Mark D Humphries

#neuroskyence, a question for you:

Can you think of a paper that shows the latent dynamics of a network are robust to the loss of its neurons?

(Or, if you prefer, that the manifold is robust to the same)

An ion channel omnimodel for standardized biophysical neuron modelling Biophysical neuron modeling is an indispensable tool in neuroscience research, with the combination of diverse ion channel kinetics and morphologies being used to explain various single-neuron propert...

“Mapping ion channel function” doi.org/10.7554/eLif... isn’t exactly a citation slayer, but it’s still one of my favourites (& my first independent project). Today we push pt 2, where we trace code origin & unite almost all channel models in a common expression. Boom! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Synaptic reverberation underlying mnemonic persistent activity Stimulus-specific persistent neural activity is the neural process underlying active (working) memory. Since its discovery 30 years ago, mnemonic acti…

#Neuroskyence hive mind: what’s the best single paper that explains the attractor theory of working memory?

For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Thanks! The NRN covers a lot, so may not be so accessible for the audience I’ve in mind; will revisit Wang’s follow up in TINs, may well be the answer!

Synaptic reverberation underlying mnemonic persistent activity Stimulus-specific persistent neural activity is the neural process underlying active (working) memory. Since its discovery 30 years ago, mnemonic acti…

#Neuroskyence hive mind: what’s the best single paper that explains the attractor theory of working memory?

For reference, my go to has been Wang’s 2001 TINS paper, but that’s nearly a quarter century old!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Early-bird registration for "The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025" ends September 30th

A meeting for everyone fascinated by the brain's role in foraging, 3-5 November 2025 at University of Birmingham.

Full speaker list, schedule and more now on the website
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...

MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board (NMHB) member vacancies Closing date 14 September 2025 at 11:59pm (UK time) Number of positions Six Length of term Two years, plus additional two years after review Time commitment Two days per month Remuneration £160 per da...

The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist (anything from cognition to NeuroAI) to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year.

Drop me a line if you want to know more

Deadline September 14th

www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....

MRC Neurosciences and Mental Health Board (NMHB) member vacancies Closing date 14 September 2025 at 11:59pm (UK time) Number of positions Six Length of term Two years, plus additional two years after review Time commitment Two days per month Remuneration £160 per da...

The MRC are looking for a computational neuroscientist to join their Neuroscience & Mental Health Board, to replace me as I step down next year.

Drop me a line if you want to know more

Deadline September 14th

www.ukri.org/who-we-are/w....

Closing soon! Abstract submission for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025

A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...

Deadline: August 29

Job Alert!!! We are looking for a motivated postdoc to join a 3-year BBSRC funded project led by my colleague Carl Stevenson (I’m coPI). This multi-disciplinary project will combine in vivo heart rate monitoring and optogenetics with behavioural testing (fear and active avoidance) in rats.

Confirmed talks:
@mkflugge.bsky.social, Susan Healy, Benjamin Hayden,
@fearbrain.bsky.social, @becketebs.bsky.social,
@dlbarack.bsky.social, Jennifer Li, @ellileadbeater.bsky.social, @aaronbornstein.bsky.social, Nicholas Furl, @markdhumphries.bsky.social & more

Closing soon! Abstract submission for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025

A multidisciplinary meeting on the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...

Deadline: August 29

The challenge of defining a neural population Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.

My latest column for @thetransmitter.bsky.social - why neural populations are a convenient fiction

doi.org/10.53053/FZK...

Great article by @markdhumphries.bsky.social here. Humphries’ work had a significant impact on my thinking. This is precisely what we attempt to do in our recent preprint, and in previous published neural modelling work.

I’m sympathetic to the focus on dynamics in coarse graining.

Thanks Dan!

Great essay Mark! I think your definition of grouping by dynamics is very related to Fodor's "information encapsulation" property of modular systems. We explored this a bit in two recent papers which, if you haven't already seen, you might like (in next 2 posts).

So stoked to see this in press!

Diverging network architecture of the C. elegans connectome and signaling network

journal: journals.aps.org/prxlife/acce...
preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2412.14498

1/3

The challenge of defining a neural population Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.

My latest column for @thetransmitter.bsky.social - why neural populations are a convenient fiction

doi.org/10.53053/FZK...

The challenge of defining a neural population Our current approach is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics.

Our current approach to defining neural populations is largely arbitrary. We need new methods for grouping cells, ideally by their dynamics, writes @markdhumphries.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur...

Abstract submission open for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025

(University of Birmingham, 3–5 November)

A multidisciplinary event exploring the neural, behavioural and computational foundations of foraging across species:
uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...

Deadline: August 17, 2025

2 Lecturer (Assistant Prof) positions available @yorkpsychology.bsky.social! Come join our department!

#neuroskyence #cognition #psychscisky #neurojobs

jobs.york.ac.uk/vacancy/lect...

Abstract submission open for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025 (U. Birmingham, 3-5 November)

uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 17

A meeting for all fascinated by the brain's role in foraging

Pls share!

Confirmed talks: @mkflugge.bsky.social, Susan Healy, Benjamin Hayden, @fearbrain.bsky.social, Becket Ebitz, David Barack, Jennifer Li, Elli Leadbeater, @aaronbornstein.bsky.social, Nicholas Furl, me, & more

Thanks: @unibirmingham.bsky.social, BBSRC & Centre for Human Brain Health for support

Abstract submission open for The Mechanistic Basis of Foraging 2025 (U. Birmingham, 3-5 November)

uobevents.eventsair.com/the-mechanis...
Deadline: August 17

A meeting for all fascinated by the brain's role in foraging

Pls share!

Please repost! We're hiring a postdoc to work with me and
@salagapan.bsky.social on an exciting interdisciplinary project in human neuroscience and brain-body interactions underlying effortful behavior in health and mood disorders.

siplab.gatech.edu/postdoc_ad_2...

We had an incredible gathering at UK Neural Computation 2025 @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social last week 🇬🇧 Macron missed out...

Some of the UK’s very best at the frontier of comp neuro.

Thanks to our sponsors ARIA + Crick & UKNC team: @markdhumphries.bsky.social + @neuralreckoning.bsky.social!

Fabulous day at UK Neural Computation 2025!

Thanks to today’s invited speakers Jonathan Cornford, Jenny Bizley, Petr Znamenskiy and Flavia Mancini

Congratulations to ECR speakers Ian Hawes and Andrea Colins Rodriguez, selected from 80+ outstanding abstract submissions

Roll on Day 3!

#UKNC25

Among other things, they got me warbling at them about how to write grants and how they’re assessed…

Fabulous first day of ECR workshops at UK Neural Computation 2025!

Great to see and meet so many of the next generation of terrific scientists

Thanks to @danakarca.bsky.social for leading on this and @neuralreckoning.bsky.social for the pics

#UKNC25