient behavior, conditioning, operant conditioning are not dependent on a world model.

Scripps Research mourns the passing of Floyd Bloom, chairman emeritus of Neuropharmacology - Scripps Research Magazine Floyd E. Bloom, MD, distinguished scientist and chairman emeritus of Neuropharmacology at Scripps Research, passed away on January 8, 2025, at the age of 88. Considered a titan of Neuroscience and Pha...

Scripps Research mourns the passing of Floyd E. Bloom, MD, a pioneering neuroscientist and former chair of Neuropharmacology. At Scripps Research, he advanced research on neurotransmitters, addiction, and brain function, shaping modern neuroscience.

More:

Union Square

Opinion | American Science is Under Attack The Trump administration hobbles research and endangers the public health.

"I've spent over five decades as a scientist in academia and the federal government," Harold Varmus, the former director of the N.I.H., writes in a guest essay. "Never before have I seen my profession so politicized as it is now under the Trump administration."

What’s a chart? Similar qs.

What is a 'map'? Does a map inherently involve distance between pairs of elements? in limited dimensions? Spatial? Or is a 'map' a function; variable X mapped to variable Y? Both uses seem OK, but they are not the same.

Grateful to @apnews.com for covering our recent @pnas.org article on how London taxi drivers plan routes:

apnews.com/video/how-th...

#neuroskyence

Federal judge halts Trump administration cuts to NIH research payments in 22 states Attorneys general sued the Trump administration to block a NIH decision that would slash grant payments for research overhead

Federal judge halts Trump administration cuts to NIH research payments in 22 states www.statnews.com/2025/02/10/n...

Friday's Elk: Throttling Science Since I sent out my last newsletter, the Trump Administration has moved to drastically shrink government support for American science and public health. And...

There are so many new policies and plans that would throttle American science that I could only offer a sampling in my email newsletter today. buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...

What a great win

#KNICKS 5 in a row

Although there's lots of debate about Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, she's actually great (as Julie Andrews was on stage).

First movie version of West Side Story hard to watch. Characters and drama flat.

I like the movie versions of Hamilton and In the Heights. (didn't see the shows). Also, the movie version of "My Fair Lady" (did see the show, many many years ago). Also, 1935 (?) Showboat, with spectacular cast.

I ran @USAID health programs for the last 3 years. Trump’s 90 day Stop Work Order on foreign assistance does serious damage to the world and the US. Examples:🧵

Hard agree!