@ndosenbach.bsky.social
David M. & Tracy S. Holtzman Professor, Neurology @ WashU School of Medicine; precision neuroimaging, network plasticity, BWAS ≠ fMRI, action mode; #neuroscience #neurology #openscience #science dosenbachlab.wustl.edu
And ... There might be more similarities than people think between H.M. and the 6x US memory champion 👀
Most of what's known about human memory stems from H.M., who had his hippocampus removed bilaterally. So we studied memory champion Nelson Dellis with precision brain mapping. Everyone's memory for numbers is crap ... 10 digits. He's memorized 10,000, by turning it into a skill, more like juggling
The 6x US memory champion – Nelson Dellis – can memorize a deck of cards in 40 seconds and knows the first 10K digits of pi.
To figure out how, he let us peak inside his brain. Here is what we learned in our precision brain mapping study www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
youtube.com/shorts/MryMq...
Most of what's known about human memory stems from H.M., who had his hippocampus removed bilaterally. So we studied memory champion Nelson Dellis with precision brain mapping. Everyone's memory for numbers is crap ... 10 digits. He's memorized 10,000, by turning it into a skill, more like juggling
As someone who has a hard time remembering my phone number, let alone 10k digits of pi, I am in awe of these memory champions who make it look easy -- but how do they do it!? 😵💫
@roselynechauvin.bsky.social explains it in pictures. See how their brains are wired differently! doi.org/10.64898/202...
How can someone train their brain to have not just improved performance, but to have unbelievable, superhuman performance?
You have to hijack a brain system used for something people do very well (remembering stories) and trick it into helping with tasks we don't do well (remembering numbers).
🚨 New preprint: Objective Quality Assessment for Precision fMRI
Precision functional mapping (PFM) enables individual-level brain network studies — but demands more, and better, data.
We introduce an objective framework to determine when a dataset truly supports interpretable, replicable PFM.
Excited to share @nathumbehav.nature.com's new “How to” collection—a practical set of researcher‑to‑researcher insights on everything from building supportive lab cultures to ethical online data use, designing surveys and megastudies, evaluating LLMs, and more. 🧪 www.nature.com/collections/...
GLP-1 drugs may do more than help with weight loss and diabetes — they’re also showing promising results in treating addiction. Time Magazine spotlights the latest WashU Medicine research on this revelatory finding. time.com/7382492/weig...
It's a pretty funny criticism because
1) the data are sourced from a public database, NIH RePORTER
2) "Deranged activist" Jeremy Berg was an NIH institute director for 7 years
and most importantly
3) Thacker admits the story is totally accurate
In a scathing review, the top US medical journal's editorial board warned that the "destruction that Kennedy has wrought in 1 in office might take generations to repair." n.pr/3N9Foa8
A recent @natneuro.nature.com paper analyzed lesion network mapping and raised concerns about the validity of the method.
See below 👇 for our response.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
New paper in Nature Neuroscience! We developed personalized fMRI-based predictive models tracking ongoing spontaneous pain in chronic pain patients—trained on 6+ months of densely sampled data. A true team effort. Deeply grateful to our participants! doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02221-3
Nico Dosenbach, MD, PhD, among other researchers, has identified the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) as the brain network responsible for Parkinson's disease. The study also found targeting SCAN with non-invasive TMS greatly improves symptoms.
https://bit.ly/4adziNp
A newly discovered Alzheimer’s “clock” may be ticking in the blood. Read how Suzanne E. Schindler, MD, PhD, and team built a model using blood tests to estimate when symptoms could begin — opening new possibilities for earlier diagnosis and prevention.
New approach roughly predicts when Alzheimer’s symptoms begin
The technique is not yet precise enough to predict a patient’s exact trajectory but could help find long-sought preventive treatment.
wapo.st/4kHZYuC
Parkinson's disease appears to disrupt a brain network involved in everything from movement to memory. n.pr/4kpKWtv
After a year of RFK, Jr., heading the Department of Health and Human Services, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement has upended science and medicine
@jcooperman.bsky.social proves essay writing is *not* a lost art in her engaging, in-depth write-up of our latest research on stimulant drugs. I highly recommend her journalism, and you can find the science published in the journal Cell.
commonreader.wustl.edu/adhd-and-rit...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Today's anti-science pairing
Scientists are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for help drafting the grant proposals that fund their careers.
Preliminary data indicate that these tools are linked with a slightly higher funding rate and might be pulling the focus of research towards safe, less-innovative ideas.
NEW: Another NIH institute director hasn't been renewed — the director of NIAMS (arthritis, musculoskeletal and skin diseases institute).
That leaves a whopping 15 of 27 institutes and centers without a permanent director.
Objective Quality Assessment for Precision Functional MRI Data | bioRxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
"The meta-skill is learning to continuously spot the next evolution and position yourself at the edge of what’s newly possible." That sounds really tiring. newsletter.jantegze.com/p/your-job-i...
Ritalin doesn't hit the attention centers after all--and it might help prevent dementia--and ADHD is a continuum for all of us--but sometimes it's misdiagnosed sleep-deprivation... One big study can reveal a lot. (AUDIO 8m) commonreader.wustl.edu/adhd-and-rit...
Brain network dysfunction central to Parkinson’s disease identified
https://www.newsbeep.com/nz/279712/
Researchers led by Beijing”s Changping Laboratory have identified a specific brain network whose dysfunction appears central to Parkinson’s…
📰 Parkinson's May Emerge From a Deeper Brain Network Than We Thought
Targeting it vastly improved treatments.
Parkinson's May Emerge From a Deeper Brain Network Than We Thought. Via @sciencealert #MedicalScience 💉💊🏥🩸😷
Breakthrough @nature.com study showcases new non-invasive treatment for Parkinson’s Disease that targets the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) with personalized neuromodulation, for superior outcomes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Don’t miss out reading about this amazing work linking the SCAN to Parkinson’s disease. What are the best ways we could use this new knowledge?!