Dr Jen Ryan

Aligning eye tracking and free recall time series, we found that increased saccades predict episodic (vs. non-episodic) by 0.5 s.

Just out in @cognitionjournal.bsky.social, led by Ryan Barker with the inimitable @drjenryan.bsky.social.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Phase-locking saccades to posterior alpha oscillations improves the neural representation of visual objects during memory formation Visual memory formation begins with the intake and neural processing of discrete samples provided by gaze fixations and saccades. Past research has highlighted a functional relationship between the ti...

Memory might depend on when you look, not just what you see

Happy to share a new preprint from my postdoctoral work with Jed Meltzer, @drjenryan.bsky.social, and @rosannaolsen.bsky.social

Paper: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Huge gratitude to @jordwynn.bsky.social and Anisha Khosla who led the research and to @shen4brains.bsky.social who ate lunch with me 10 years ago at a conference where we first dreamt up this line of work. 🤩

5/5

What does this mean? Two things.

1. When the hippocampus starts to become dysfunctional, this creates real-time changes in the the operations of other systems.

2. Tracking eye movements may be key for early detection of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias.

4/5

Decoding memory function through naturalistic gaze patterns | PNAS Eye movements are closely linked to encoding and retrieval processes, with changes in viewing behavior reflecting age- and pathology-related memory...

With increasing hippocampal compromise, the information that is built up over time from eye movements becomes less distinct, leading to increasingly impoverished memories that likely become confusable with one another.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

3/5

Changes in Naturalistic Viewing in Healthy Aging and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment Visual exploration—where the eyes move and when—is guided by prior experiences. Memory-guided viewing behavior is altered in healthy aging and is further disrupted in amnestic mild cognitive impairme...

People with memory problems have altered patterns of eye movements, even when they're looking at something new and we're not asking them to remember anything.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

This change in how the eyes move has consequences.

2/5

Memory problems will change how you see the world...literally 👀

Across two new papers, we examined the eye movement patterns of younger adults, older adults, individuals with mild cognitive impairment, and amnesic cases.

1/5

This job is HARD. So this article is incredibly validating that maybe there’s something to what we’re doing here. And if it sparks new ideas that generates success for others, then it’s definitely been worth it. Really appreciate you @mariamaly.bsky.social and everyone who has supported us ❤️ 3/3

Lots of challenges over the years getting people to consider that maybe there’s something more than attention that drives eye movements. My favorite grant on this topic never got funded (one reviewer hated it and wouldn’t budge); but we found ways to get some of the work done anyway.
2/n

Well this brought tears to my eyes 😭 thank you so much @mariamaly.bsky.social ❤️ funny thing is, we had a really hard time getting this published. Rejected from other journals. Reviewers who said “everyone knows the hippocampus does conscious/explicit memory, so the data must be wrong”….1/n

Oh my goodness! 🥹❤️ This is quite the honour, thank you so much! I spent so many years wondering if I was just going to survive in this field. It’s really validating to know that someone amazing like you found inspiration in it. 😭

Congratulations!! So well-deserved!! 🎉

Pete Buttigieg explains why basic science research matters.

Source: Flagrant Podcast
@petebuttigieg.bsky.social

I’m so sorry, Anna. I would also add to the great advice from others to call or write your representatives and senators. Maybe an op-ed in local papers or radios to explain how these terminations impact local economies as well as the overall science.

One messy sentence at a time ☺️

Does writing suck for you? How do you make it better? Personally, I make my practice more enjoyable by writing in the morning with coffee and lo-fi music and, if I’m feeling particularly bougie, a fave candle burning. 🕯️ 3/3

Writing is personal — DR JEN RYAN Photo by Nik on Unsplash .

This week, @shen4brains.bsky.social and I discuss one of the reasons why writing is so hard: because it’s personal and because it requires empathy for your reader. 2/3

drjenryan.com/the-keys-blo...

Writing sucks for everyone — DR JEN RYAN Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash .

Writing sucks. It sucks so much for everyone at every stage that I wrote a blog post about it, and I discuss some strategies to make it more enjoyable. 1/3

drjenryan.com/the-keys-blo...

I appreciate your voice in this 🙏 we are quite alarmed up here and taking this very seriously.

“…justify military ops in Mexico/Canada.” This is reprehensible. Stay on your representatives, everyone. Tagging mine in here; reminding you that these are allies AND you have constituents- like me- living in these countries: @duckworth.senate.gov @budzinski.house.gov @durbin.senate.gov

Ahh thanks should have tagged Cognitive Neuroscience Society @cogneuronews.bsky.social in the original post.

It is so disheartening that it has come to this. For those who are still going to the US, particularly for CNS in Boston, please make sure you have a plan. Share your flight itinerary with someone, and check in with them when you get through arrivals. Other tips?? Please share 👇

“…hope is the consequence of action, rather than its cause.”

Inspiring vision, message, and playbook that I think we, as scientists, can adopt as well to counteract the cruel cuts being made to science and education in the US.

Frustrating. 😣 I also heard that DOGE folks have been wandering around NASA HQ trying to sort out who everyone is and what they do, including whether they are a contractor or a direct employee. I can’t even imagine the stress everyone at NASA must be feeling 🥺

Awful and terrifying. At least it’s completely clear (not like it wasn’t before) that they’re not interested in preserving democracy anywhere.

🇨🇦Hey ON voters‼️

Today is our provincial election 🗳️ Find your electoral district & #vote!!

#onpoli

voterinformationservice.elections.on.ca/en/election/...

From a friend: DOGE threw out every living plant in NASA’s HQ, even the ones on people’s desks, because ‘watering plants is a waste of taxpayers’ money’.

So that’s how this is going.

A lot still to do…
Academia can be a challenging place, and it’s one of many reasons why I am committing to writing a weekly blog this year to try to do *something/anything* to help out. Blog is here: drjenryan.com/the-keys-blog
And if you have feedback, questions or topics in mind, let me know!

Many are asking what should we do now?
“We use our power, organize, mobilize, educate…the American story will not be written by who occupies the White House or by the wealthiest among us…it will be written by you, by ‘we the people.’”
-fmr VP Kamala Harris receiving the NAACP Chairman’s Award.

Congratulations! 🎉