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Andrew E. Papale

@andrewpapale.bsky.social

Pitt Postdoc | neuroscience | decision-making | fMRI | motor skill learning Physics and math enthusiast. Friendly with R, Matlab, and Python.

338 Followers  |  1,225 Following  |  54 Posts  |  Joined: 21.09.2023
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Posts by Andrew E. Papale (@andrewpapale.bsky.social)

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Representational changes of latent strategies in rat medial prefrontal cortex precede changes in behaviour The ability to change behavioural strategies in the face of a changing world has been linked to the integrity of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function in several species. While recording studies have found that mPFC representations reflect the ...

Looks interesting. Surprised you didn't cite Powell and Redish.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC....

05.03.2026 12:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Findings from a recent study suggest that exploration targets are identified through coordinated activity binding prefrontal default network value representations to posterior hippocampal maps. Find out more: bit.ly/4ua2lLe

02.03.2026 20:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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New neuromapr #rstats package is available from GitHub! Highly experimental, early adopters and bug identifiers are super welcome to report issues!

github.com/lcbc-uio/neu...

#neuroscience #rstats #neuroimaging

15.02.2026 11:00 β€” πŸ‘ 47    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

If this result generalises, then the field's great dendritic computation dream is over

04.01.2026 20:54 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1
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neuroimaging | Satterthwaite Lab | UPenn www.satterthwaitelab.com Homepage for Satterthwaite lab neuroimaging | neurodevelopment | adolescence | psychiatry | machine learning | network science

#PenNLINC is recruiting a clinical coordinator / lab manager!!! Looking for someone who is good with both people + code, wants to learn to acquire + analyze imaging data. Alumni in this role have written 1st author papers + gone to top grad programs.

Website: www.pennlinc.io

Job: bit.ly/4ojvCir

24.11.2025 21:58 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 6
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Prefrontal default-mode network interactions with posterior hippocampus during exploration Hippocampal maps and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) value and goal representations support foraging in continuous spaces. How might hippocampal-vPFC interactions control the balance between behavior...

@andrewpapale.bsky.social 's new explore/exploit paper in JNeurosci with @vanessabrown.bsky.social @drangelaianni.bsky.social Michael Hallquist & Bea Luna: www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
PFC-DMN and hippocampus encode value maxima in exploitation, but their synchronization peaks in exploration.

17.11.2025 14:45 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I wonder if coupling with amygdala or (anterior vs posterior hippocampus) during rumination messes up the relationship between DMN and mind wandering. Why would the brain have redundant circuits for conceptually similar processes?

01.08.2025 12:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

So, practically, direct attention externally switching to CTR/DAN etc circuits, to break out of repetitive thought cycles? Shouldn't DMN be negatively correlated with success?

01.08.2025 11:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

And now for something completely different!

In this new lab preprint led by Ceci Westbrook, we find a link between successful control of repetitive thought and increased activity in attention-related brain networks. By contrast, default mode activity was not associated with regulatory success.

01.08.2025 00:33 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It's publication day for πŸ“˜Elusive Cures. What a moment! 1st book, 1st time on Mindscape (which, as many of you know, is one of my favorite podcasts).

Here, @seanmcarroll.bsky.social and I have a wide-ranging conversation around: Why are brain and mental disorders so hard to understand and treat?

10.06.2025 11:33 β€” πŸ‘ 100    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 2

Thank you for speaking out. Hoping for flat funding at FY 24 levels. When is the vote? Reps probably deserve a call on this one.

31.05.2025 20:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

During inevitable conflict, is Exponential backoff key to deescalation? Are dysfunctional relationships characterized by deviations in these network patterns?

31.05.2025 17:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Reading the "Networking" chapter about the internet in "Algorithms to Live By." Are healthy relationships in social psychology characterized by interactions that mirror TCP packets in Additive Increase, Multiplicative Decrease (AIMD) algorithms?

31.05.2025 17:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

AIMD = Additive Increase, Multiplicative Decrease

31.05.2025 17:14 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

does nature, in the form of neural ensembles, prefer winner take all (first past the post) voting or ranked choice voting? Making an analogy to Democratic systems on this primary election day. Can a neuron represent multiple simultaneous and competing options?

20.05.2025 13:06 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

By state I mean capturing the internal dynamics of your brain while you are integrating a new fact about a complex idea such as the reputation of a person. But put simply, it could mean are you relaxed or vigilant.

12.04.2025 01:33 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Given the forces acting on a golf ball during a putt and the shape of the green, how many possible paths can it take to get to the hole? On any particular path, what is the margin of error on the magnitude and direction of the force applied by the club? ⛳️

12.04.2025 01:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Intro SEM Information β€” SMaRT Workshops

Hey folks! I'll be teaching two workshops in May on Structural Equation Modeling!

One course is introductory (May 7-9): smart-workshops.com/intro-sem-info

The other is on longitudinal models (May 14-16): smart-workshops.com/long-sem-info

πŸ™Please RT and share! πŸ™

Let met tell you more...

07.04.2025 11:01 β€” πŸ‘ 46    πŸ” 36    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
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We often use discretization to approximate continuous laws of physics, but it also goes the other way:

You can use continuous equations to approximate the behavior of discrete systems!

Here we'll see how electrical circuits can be modeled using the Laplace equation Δφ=0. [1/n]

07.04.2025 13:40 β€” πŸ‘ 84    πŸ” 23    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

Has anyone applied big O notation to derive constraints on decision-making algorithms on the timescale of neural processing? πŸ€”

05.04.2025 16:52 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Prefrontal default-mode network interactions with posterior hippocampus during exploration Hippocampal maps and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) value and goal representations support foraging in continuous spaces. How might hippocampal-vPFC interactions control the balance between behavior...

Thanks for reading, here's a link to the preprint, feel free to reach out with any questions! 15/end.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

What does this mean? Compressed representations may facilitate strategic exploration on a complex task like the clock task. There is evidence that entropy and value maxima are represented in vPFC. These representations may drive biological solutions to E/E problems. 14/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Finally, we look at the effects of this connectivity analysis on exploration behavior. We find that following rewarded trials, higher entropy modulation of posterior hippocampal-DMN connectivity predicted subsequent exploration. Maybe these signals are related to choice. 13/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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We next examine interactions between vPFC and hippocampus using the deconvolved MLM framework. We do this by using HC as a regressor and vPFC as an outcome. A key result from this analysis is that hippocampal-DMN connectivity is higher when entropy is higher. 12/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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We find robust encoding of the value maximum in vPFC, strongest in region 14m25/32 of the DMN and in the LIM network. This is consistent with the neuroeconomic literature that suggests ventromedial PFC encodes scalar values. 11/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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We find that DMN responds when entropy is lower, when there is likely one prominent global value maximum that is easier to exploit. We use deconvolved BOLD aligned to trial onset in a MLM. This allows examination of the time course of signals w.r.t. an event (like a PETH). 10/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Entropy is an emergent property that captures the complexity of the value function on a given trial: higher entropy indicates many local value maxima (complex value landscape) and lower entropy typically indicates one prominent global value maximum (simple value landscape). 9/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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An RL model is fit to subjects’ behavior, and the value maximum and entropy of the value distribution are calculated on each trial. We can then examine neural correlates with predictions from the model. 8/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Subjects explore and exploit on a clock task where a dot rotates 360 deg, and responding at different locations gives probabilistic rewards. Hidden underlying value distributions are learned through exploration. Subjects play this task during an fMRI scan. 7/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Here we extend these findings to ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC), and interactions between hippocampus and vPFC. We examine 3 resting state networks, the control (CTR), default mode (DMN) and limbic (LIM). Importantly, we replicate key findings out-of-sample. 6/15

03.04.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0