Alexa Morcom
@alexamorcom.bsky.social
Cognitive neuroscientist, associate professor in Psychology at Uni of Sussex. Hello bsky people! Views not my employer's. She/they.
Nice to see this RR out
Are episodic and semantic memory really that different? Using closely matched tasks, we found no substantial neural differences between recalling personal experiences and general knowledge: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02390-4
January 30, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Nice to see this RR out
I'm up for this
January 30, 2026 at 1:19 PM
I'm up for this
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Really thrilled that this paper led by @neurozz.bsky.social is now published in its final version in @elife.bsky.social!!
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
A unifying account of replay as context-driven memory reactivation
A context-driven memory model simulates a wide range of characteristics of waking and sleeping hippocampal replay, providing a new account of how and why replay occurs.
elifesciences.org
January 15, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Really thrilled that this paper led by @neurozz.bsky.social is now published in its final version in @elife.bsky.social!!
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
🚨 Another reminder that corridor care is dangerous.
Patients are collapsing out of sight. Staff are forced to deliver care in unsafe conditions. This is not normal, and it’s not acceptable.
This must change now - that's why we're taking a stance.
Read more ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Patients are collapsing out of sight. Staff are forced to deliver care in unsafe conditions. This is not normal, and it’s not acceptable.
This must change now - that's why we're taking a stance.
Read more ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
January 14, 2026 at 8:06 AM
🚨 Another reminder that corridor care is dangerous.
Patients are collapsing out of sight. Staff are forced to deliver care in unsafe conditions. This is not normal, and it’s not acceptable.
This must change now - that's why we're taking a stance.
Read more ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Patients are collapsing out of sight. Staff are forced to deliver care in unsafe conditions. This is not normal, and it’s not acceptable.
This must change now - that's why we're taking a stance.
Read more ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.
This could be you.
This could be you.
January 8, 2026 at 12:15 AM
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.
This could be you.
This could be you.
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
In my latest for @nytimes.com, scientists and Indigenous sailors in the Marshall Islands are studying seafaring and the human brain. I became completely fascinated by navigation while reporting this story.
(gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...
(gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...
A Voyage Into the Art of Finding One’s Way at Sea
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:38 PM
In my latest for @nytimes.com, scientists and Indigenous sailors in the Marshall Islands are studying seafaring and the human brain. I became completely fascinated by navigation while reporting this story.
(gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...
(gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/s...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Feeling incredibly grateful! Thank you to my examiners, Ed and Chris, for an engaging and insightful discussion about my work, and to my supervisor, Alexa, for her incredible support and guidance over the past four years. Excited for the next chapter as Dr. Zhang.
Congratulations to the brilliant Xinyue (Joy) Zhang on passing her PhD viva with flying colours and no corrections! Many thanks to her wise examiners Ed Wilding and @chrismbird.bsky.social. It's been a pleasure to have you in our lab, @xyzhang.bsky.social!
November 26, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Feeling incredibly grateful! Thank you to my examiners, Ed and Chris, for an engaging and insightful discussion about my work, and to my supervisor, Alexa, for her incredible support and guidance over the past four years. Excited for the next chapter as Dr. Zhang.
Congratulations to the brilliant Xinyue (Joy) Zhang on passing her PhD viva with flying colours and no corrections! Many thanks to her wise examiners Ed Wilding and @chrismbird.bsky.social. It's been a pleasure to have you in our lab, @xyzhang.bsky.social!
November 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Congratulations to the brilliant Xinyue (Joy) Zhang on passing her PhD viva with flying colours and no corrections! Many thanks to her wise examiners Ed Wilding and @chrismbird.bsky.social. It's been a pleasure to have you in our lab, @xyzhang.bsky.social!
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
November 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
What is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma.
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
It's *scientific publishing*.
We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_...
Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
November 12, 2025 at 10:38 AM
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by C. Sainz Martinez, J. Jorge, et al:
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
November 6, 2025 at 3:55 PM
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by C. Sainz Martinez, J. Jorge, et al:
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
An optimized framework for simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T enabling safe, high-quality human brain imaging with millisecond temporal resolution and sub-millimeter spatial resolution
doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
The podcast is now available on Spotify!
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
October 31, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The podcast is now available on Spotify!
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
You can still take part in our survey here: cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
PFI = private finance initiative. Short term gain, big long term pain for patients and the #NHS
💷 PFI = A profitable deal for business, a burden for the NHS
PFIs have proven lucrative, for hedge funds + insurance companies.
Our new blog breaks down why PFI was a disaster — and why new PPPs would repeat the same mistakes.
🔗 everydoctor.org.uk/talking-poin...
PFIs have proven lucrative, for hedge funds + insurance companies.
Our new blog breaks down why PFI was a disaster — and why new PPPs would repeat the same mistakes.
🔗 everydoctor.org.uk/talking-poin...
October 29, 2025 at 11:54 AM
PFI = private finance initiative. Short term gain, big long term pain for patients and the #NHS
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
What happens in the brain when we manipulate our thoughts?
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
Brain Dynamics of Mental Manipulation
Humans effortlessly juggle their internal thoughts, but the neuronal dynamics that support mental manipulation are largely unknown. Leveraging the high spatiotemporal fidelity of intracranial recordin...
doi.org
October 22, 2025 at 5:25 AM
What happens in the brain when we manipulate our thoughts?
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
We asked 30 epilepsy patients to mentally invert short melodies.
Intracerebral #iEEG recordings suggest brain synchrony and sensory inhibition are key for mental manipulation:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#neuroskyence #musicscience
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
🧵8
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Group-to-individual generalizability and individual-level inferences in cognitive neuroscience
Much of cognitive neuroscience research is focused on group-averages and interindividual brain-behavior associations. However, many theories core to t…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
🧵8
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We focused on fMRI studies of 🧠 networks… but there’s so much more neat idiographic work being done in other neuroimaging & psychology domains! See @mattmattoni.bsky.social's recent review for more thoughts on uniting these perspectives
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Because “brain network features occur in different locations across people”
Why do brain networks vary? Do these differences shape behavior? If every 🧠 is unique, how can we detect common features of brain organization?
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
@rodbraga.bsky.social and I dig in, in @annualreviews.bsky.social (ahead of print):
go.illinois.edu/Gratton2025-...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #MedSky
🧵👇
Dense Phenotyping of Human Brain Network Organization Using Precision fMRI
The advent of noninvasive imaging methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) transformed cognitive neuroscience, providing insights into large-scale brain networks and their link to cog...
go.illinois.edu
October 16, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Because “brain network features occur in different locations across people”
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models - Nature
Stereotypes of age-related gender bias are socially distorted, as evidenced by the age gap in the representations of women and men across various media and algorithms, despite no systematic age differ...
www.nature.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Age and gender distortion in online media and large language models
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
"Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality."
No surprise, but now documented:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
From Black History Month, exhibition at the library of some of the distinguished alumni of Sussex.ac.uk
October 16, 2025 at 10:19 AM
From Black History Month, exhibition at the library of some of the distinguished alumni of Sussex.ac.uk
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Important paper for interpreting #fMRI results on #psychedelics! In short, psilocybin changes neurovascular coupling (i.e., how neural activity links to blood flow). 👇
🚨 New science alert! Our cross-species study, now in Nature Neuroscience, demonstrates psychedelics distort how we should interpret functional brain imaging.
👇🧵
nature.com/articles/s41...
#Neuroscience #Psychedelics #BrainImaging
👇🧵
nature.com/articles/s41...
#Neuroscience #Psychedelics #BrainImaging
Psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonism alters neurovascular coupling and differentially affects neuronal and hemodynamic measures of brain function
Nature Neuroscience - Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI...
nature.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Important paper for interpreting #fMRI results on #psychedelics! In short, psilocybin changes neurovascular coupling (i.e., how neural activity links to blood flow). 👇
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
Decoding performance (MVPA) better for OPM-MEG than SQUID-MEG 😎. The improved spatial specificity of OPM-MEG due to the reduced brain-sensor distance is key. And more sensors (beyond 40) don't improve decoding.
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Decoding with multivariate pattern analysis is superior for optically pumped magnetometer-based magnetoencephalography compared to superconducting quantum interference device-based systems
Background: Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) has become an increasingly important method for decoding distributed brain activity from neural electrophysiological recordings by leveraging both temp...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Decoding performance (MVPA) better for OPM-MEG than SQUID-MEG 😎. The improved spatial specificity of OPM-MEG due to the reduced brain-sensor distance is key. And more sensors (beyond 40) don't improve decoding.
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint from our recent @thechbh.bsky.social study: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Alexa Morcom
It is a great pleasure to share this new collaborative work on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Representations with @fnim-lab.bsky.social @cvlneuro.bsky.social @psychologyuea.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
May 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
It is a great pleasure to share this new collaborative work on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Representations with @fnim-lab.bsky.social @cvlneuro.bsky.social @psychologyuea.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...