Marco Bocchio

New Faraday cage set up!
Almost ready to roll 💪🏼⚡

🔬 @marcobocchio.bsky.social
🏫 @durhampsych.bsky.social

Also congrats to @laurasmithncl.bsky.social
for winning the best research talk award!

Many thanks to @britishneuro.bsky.social organisers
@kamarameenali.bsky.social and Paul Hubbard!

Great to attend the
BNA NorthEast event and connect with neuroscientists from
@newcastleuni.bsky.social @durham-university.bsky.social @teessideuni.bsky.social and @northumbriauni.bsky.social!

Congrats to @gdigregorio.bsky.social on winning best poster and a 1-year BNA subscription!

🧠🍄Have you used classic or non-classic #psychedelics?
We are running an anonymous online study on how these experiences relate to mental processes.

Share your experience (takes less than 15 min):👉 durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Well done to @gdigregorio.bsky.social for winning the poster prize (and a one year BNA subscription!) at the @britishneuro.bsky.social North East meeting for his PhD project on #psychedelics, #serotonin, #neuroplasticity and #mentalhealth!

@durhampsych.bsky.social ‪@durham-university.bsky.social‬

🧠🍄Have you used classic or non-classic #psychedelics?
We are running an anonymous online study on how these experiences relate to mental processes.

Share your experience (takes less than 15 min):👉 durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

📢 Still time to apply for our MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience
@durhampsych.bsky.social !

👉 durham.ac.uk/study/course...

🧠 Join a top Psychology department and kickstart your Neuroscience career.

🔍 Wide range of research groups: durham.ac.uk/departments/...

📩 DM me for any question

📢 Still time to apply for our MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience
@durhampsych.bsky.social !

👉 durham.ac.uk/study/course...

🧠 Join a top Psychology department and kickstart your Neuroscience career.

🔍 Wide range of research groups: durham.ac.uk/departments/...

📩 DM me for any question

Interested in doing an MSc in (a) Cognitive Neuroscience, (b) Behavioural Science, (c) Developmental Psychopathology @durham_uni UK? Find out more here: www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...

Two free online Q&A sessions on 14 and 28 May, book a place here: durhamuni.eventsair.com/postgraduate...

The student will receive all-round interdisciplinary training:

🔬 Experimental techniques – patch-clamp electrophysiology & optogenetics

🖥 Computational work – biologically detailed models of cortical circuits & deep neural networks

Feel free to reach out for more info. 📩

Control of top-down and bottom-up information by serotonin: a combined experimental and computational approach at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Control of top-down and bottom-up information by serotonin: a combined experimental and computational approach at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

🚨 🎓 PhD opportunity in Experimental & Computational Neuroscience! 🚨

@srikipedia.bsky.social and I have PhD project available between @newcastleuni.bsky.social & @durham-university.bsky.social to study the computational principles of #serotonin. 🧠

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

1/2

Post-doctoral position available to investigate how experience shapes the brain. Ideal candidate with skills in: Drosophila, behaviour, imaging.
Advert out soon. Meanwhile, if interested, pls contact me.

Associate Professorship of Social Psychology at the Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford:
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

🎉HUGE Congratulations to Giammarco Di Gregorio on securing a fellowship through #TheCareLeadersFellowship Giammarco will be working to reduce the achievement gap in STEM among young people in care through hands-on workshops 👏 #inspiringthenextgeneration

We're still seeking participants for our anonymous survey on how #psychedelics affect #MentalHealth. Both users and non-users, your input is vital!

⌛️ It only takes 10-20 minutes to complete: durhambs.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Please take part and help by reposting to spread the word!

Mice Lacking the Serotonin Transporter do not Respond to the Behavioural Effects of Psilocybin Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with therapeutic potential for several neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety disorders…

Intriguing finding: behavioural effects of psilocybin are absent in mice lacking the serotonin transporter: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... But psilocin should have minimal affinity for the SERT! So why is this? Possibly developmental rearrangements (e.g. 5-HT2A downregulation)?

#PsychedelicResearch #PsychedelicTherapy #SurveyCall

We're still seeking participants for our anonymous survey on how #psychedelics affect #MentalHealth. Both users and non-users, your input is vital!

⌛️ It only takes 10-20 minutes to complete: durhambs.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Please take part and help by reposting to spread the word!

Experts warn of mental health risks after rise in magic mushroom use Reports that psilocybin can help some mental health conditions has led to increase in recreational use, which carries risks

Curious to hear your thoughts on this article:

www.theguardian.com/science/2024...

🎓 Exciting PhD opportunities for our Department!
Deadlines for funding applications:
📅 15 Jan 2025:
🔹 Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC)
🔹 Durham Doctoral Studentships (DDS)
🔹 Departmental Studentships
Interested in joining our lab? Get in touch! 👇
🌐 durham.ac.uk/departments/...

We have just released an online anonymous survey to study the link between naturalistic use of #psychedelics (classic and non-classic) and mental health. We need both users and non-users: durhambs.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_.... Takes 20-30 min max to complete. Reposts highly appreciated

We have just released an online anonymous survey to study the link between naturalistic use of #psychedelics (classic and non-classic) and mental health. We need both users and non-users: durhambs.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_.... Takes 20-30 min max to complete. Reposts highly appreciated

I have started a 'Psychedelics Starter Pack' of Bluesky accounts related to the field.

It's very much a Work In Progress - please reply or DM with suggestions.

go.bsky.app/VNupHtA

This study shows for the first time that interneurons function not only via division of labour, but also via concerted activity. Their strong but unspecific functional connectivity can promote recruitment of pyramidal cell assemblies, rather than merely their segregation.

Finally, we examined the effect of single interneuron optical stimulation on SCEs and cell assemblies. This showed that activation of single interneurons favours both SCEs and the reinstatement of endogenous cell assemblies.

This suggests that interneuron activation favours cell assembly activation, whereas we found little evidence in our experiment and model of a segregating function of inhibition.

In line with the model, we found significant cell assemblies in our experimental data. Association of pyramidal cell activity with interneurons correlated with pyramidal cell recruitment in cell assemblies

We then interrogated a rate-based network model with hippocampal-like connectivity motifs. We found that cell assemblies and dense but unspecific connectivity between interneurons are necessary ingredients to explain the effects of interneuron stimulation

Activating a single interneuron, surprisingly, triggered mostly excitatory responses in pyramidal cells. It mostly triggered inhibition in inhibitory neurons, suggesting disinhibitory effects at play

To probe causality, we combined imaging and holographic stimulation of single interneurons with optogenetics