Ossama Ghenissa

An elevated plus-maze in mixed reality for studying human anxiety-related behavior - BMC Biology Background A dearth of laboratory tests to study actual human approach-avoidance behavior has complicated translational research on anxiety. The elevated plus-maze (EPM) is the gold standard to assess approach-avoidance behavior in rodents. Methods Here, we translated the EPM to humans using mixed reality through a combination of virtual and real-world elements. In two validation studies, we observed participants’ anxiety on a behavioral, physiological, and subjective level. Results Participants reported higher anxiety on open arms, avoided open arms, and showed an activation of endogenous stress systems. Participants’ with high anxiety exhibited higher avoidance. Moreover, open arm avoidance was moderately predicted by participants’ acrophobia and sensation seeking, with opposing influences. In a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled experiment, GABAergic stimulation decreased avoidance of open arms while alpha-2-adrenergic antagonism increased avoidance. Conclusion These findings demonstrate cross-species validity of open arm avoidance as a translational measure of anxiety. We thus introduce the first ecologically valid assay to track actual human approach-avoidance behavior under laboratory conditions.

Sharing this one from the lab slack -
@ossamaghenissa.bsky.social

EPM in humans!! Works just as good as in mice 😉

bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

30.09.2025 13:59 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

GINNA, a 33 resting-state networks atlas with meta-analytic decoding-based cognitive characterization - Communications Biology The GINNA brain atlas offers a comprehensive framework for exploring the functional significance of 33 resting-state networks and their relationship to human cognition, using task-based meta-analytic ...

🧠 The GINNA brain atlas offers a comprehensive framework for exploring the functional significance of 33 resting-state networks & their relationship to human cognition.
@imn-bordeaux.bsky.social @achetyl.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

18.02.2025 19:08 — 👍 8    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0

Building AI simulations of the human brain In which Wu Tsai Neuro faculty scholar Dan Yamins explores how foundation models of the human brain could

In a recent podcast @dyamins.bsky.social argues: "We want to be able to use the model of the digital brain as a neurobiomedical discovery and diagnostic design platform." neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/buildin... - That view is popular and I believe that there is a fundamental logical error. Thread

05.05.2025 13:11 — 👍 90    🔁 23    💬 4    📌 3

This will kill us: restricting animal research Tuesday, as my lab gathered to celebrate the completion of one of our big studies, the National Institutes of Health announced that they…

The NIH move to restrict animal research is a bad one and not just about health - it's about national security.

More here:
medium.com/@eblissmorea...

04.05.2025 23:46 — 👍 113    🔁 69    💬 2    📌 9

Super cool to get the hard copy of the Astrocyte Methods and Protocols today!

23.04.2025 17:17 — 👍 24    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

Marseille is calling! 🇫🇷🌊☀️
Join us at #GLIA2025, where cutting-edge science on #glia cells meets the charm of the French Mediterranean.
📍 Marseille | 8–11 July 2025
🎥 Watch the GIF & get a taste of Marseille’s vibrant energy!
🌐 Register here: glia2025.eu

15.04.2025 08:38 — 👍 10    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 0

Test effects of behavior/events at every trial timepoint in photometry analyses! Paper with Erjia Cui, Dave Lovinger, Francisco Pereira. “A Statistical Framework for Analysis of Trial-Level Temporal Dynamics in Fiber Photometry Experiments.” Python+R packages! elifesciences.org/articles/95802. 1/13

18.03.2025 22:04 — 👍 27    🔁 8    💬 4    📌 2

Poster showing details for seminar from Dr Jun Nagai. Principal Investigator Team Leader at RIKEN Centre for Brain Science Tokyo, Japan Title: Behaviorally relevant astrocyte ensembles for systems stabilization Le conférence seront présentées en anglais Le mercredi 2 Avril 2025 - Wednesday 2nd April 2025 at 12pm Locale : R05.212B

Montréal glia people / neuroscience community - I'm hosting Jun Nagai (RIKEN) on April 2nd at the @crchum.bsky.social
If you're interested see details below, or reach out to me! Open to all.

19.03.2025 16:09 — 👍 16    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 0

Synaptic basis of feature selectivity in hippocampal neurons - Nature A temporally asymmetric synaptic plasticity kernel results from bidirectional modifications of synaptic weights around the induction of a place field.

Delighted to highlight our new paper in
@natureportfolio.bsky.social entitled 'Synaptic basis of feature selectivity in hippocampal neurons' (thread below 👇): www.nature.com/articles/s41...

18.12.2024 21:59 — 👍 242    🔁 64    💬 13    📌 11

Introducing PowerLMM.js!

A new tool for power analysis of longitudinal linear mixed-effects models (LMMs) – with support for missing data, plus non-inferiority and equivalence tests.

powerlmmjs.rpsychologist.com

Would really appreciate your feedback as I refine this app! Details below 🧵👇

11.12.2024 10:20 — 👍 294    🔁 111    💬 11    📌 10

Early-life stress induces persistent astrocyte dysfunction associated with fear generalisation Early-life stress can have lifelong consequences, enhancing stress susceptibility and resulting in behavioural and cognitive deficits. While the effects of early-life stress on neuronal function have ...

Delighted to share an update to our preprint, reviewed at @elife.bsky.social, and now sent back for re-review.
Colossal work by the team and driven home by @mathiasgua.bsky.social
Quick 🧵 of what's new -
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

09.12.2024 23:19 — 👍 85    🔁 32    💬 2    📌 2

This is excellent!!! Ahahah

28.11.2024 14:00 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0