Sara Morrison

Stimulus-specific and adaptive value representations in the basolateral amygdala in male mice - Nature Communications How basolateral amygdala represents the specific value of rewards remains unclear. Here the authors find that basolateral amygdala neurons assign stimulus-specific values to different rewards and rapidly re-scale these signals with changing reward context, thirst or stress, illuminating how the brain guides flexible, state-dependent choices.

Too bad no mention of the Crespi Effect, dependent on basolateral amygdala. Classic 🏆 ibotenic lesion and lidocaine inactivation papers by Salinas, Packard, and McGaugh, 1993; Salinas, Parent, and McGaugh, 1996 could have been cited.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Careers at LIBD | Medical Research Jobs | Lieber Institute View our career opportunities with Lieber Institute for Brain Development including investigators, medical research jobs, scientists, & lab techs

We have several positions open at various levels (Research Assistant, Research Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow) across our highly interactive teams in the Division of Translational Neuroscience 🧠🔬🧪 @lieberinstitute.bsky.social

www.libd.org/careers/

Links to individual positions in the thread below.

Information flyer for graduate program in neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. Virtual open house events on October 6th and 30th.

For those interested in a neuroscience PhD - the University of Minnesota Graduate Program in Neuroscience www.neuroscience.umn.edu is hosting virtual open house events coming up on Oct 6th and Oct 30th. Learn about the program and meet students and faculty! Register here: forms.gle/kANEp4Fmd3ut...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

🚨 We’re hiring a postdoc! 🚨

Excited for our new NiCE grant with @lauerlab.bsky.social @batwoman123.bsky.social 🎉We use a comparative approach, two-photon imaging & optogenetics to identify why bats🦇 and deer mice resist noise but lab mice don't.

If you're interested, please DM or e-mail me!

"We’re currently at about 54% of last year’s total [of funded R01s]...Another way to look at this is that we’re missing 1,809 new R01s."

📢We're #hiring Group Leaders!

Apply to lead a lab at Janelia & advance biology using theory, computational modeling & machine learning.

🔹5-year renewable appointment
🔹Pioneer new tools & approaches
🔹Collaborate across disciplines

Apply by Nov. 4👉 https://janelia.link/groupleader

K.M. Costa Lab

If you are a highly motivated grad student (@uabneuro.bsky.social) or a prospective postdoc with experience in behavior, neural recordings, or programming, and would like to contribute to this project, just contact me. Details on kmcostalab.com

We are thrilled to announce that OneNeuro Co-Director Patricia Janak, Ph.D., has been elected as the 2026-2027 President of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). @janaklab.bsky.social

View the official announcement: www.sfn.org/publications...

We're looking for a research assistant to work in our neuroscience lab at @princetonneuro.bsky.social @hhmi.org where we study learning and decision-making circuitry.

Apply here: research-princeton.icims.com/jobs/21001/r...

Pls share w/ anyone who might be interested!

#JNeurosci: Stritzel et al. found that brief nighttime exposure to dim red light conditions widely used in rodent research caused circadian disruption and red light stimuli were detected by the rodent visual system. ‪@colorado.edu‬ @vulintus.com‬
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0157-25.2025

‘Seek Funding’ Step Added To Scientific Method PARIS—In an effort to modernize the principles and empirical procedures of examining phenomena and advancing humanity’s collective knowledge, the International Council for Science announced Thursday t...

‘Seek Funding’ Step Added To Scientific Method

What kinds of support do early-career researchers need? Help The Transmitter and Neuromatch bolster the next generation of neuroscientists.

Calling all early-career researchers! @thetransmitter.bsky.social and @neuromatch.bsky.social want to understand your journey as you become the next generation of neuroscientists. Share your experiences and help us build the resources you need.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...

Being an academic right now feels like riding in a car that has the check engine and low fuel light on, and you know you there isn't a gas station for at least the next three years.

How long before it stalls in the middle of the rode?

How long before you get off?

How long before we all get off.

📣 Heads-up that our amazing dept (Berkeley Psych) is anticipating hiring *two* TT Asst Profs this Fall, under the themes of (1) Social & Personality Psychology, and (2) Biological Basis of Behavior.

Official job ads coming soon...

Send qs for (1) to Iris Mauss/Serena Chen, (2) to Linda Wilbrecht

Starting up OnlyLabs, where people can pay to watch researchers who used to have federal funding do Hot Uncensored Cutting Edge science experiments.

It's also kind of an interesting layperson's take on sign tracking.

Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to go to their treat. Why do some animals learn to interact with the bell instead? New Pitt research found that this behavior, called sign tracking, relies on dopamine release at just the right time.

Our lab was featured in PittWire! Yay local publicity! :-)
www.pittwire.pitt.edu/features-art...

Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities The move would undo years of work, leaving advisory councils understaffed, and without the full expertise needed for reviews.

NEW: In an unprecedented move, the NIH will soon disinvite dozens of scientists about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding.

NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.

Hiring: Research Technician and Postdoctoral opportunities!
My lab is looking for candidates to join or research in systems neuroscience at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago @uofilsystem.bsky.social. See details below. Please share! lujanlabuic.squarespace.com/joinus

Winter Conference on Brain Research January 24th to 29th 2026 Big Sky Montana!

Submissions for #WCBR2026 open today! Please go to www.winterbrain.org Big Sky is my absolute favorite venue for this meeting. The science is top notch, the people are great, the meaning is inclusive, and I learned to ski as a 35 year old! Please repost!

Modulation of Dopamine Neurons Alters Behavior and Event Encoding in the Nucleus Accumbens during Pavlovian Conditioning When a cue is located away from its associated reward, some animals will learn to approach the site of reward (goal-tracking behavior) while others will approach the cue (sign-tracking behavior). The ...

We are delighted to have the cover article in J Neurosci this week! Briefly: inhibition of DA neurons at reward blocks the acquisition of sign tracking; stimulation (or bigger reward) doesn't alter it, but *stopping* stimulation halts acquisition in its tracks. www.jneurosci.org/content/45/2...