Angie Voyles Askham

Adult human cortex does not reorganize after amputation The results from a new longitudinal study contradict classic findings in monkeys but may not warrant a rewriting of the textbooks just yet.

“This neural configuration before amputation remains after the amputation. And it’s not ‘use it or lose it,’” says John W. Krakauer.

By @avaskham.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/plasticity/a...

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds The Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration, by abruptly canceling NIH grants, had violated a 1974 federal law

The Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, a scathing report by GAO finds. Story via @mmolteni.bsky.social and @aniloza.bsky.social for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/g...

Escaping groupthink: What animals’ behavioral quirks reveal about the brain Neuroscientists have long ignored the variability in animals’ behavioral responses in favor of studying differences across groups. But work on the brain differences that underlie that variability is…

Thanks @avaskham.bsky.social & @thetransmitter.bsky.social for including me in this discussion of why individual differences matter. My work & others show that tracking individual behavior can reveal circuits & mechanisms that group averages miss #neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/animal-behav...

Our award-winning news team is looking for an enthusiastic trade journalist to join our fast-paced newsroom in NYC. This is an excellent opportunity for a science journalist to develop a beat in the field of neuroscience. For more info, please visit: bit.ly/4nvAy4k

#neuroskyence

Columbia Got Some NIH Funding Back. Then It Didn’t. In a confusing turn of events, the National Institutes of Health told staff that it would free up some frozen funding to the Ivy League campus — then quickly backtracked.

In a head-spinning pair of announcements on Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health told staff that it would lift its monthslong freeze on all research funding to Columbia University — then reversed its reversal, emails show.

New from me: www.chronicle.com/article/colu...

I'd like to make a list of PhD programs that (1) are in Europe (which does include the UK); (2) offer opportunities in systems neuroscience; and obviously (3) pay a stipend. Please share and/or respond to add your suggestions?

Great reporting from @claudia-lopez.bsky.social:

Gazing from afar activates place cells in chickadees The results help explain how the hippocampus can recall information about a place without an animal physically revisiting it.

For black-capped chickadees, looking out at a location activates the same place cells as actually being there, a study from Columbia University shows.

By @martajhill.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/hippocampus/...

Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.

Yes — the layoffs were revoked! www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...

In this excerpt, I fast forward to the end of Elusive Cures to explain why I am so unequivocally optimistic about the next steps for brain research.

For those of you who (like me) like to listen, I've narrated this clip (~10 min). The text is there too.

Thank you @thetransmitter.bsky.social team.

Early-Career Neuroscientists Resource Center News, perspectives and resources to help navigate the early stages of your neuroscience career

For news, perspectives and more to help you navigate the early stages of your neuroscience career, visit our Early-Career Neuroscientists Resource Center: www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...

In the background over the past few weeks, I wrote an obituary of Peter Lax for Nature. He was one of my dad's best friends and one of my favorite people in the world. He was also an incredibly influential mathematician.

[Gift Link thanks to Nature]

rdcu.be/eqmiR

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Democrat Jeff Merkley says "it's my understanding no existing [Alzheimer's grants] have been cancelled."

That's not true. Tens of millions of dollars in Alzheimer's grants — many of them for training — have been cut.

See @scott-delaney.bsky.social & @noamross.net's Grant Watch database here.

🚨 NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya is testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee today.

The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥

I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.

25 papers by neural tube researcher come under scrutiny One of the studies received an editorial expression of concern in May, after the journal learned of an institutional review of the alleged problems.

Multiple studies by a prominent neural tube researcher at the University of Maryland show potential image manipulation and reuse; an institutional investigation is underway.

By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/academia/mor...

More complete analysis of NIH outlays (or lack thereof) from grant-watch.us

grant-watch.us/posts/trends...

NIH details how Trump budget would cut support for grants, training, and research centers President Trump's 2026 budget proposes cutting NIH grants to universities, academic medical centers, and other institutions by 43%

President Trump’s 2026 budget proposes slashing NIH's central function, awarding grants to universities, academic medical centers, and other institutions, by 43% compared to 2025 levels. Story via me & @danielpayne.bsky.social for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/06/06/n...

#neuroskyence 🧪

FlyBase funding squashed amid Harvard grant terminations The team behind the Drosophila genetics database is now requesting donations from labs to keep the resource afloat.

The Drosophila genetic database FlyBase has lost its nearly $2 million grant. It’s part of the more than $3 billion in federal funding that has been terminated at Harvard University this year.

By @callimcflurry.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/community/fl...

The U.S. Lit a Beacon for Science. Under Trump, Scientists Fear It’s Dimming

Talked to @KateZernike at @nytimes about my journey and the current moment for scientists in the U.S.

“Ardem Patapoutian’s story is not just the American dream, it is the dream of American science.”

Read the article here. No subscription required:

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/u...

Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”—does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections in mice learning to navigate a virtual environment…

In a recent study, @antoinemadar.bsky.social & Mark Sheffield looked at place cells of the mouse hippocampus in vivo to understand what plasticity rules support learning—spoiler alert, it wasn’t Hebbian plasticity! Go check out my story for @thetransmitter.bsky.social

#neuroskyence 🧪

Didn't get into grad school, what now? Stories of Women in Neuroscience · Episode

This academic cycle was really challenging for those students that applied for PhD programs. Please help me share this special episode discussing what to do if you didn't get accepted into a PhD program. open.spotify.com/episode/5tsj...

To put these top-line budget numbers in context, cuts of this magnitude would effectively mean no new grants in FY2026. The entire extramural budget would go to existing, continuing grants.

An abject failure of American ambition. And a betrayal of our global leadership in health science innovation.

Believe it a not, a third multisite connectomic project also lost funding. The multi-PI R01 led by @darbly.bsky.social with myself and @bassemh.bsky.social as co-PIs.

#neuroskyence 🧪

Could be huge. Especially for those terminated in the anti-DEI purge.

"...NIH will allow individuals whose mentored career development awards prematurely ended on or after January 1, 2025, to be eligible to apply for a new mentored career development award"

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”—does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections in mice learning to navigate a virtual environment…

Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”— does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections that occur in mice as they learn to navigate an unfamiliar virtual environment.

By @sydneywyatt.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/memory/learn...

Later that day, the NINDS layoffs were revoked, @sydneywyatt.bsky.social and I reported this week for @thetransmitter.bsky.social:

www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...

#neuroskyence 🧪

Cool new study showing that regulatory T cells in the spinal meninges release endogenous opioids to quell pain in female (but not make) mice:

#neuroskyence 🧪

Applications are now open for our fall internship program! This is an excellent opportunity for a beginning science journalist to report and write about the fast-moving field of neuroscience.

Apply now: simonsfoundation.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/simons...