John Tuthill

Happy to share work I contributed to during my time in the Murthy lab!

now published in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🎉🥳

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Specialized parallel pathways for adaptive control of visual object pursuit Collie et al. show how adaptive control in Drosophila visual pursuit arises from two parallel pathways: one steers objects from the periphery toward the center, while the other maintains central fixat...

Thrilled to share that my graduate work is officially published in Neuron! 🎉
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Neural connectome of the ctenophore statocyst Volume EM and connectome reconstruction of the apical organ of a ctenophore combined with high-speed imaging reveals a neuronal coordination of balancer cilia in the gravisensory organ.

In @eLife: Neural connectome of the ctenophore statocyst https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.108420
Version of record of our ctenophore nerve-net connectome paper.

Neuroscience has a species problem If neuroscience is serious about building general principles of brain function, cross-species dialogue must become a core organizing principle.

The biggest problem holding neuroscience back right now isn’t data or tools, thanks in large part to the BRAIN Initiative.

It’s fragmentation across species. I wrote this to hopefully spark discussion around an issue that can only be solved as a community👇

www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...

Amazing pape, congrats @robertslab.bsky.social

Abdus-Saboor on balancing the study of pain and pleasure David Anderson’s 2013 paper revealed the sensory neurons involved in pleasurable touch and led Ishmail Abdus-Saboor down a new research path.

“I like to work on problems where there’s still room to make a big impact.” In “This paper changed my life,” @ishmailsaboor.bsky.social discusses how a 2013 paper from David Anderson inspired him to study the circuits of pain and pleasure.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/this-paper-c...

Primate dexterous hand movements are controlled by functionally distinct premotoneuronal systems Distinct spinal and cortical pathways coordinate muscle synergies and fine control to support primate dexterous hand movements.

Our paper is out in Science Advances!
What makes primate hands so dexterous?
We show that evolutionarily distinct spinal and cortical pathways work together to balance stability and flexibility, supporting remarkable primate hand control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

i completely agree. the simulated bodies meeting at janelia had a few human biomechanics people adjacent to the gaming industry, but i think there is a lot more opportunity for fruitful interaction.

Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas? Oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and house a dizzying array of organisms, including five species of the peppercorn-sized ocean-skater Halobates, which live exclusively at the ocean surface...

I can't overrecommend this incredible paper about water skaters (genus Halobates). No one knows how they evolved. No one knows what they eat. They are superhydrophobic, which means water LITERALLY CANNOT WET THEM. Perhaps we should call them anti-water skaters? 🌊🧪
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

i agree with walter that this remains our fundamental strength. i am reviewing grants right now because i still have some faith that my input matters. but that could easily change...

Good to hear from Walter and glad that at least someone is optimistic...

A chinchemolle (alpine stick insect) living up at 1600 m on Volcán Antillanca, Chile.

Learned when I got home that this species (Agathemera elegans) secretes a spray in self defense that causes temporary blindness. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16989322/

fascinating story of hydra intrigue

a close up of a brown surface with a few spots ALT: a close up of a brown surface with a few spots

The appropriations bill that includes NIH is being finalized.

The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.

The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.

1/3

Oxytocin Modulation of Spinal Circuits Drives Therapeutic Benefits of Massage Across social species, social touch enhances well-being and reduces pain - two seemingly distinct benefits that enhance survival. Yet where and how the nervous system integrates these functions, and w...

Exciting new preprint on oxytocin neural circuits for massage led by Manon Bohic in Vicky Abraira’s lab. Sasha and I were glad to contribute imaging experiments to this collaborative effort, spanning mice to humans. Vicky is a master at bringing people together.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

i deliberately confuse vertebrate brain area names to mimic how my vertebrate colleagues handle the insect brain

the convergence (both evolutionarily and socio-scientifically) of the head direction encoding systems in the zebrafish habenula and fly central complex is one of my favorite corners of neuroscience to watch right now 🍿

i know it's kind of like saying "free bird" changed my life, but i was but a young country bumpkin

yes, my life was changed by a science paper about ants walking on stilts.

Ontogeny of the spinal cord dorsal horn The dorsal horn of the mammalian spinal cord is organized into laminae where each layer is populated by different neuron types, has distinctive circuit connections, and plays specialized roles in beha...

Excited to share @rbrianroome.bsky.social ‘s beautiful paper on development of the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord @science.org

This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

@annmclemens.bsky.social (and her artwork) is about as far you can get from AI slop.

And Sasha Zill should be given an honorary umlaut.

And Ansgar Büschges of course. Also a legend, but he feels less mythical only because I've met him.

Electrosensitivity in planthoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha) - Journal of Comparative Physiology A Extracellular recordings from the sensory pits, conspicuous sensory organs on the cuticle of planthopper nymphs (suborder Fulgoromorpha), were performed. No responses to sound, ultrasound, direct mech...

Another banger from Peter Bräunig. His papes are always crazy and understated. Same with Hans Joachim Pflüger. There is just something special insect neuroethologists with umlauts. Bässler is another example.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Ascona meetings on neural circuits are amazing conferences in a beautiful setting in Switzerland spanning all scales from genetics and micro-circuit cracking to high level cognition. Check asconacircuits.org for the 2026 program and register soon, as it typically reaches capacity very quickly 🧠🧪

“By switching from firing sodium to calcium spikes, these neurons implement a ∼180° realignment between the vector encoded in the neuronal population and the fly’s internal compass signal, thus inverting the vector.”

A beautiful set of experimental results and analyses. Congrats to Itzel et al.!

How does the brain control locomotion? In our new preprint, we uncover a brain circuit in Drosophila that controls forward walking independently of turning. This dedicated locomotor circuit enables flexible motor control and might reflect a shared principle across species. doi.org/10.64898/202...

agreed, great list. found a couple i hadn't read. now that you're at cambridge, you should def read "the world as i found it", if you haven't already.

a bright spot in this otherwise dismal year was the journalism and commentary provided by @thetransmitter.bsky.social. i am grateful that this publication exists and i hope @simonsfoundation.org continues to support them.

An email to NINDS staff from Walter Koroshetz announcing that his reappointment request has been denied.

More news (not good) from NIH

The renewal request from National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke Director Walter Koroshetz has been denied.

I guess the NIH_leadership™ needed another position to fill with their time-tested recruitment process.