Alain Dagher
@alaindagher.bsky.social
Neurology and brain imaging.
ORCID: 0000-0002-0945-5779
ORCID: 0000-0002-0945-5779
Pinned
Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising?
This smells distinctly like collider bias and/or selection bias and/or regression to the mean... You simply can't select teen prodigies, and world class athletes rom databases, and go run regressions without serious consideration of the selection process!
"Most top achievers (Nobel laureates and world-class musicians, athletes, chess players) demonstrated lower performance than many peers during their early years. Across the highest adult performance, peak performance is negatively correlated with early performance" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
December 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising?
Reposted by Alain Dagher
If you're (1) into nhp neurophysiology and/or biological motor control, (2) a foreign big shot and (3) interested in moving here, please reach out -- this new program looks extremely attractive (min. $8M over 8y)! www.uwo.ca/research/can...
Canada-Impact-Plus - Research - Western University
www.uwo.ca
December 18, 2025 at 9:15 PM
If you're (1) into nhp neurophysiology and/or biological motor control, (2) a foreign big shot and (3) interested in moving here, please reach out -- this new program looks extremely attractive (min. $8M over 8y)! www.uwo.ca/research/can...
Reposted by Alain Dagher
Most published personality profiles are super similar! @kerliilv.bsky.social clustered 162 NEO PI personality-phenotype profiles. 70% of profiles belong to just 3 clusters , and 89% belong to just 5 😱!
Check out the thread for more! 👇
@alaindagher.bsky.social @renemottus.bsky.social
Check out the thread for more! 👇
@alaindagher.bsky.social @renemottus.bsky.social
Ever wondered whether we could map personality profiles as we do with genetic or brain data? We applied a similar method to explore similarities and differences of NEO PI profiles in our fresh-out paper. Here’s what we found 🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Unity and Diversity of NEO-PI Personality Profiles of 162 Phenotypes - Kerli Ilves, Yueh en Wang, Kenn Konstabel, Ants Adamson, Kersten Kõrge, Aire Raidvee, Alain Dagher, René Mõttus, Uku Vainik, 2025
For over 30 years, detailed personality-phenotype association profiles based on the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI) have been published, yet the phenotype pr...
journals.sagepub.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Most published personality profiles are super similar! @kerliilv.bsky.social clustered 162 NEO PI personality-phenotype profiles. 70% of profiles belong to just 3 clusters , and 89% belong to just 5 😱!
Check out the thread for more! 👇
@alaindagher.bsky.social @renemottus.bsky.social
Check out the thread for more! 👇
@alaindagher.bsky.social @renemottus.bsky.social
Reposted by Alain Dagher
Brain size links neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.09.25341901v1
December 11, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Brain size links neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.09.25341901v1
As an editor for many years, I still believe in the importance of peer review, especially in journals closely linked to specific scientific communities/societies. It's not a guarantee of course.
It's like if you weed your garden regularly. Will you still have weeds? Yes. Does it help? Also yes.
It's like if you weed your garden regularly. Will you still have weeds? Yes. Does it help? Also yes.
December 11, 2025 at 10:39 PM
As an editor for many years, I still believe in the importance of peer review, especially in journals closely linked to specific scientific communities/societies. It's not a guarantee of course.
It's like if you weed your garden regularly. Will you still have weeds? Yes. Does it help? Also yes.
It's like if you weed your garden regularly. Will you still have weeds? Yes. Does it help? Also yes.
Cortical expansion and genetic risk for PD.
Led by Houman Azizi and Nooshin Abbasi.
With @ptenigma.bsky.social @misicbata.bsky.social @yasharneuro.bsky.social @ndrewvo.bsky.social and many others www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Led by Houman Azizi and Nooshin Abbasi.
With @ptenigma.bsky.social @misicbata.bsky.social @yasharneuro.bsky.social @ndrewvo.bsky.social and many others www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Brain size links neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease
Genetic studies have advanced our understanding of Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis, establishing a role for autophagy and lysosomal dysfunction. However, how genetic risk translates into neurona...
www.medrxiv.org
December 11, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Cortical expansion and genetic risk for PD.
Led by Houman Azizi and Nooshin Abbasi.
With @ptenigma.bsky.social @misicbata.bsky.social @yasharneuro.bsky.social @ndrewvo.bsky.social and many others www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Led by Houman Azizi and Nooshin Abbasi.
With @ptenigma.bsky.social @misicbata.bsky.social @yasharneuro.bsky.social @ndrewvo.bsky.social and many others www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Yes. The ones that were rejected😀
December 11, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Yes. The ones that were rejected😀
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism: Neuron www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism
Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in
the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential
studies underpinning these...
www.cell.com
November 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism: Neuron www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
lol. No one who has done time in Canadian Academia has any illusion that it’s a meritocracy.
It is interesting when I've had this discussion in 🇨🇦, there is a large contingent who think strict panel ranking is inherently "fair" and anything that deviates from that (other criteria, tiered decisions) is inherently "unfair." It's a good example of the quantitative fallacy.
November 22, 2025 at 6:41 PM
lol. No one who has done time in Canadian Academia has any illusion that it’s a meritocracy.
I asked nano banana in Gemini 3.0 to make a diagram explaining two-sample MR with an arrow indicating pleiotropy. This is what it came up with. Not great - and what on earth is "pleizorotty"?
November 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I asked nano banana in Gemini 3.0 to make a diagram explaining two-sample MR with an arrow indicating pleiotropy. This is what it came up with. Not great - and what on earth is "pleizorotty"?
Reposted by Alain Dagher
Why does your brain shrink in Parkinson’s? Word shrink in this case refers to measurable loss of brain tissue (atrophy), which reflects thinning of cortex/loss of volume in key brain regions. New paper shows widespread atrophy following brain’s wiring diagram and local biological vulnerabilities.
November 17, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Why does your brain shrink in Parkinson’s? Word shrink in this case refers to measurable loss of brain tissue (atrophy), which reflects thinning of cortex/loss of volume in key brain regions. New paper shows widespread atrophy following brain’s wiring diagram and local biological vulnerabilities.
Reposted by Alain Dagher
Jonny Smallwood @themindwanders.bsky.social was a beloved friend and mentor. He was taken from us too soon. His was a beautiful mind who understood the beauty of minds. As ever before, his kind voice guides me and his work will continue. We miss you Jonny. www.cbs.mpg.de/news/obituar...
Obituary – Jonathan Smallwood
www.cbs.mpg.de
November 13, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Jonny Smallwood @themindwanders.bsky.social was a beloved friend and mentor. He was taken from us too soon. His was a beautiful mind who understood the beauty of minds. As ever before, his kind voice guides me and his work will continue. We miss you Jonny. www.cbs.mpg.de/news/obituar...
Reposted by Alain Dagher
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism
Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in
the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential
studies underpinning these...
www.cell.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 PM
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Reposted by Alain Dagher
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Ying-Qiu Zheng, Saad Jbabdi, et al:
An image quality transfer approach for localising deep brain stimulation targets
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An image quality transfer approach for localising deep brain stimulation targets
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
November 13, 2025 at 9:22 PM
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Ying-Qiu Zheng, Saad Jbabdi, et al:
An image quality transfer approach for localising deep brain stimulation targets
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An image quality transfer approach for localising deep brain stimulation targets
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Reposted by Alain Dagher
Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵
November 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵
I agree - I would see talented recruits as potential collaborators, not competitors.
November 5, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I agree - I would see talented recruits as potential collaborators, not competitors.
But now it seems he's found his moral centre www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Quebec minister steps down day after daughter criticizes special law for doctors | CBC News
Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant has announced he is leaving his position in the CAQ government.
www.cbc.ca
October 31, 2025 at 5:30 PM
But now it seems he's found his moral centre www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
And when they came after English universities, Lionel Carmant said nothing because his daughter was not at an English university cultmtl.com/2023/10/caq-...
CAQ vs. English universities: François Legault's specialty is cutting Quebec off at the knees
François Legault’s decision to double the cost of university tuition for out of province students is shortsighted, mean-spirited and, from an economic vantage point, completely idiotic.
cultmtl.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:30 PM
And when they came after English universities, Lionel Carmant said nothing because his daughter was not at an English university cultmtl.com/2023/10/caq-...
When they came after young women wearing a hijab, Lionel Carmant said nothing because his daughter does not wear a hijab. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Quebec bill would extend religious symbols ban to school support workers, force students to uncover faces | CBC News
The Quebec government is putting forward a bill that would extend the province's ban on the wearing of religious symbols to support staff in schools, and prohibit students from having their faces cove...
www.cbc.ca
October 31, 2025 at 5:30 PM
When they came after young women wearing a hijab, Lionel Carmant said nothing because his daughter does not wear a hijab. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Alain Dagher
🚨New in Lancet Neurology: Autopsy study of aducanumab in #Alzheimer’s shows superficial cortical Aβ cleared, but deeper persists. ARIA showed inflammation+ microinfarcts in leptomeningeal/penetrating vessels. Some path is PET-invisible. @drneurochic.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lxn85FFzL...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lxn85FFzL...
October 16, 2025 at 10:33 AM
🚨New in Lancet Neurology: Autopsy study of aducanumab in #Alzheimer’s shows superficial cortical Aβ cleared, but deeper persists. ARIA showed inflammation+ microinfarcts in leptomeningeal/penetrating vessels. Some path is PET-invisible. @drneurochic.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lxn85FFzL...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lxn85FFzL...
I have really enjoyed this book.
October 16, 2025 at 6:39 PM
I have really enjoyed this book.
Reposted by Alain Dagher
In 2018, Charles Murray challenged me to a bet: "We will understand IQ genetically—I think most of the picture will have been filled in by 2025—there will still be blanks—but we’ll know basically what’s going on." It's now 2025, and I claim a win. I write about it in The Atlantic.
Your Genes Are Simply Not Enough to Explain How Smart You Are
Seven years ago, I took a bet with Charles Murray about whether we’d basically understand the genetics of intelligence by now.
www.theatlantic.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
In 2018, Charles Murray challenged me to a bet: "We will understand IQ genetically—I think most of the picture will have been filled in by 2025—there will still be blanks—but we’ll know basically what’s going on." It's now 2025, and I claim a win. I write about it in The Atlantic.
Francois Legault and Simon Jolin-Barrette are vying to become the Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin of Quebec.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Quebec tables draft constitution to affirm its 'distinct national character,' premier says | CBC News
The constitution, filed at the National Assembly on Thursday and lambasted by opposition parties as a piece of political theatre filed without proper consultation, includes language asserting Quebec’s...
www.cbc.ca
October 10, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Francois Legault and Simon Jolin-Barrette are vying to become the Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin of Quebec.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...