We have argued that the brain’s Action Mode Network controls functions required for goal-directed behavior. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Now, in new work, we show that AMN contains distinct subnetworks for making decisions, implementing actions, and processing feedback. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Congrats! Well deserved.

Anyone going to Psychedelic Science 2025 in Denver?

I'm on a panel - "Beyond the Blobs: Visualizing the Psychedelic Brain" - with a film maker (Ethan Goldwater) and he made an incredible video JUST for the panel.

drive.google.com/file/d/1317D...

This extraordinary psychedelic dataset is now fully/freely available to all!

All the info to access & use it in a newly published Nature Scientific Data Resource: rdcu.be/epxe7

Thanks to the incredible team who created it - Subha S, Rick R, Ginger N, to name a few.

Translate that into Japanese!

Effects of Psilocybin on Religious and Spiritual Attitudes and Behaviors in Clergy from Various Major World Religions | Psychedelic Medicine Background: Although historical writings, anthropological accounts, and experimental studies document associations between psilocybin use and religion, no prospective experimental study has investigated how the effects of psilocybin are experienced and interpreted by religious clergy. This exploratory study evaluated the overall safety and the acute and enduring effects of psilocybin in clergy. Methods: Participants were psychedelic-naïve clergy from various major world religions. A randomized, parallel group, waitlist control design was used to assess the effects of two supported psilocybin sessions, with participants receiving 20 and then 20 or 30 mg/70 kg about 1 month later. Outcomes were compared between the Immediate Group (n = 13) and the Delayed Group (n = 16) at 6 months after screening using self-report measures. The effects of psilocybin were also assessed on session days and 4 and 16 months after the second psilocybin session in the 24 participants who completed both sessions. Results: The primary outcome assessment at 6 months after screening showed that, compared with the delayed control group, participants who had received psilocybin reported significantly greater positive changes in their religious practices, attitudes about their religion, and effectiveness as a religious leader, as well as in their non-religious attitudes, moods, and behavior. Follow-up assessments showed that positive changes in religious and non-religious attitudes and behavior were sustained through 16 months after the second psilocybin session. At that time, participants rated at least one of their psilocybin experiences to be among the top five most spiritually significant (96%), profoundly sacred (92%), psychologically insightful (83%), and psychologically meaningful (79%) of their lives. Furthermore, 42% rated one of their experiences to be the single most profound of their lifetime. At 16-months follow-up, most (79%) strongly endorsed that the experiences had positive effects on their religious practices (e.g., prayer or meditation) and their daily sense of the sacred, and most (71%) reported positive changes in their appreciation of religious traditions other than their own. Although no serious adverse events were reported, 46% rated a psilocybin experience as among the top five most psychologically challenging of their lives. Conclusions: In this population of clergy, psilocybin administration was safe and increased multiple domains of overall psychological well-being including positive changes in religious attitudes and behavior as well as their vocation as a religious leader. The study was limited by a waitlist control design, homogenous sample, and the use of some unvalidated outcome measures. Further research with more rigorous control conditions and diverse samples is needed.

"Effects of Psilocybin on Clergy..."

The resutls are just ... incredible.

"participants rated their psilocybin experiences to be among the top five most spiritually significant (96%) of their lives..."

liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/...

The brain signature of a single dose of Ritalin in six participants in our precision functional mapping study was highly significant and well matched to stimulant effects determined in thousands of subjects in the ABCD data set.

PFM provides powerful drug bio markers!

Stay tuned for more on this

My med school textbook says stimulants like Ritalin treat hyperactivity by “stimulating” the brain’s attention and cognitive control systems. We studied children taking stimulants in the ABCD Study, and the largest differences were actually in arousal and reward networks! Check out our preprint!

‘Old’ brainstem structure evolved beyond basic motor control The human red nucleus may also help coordinate action, reward and motivated behavior, a new study suggests.

Happy to read @sydneywyatt.bsky.social’s piece on the recent study by @samkrimmelneuro.bsky.social
@ndosenbach.bsky.social @gordonneuro.bsky.social re: the human red nucleus
I was glad to discuss this great work with Sydney
@thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/brain-imagin...

I agree! We are held accountable by the IRB. But who holds the IRB accountable!?

Major praise to the @nyulangone.bsky.social podcast team.

I expected just a little internal thing, but they did an AMAZING job digging into the science and creating a great show.

Check it out -
YouTube (full-length): youtu.be/h8Thc-BDvZ0A...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3WHK...

Donald Trump: the would-be king America is fated to wage a titanic struggle over the power of the president

It's terrifying to watch a tyrannical power grab in America.

But also ... kind of fascinating... in a twisted way.

Really brings the history books to life, huh?

www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

The advancements in brainstem imaging will make it possible to examine a host of clinically relevent structures like the eriaqueductal gray and substantia nigra in humans, something that has been very hard to do well previously

This is *crucial* to the future translational potential of resting fMRI

It's shocking how little is known about the brainstem red nucleus. In our new paper “The human brainstem’s red nucleus was upgraded to support goal-directed action” out now in @naturecomms.bsky.social we show that current thinking on the red nucleus is in need of a serious upgrade. rdcu.be/ehbOy

Psilocybin’s lasting action requires pyramidal cell types and 5-HT2A receptors - Nature A pyramidal cell type and the 5-HT2A receptor in the medial frontal cortex have essential roles in psilocybin’s long-term drug action.

Our latest study identifies a specific cell type and receptor essential for psilocybin’s long-lasting neural and behavioral effects 🍄🔬🧠🧪

Led by Ling-Xiao Shao and @ItsClaraLiao

Funded by @NIH @NIMHgov

📄 Read in @nature.com - www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Cortical Folding Pattern and its Consistency Induced by Biological Growth - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Cortical Folding Pattern and its Consistency Induced by Biological Growth

Just heard a fascinating talk by Mir Jalil Razavi! 🤯

Cortical folding is driven by surface expansion. Tiny differences in cortical thickness and starting morphology drive patterning of the brain surface.

Crucial info to anyone who wants to localize brain function!

nature.com/articles/sre...

The Best Investment You Didn’t Know You Made: How NIH Funding Fuels Innovation and Economic Growth Continued investment in the NIH is essential to fighting current and emerging health threats and to ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in medical innovation.

THIS: The Best Investment You Didn’t Know You Made: How NIH Funding Fuels Innovation and Economic Growth
www.amfar.org/news/how-nih...

2025 STAT Madness 2025 bracket Welcome to STAT Madness, a bracket-style contest to find the best innovation in science and medicine. Explore groundbreaking innovations from

Vote for our Psilocybin study!
statnews.com/feature/stat...

Don't ask me why someone would make a March Madness for academic research. But they did.

For the love of science, I guess.

The Revolution will be AI-icized

On changes to #NIH indirect rates, there is a law in place that prohibits NIH from making such changes without the approval of Congress. See Division D, Title II Section 224 of The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law No: 118-47) grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

If you are doing fMRI research, you need to start using NORDIC thermal denoising.

It is a game changer.

@drdamienfair.bsky.social @drjuliamoser.bsky.social Congrats on the paper officially coming out.

direct.mit.edu/imag/article...