Alik Widge
@alikwidge.bsky.social
Neural engineer, stealth mode neuro-entrepreneur, interventional psychiatrist, sometimes neuroscientist, dad. Making brains work better.
https://www.tnelab.org
https://www.tnelab.org
Reposted by Alik Widge
Remembering Our Dead - Reports - TDoR 2025
1 Oct 2024 to 30 Sep 2025
tdor.translivesmatter.info
November 20, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The first rule of Stroop club is that you do not read the words
November 16, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The first rule of Stroop club is that you do not read the words
Reposted by Alik Widge
Happy Mole Day for all who celebrate
October 23, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Happy Mole Day for all who celebrate
The common take on this is "autism diagnosed late is a different disorder bc it has shared genes with depression, PTSD, etc".
OR, maybe, if you have autism that doesn't look like the textbook, you get masking-related trauma/anxiety and get misidagnosed!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
OR, maybe, if you have autism that doesn't look like the textbook, you get masking-related trauma/anxiety and get misidagnosed!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis - Nature
A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The common take on this is "autism diagnosed late is a different disorder bc it has shared genes with depression, PTSD, etc".
OR, maybe, if you have autism that doesn't look like the textbook, you get masking-related trauma/anxiety and get misidagnosed!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
OR, maybe, if you have autism that doesn't look like the textbook, you get masking-related trauma/anxiety and get misidagnosed!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Very weird thing happening here, wondering if anywhere else. Award gets canceled for being on a Bad Topic (vaccines). Reinstated due to lawsuit. Now NIH proposing not to find Y2+, asking us to agree to "bilateral termination". Smells wrong... anyone else seen this?
October 1, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Very weird thing happening here, wondering if anywhere else. Award gets canceled for being on a Bad Topic (vaccines). Reinstated due to lawsuit. Now NIH proposing not to find Y2+, asking us to agree to "bilateral termination". Smells wrong... anyone else seen this?
New paper out! A review of prefrontal mechanisms involved in deep brain stimulation, bringing together our work of the past few years and a foreshadow of where we're going next. Plus some cool rodent stuff!
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/3...
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/3...
Prefrontal Network Mechanisms of Psychiatric Deep Brain Stimulation
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an emerging treatment for otherwise treatment-refractory psychiatric disorders. It can produce remarkable clinical results in expert hands, but has not fared as well in...
www.jneurosci.org
September 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
New paper out! A review of prefrontal mechanisms involved in deep brain stimulation, bringing together our work of the past few years and a foreshadow of where we're going next. Plus some cool rodent stuff!
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/3...
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/3...
Reposted by Alik Widge
I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don’t kill kids, antidepressants do.
Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.
Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.
RFK Jr on the mass shooting in Minnesota: "We're launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence."
August 28, 2025 at 2:04 PM
I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don’t kill kids, antidepressants do.
Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.
Just shut up. Stop peddling bullshit. You should be fired.
In between the science funding nonsense note this proposal to end student loan forgiveness for anyone whose *organization* is deemed to have done unlawful things. Like, oh, ANY UNIVERSITY WITH A DEI PROGRAM?
I can't find the public comment link so hoping someone can.
apnews.com/article/stud...
I can't find the public comment link so hoping someone can.
apnews.com/article/stud...
Some workers would be excluded from student loan forgiveness program for 'illegal' activity
The Trump administration has proposed changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that could exclude teachers, social workers and nurses if their employers engage in activities deemed illeg...
apnews.com
August 17, 2025 at 5:29 PM
In between the science funding nonsense note this proposal to end student loan forgiveness for anyone whose *organization* is deemed to have done unlawful things. Like, oh, ANY UNIVERSITY WITH A DEI PROGRAM?
I can't find the public comment link so hoping someone can.
apnews.com/article/stud...
I can't find the public comment link so hoping someone can.
apnews.com/article/stud...
"The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees. "
Mic drop.
www.nationaltpsalliance.org/wp-content/u...
Mic drop.
www.nationaltpsalliance.org/wp-content/u...
www.nationaltpsalliance.org
August 1, 2025 at 5:54 PM
"The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees. "
Mic drop.
www.nationaltpsalliance.org/wp-content/u...
Mic drop.
www.nationaltpsalliance.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Alik Widge
I’m hearing a lot of despair and “what’s the point”-ing.
Here’s the point:
ONE less person kidnapped by ICE.
ONE more child vaccinated.
ONE grant reinstated.
ONE more PEPFAR treatment.
ONE more meal to a hungry kid.
ONE more person covered by Medicaid.
One life is ALWAYS worth resistance.
Here’s the point:
ONE less person kidnapped by ICE.
ONE more child vaccinated.
ONE grant reinstated.
ONE more PEPFAR treatment.
ONE more meal to a hungry kid.
ONE more person covered by Medicaid.
One life is ALWAYS worth resistance.
July 16, 2025 at 12:32 PM
I’m hearing a lot of despair and “what’s the point”-ing.
Here’s the point:
ONE less person kidnapped by ICE.
ONE more child vaccinated.
ONE grant reinstated.
ONE more PEPFAR treatment.
ONE more meal to a hungry kid.
ONE more person covered by Medicaid.
One life is ALWAYS worth resistance.
Here’s the point:
ONE less person kidnapped by ICE.
ONE more child vaccinated.
ONE grant reinstated.
ONE more PEPFAR treatment.
ONE more meal to a hungry kid.
ONE more person covered by Medicaid.
One life is ALWAYS worth resistance.
Reposted by Alik Widge
People with clinical depression have limited options if meds don't work for them. One technology that has long been on the horizon is #deepbrainstimulation. Elie Dolgin did a deep dive on the most cutting-edge versions of these brain implants🧵 spectrum.ieee.org/deep-brain-s...
Next-Gen Brain Implants Offer New Hope for Depression
AI improves deep brain stimulation to offer new hope for personalized depression treatment.
spectrum.ieee.org
July 12, 2025 at 12:47 PM
People with clinical depression have limited options if meds don't work for them. One technology that has long been on the horizon is #deepbrainstimulation. Elie Dolgin did a deep dive on the most cutting-edge versions of these brain implants🧵 spectrum.ieee.org/deep-brain-s...
New paper! (Something went right!) It turns out that if you want to auto-optimize neuromodulation for a low-SNR situation (pain, psych, anything subjective), standard Bayesian optimization breaks. Evan Dastin van Rijn shows how to fix it!
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
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iopscience.iop.org
July 9, 2025 at 9:34 PM
New paper! (Something went right!) It turns out that if you want to auto-optimize neuromodulation for a low-SNR situation (pain, psych, anything subjective), standard Bayesian optimization breaks. Evan Dastin van Rijn shows how to fix it!
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
Reposted by Alik Widge
Very grateful to have had the chance to attend the Science Fair of Cancelled Grants today.
As a program officer overseeing health equity research, I’ve heard far too many stories of lost science, lost careers, and lost jobs.
As a program officer overseeing health equity research, I’ve heard far too many stories of lost science, lost careers, and lost jobs.
July 9, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Very grateful to have had the chance to attend the Science Fair of Cancelled Grants today.
As a program officer overseeing health equity research, I’ve heard far too many stories of lost science, lost careers, and lost jobs.
As a program officer overseeing health equity research, I’ve heard far too many stories of lost science, lost careers, and lost jobs.
Reposted by Alik Widge
So important! Please contact your Republican senators, especially Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), and Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA). 🙏 amplify!
As Robert Kuttner writes, the NIH will need support from Republican Senators to avoid draconian cuts to its FY2026 budget.
prospect.org/politics/202...
prospect.org/politics/202...
Will the Senate Save NIH?
Rescuing biomedical research is every bit as important as saving Medicaid.
prospect.org
June 25, 2025 at 1:01 AM
So important! Please contact your Republican senators, especially Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), and Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA). 🙏 amplify!
The Democrat (former) Speaker of the Minnesota house was murdered today.
In her own home. With her husband.
By a white man (allegedly) in body armor.
But tell me again why "criminal illegal aliens" are the threat to our democracy?
www.startribune.com/melissa-hort...
In her own home. With her husband.
By a white man (allegedly) in body armor.
But tell me again why "criminal illegal aliens" are the threat to our democracy?
www.startribune.com/melissa-hort...
Melissa Hortman, top Democrat in Minnesota House, shot and killed in home
Gov. Tim Walz confirmed Saturday morning that Hortman and her husband Mark had both been killed in what he called targeted political violence.
www.startribune.com
June 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
The Democrat (former) Speaker of the Minnesota house was murdered today.
In her own home. With her husband.
By a white man (allegedly) in body armor.
But tell me again why "criminal illegal aliens" are the threat to our democracy?
www.startribune.com/melissa-hort...
In her own home. With her husband.
By a white man (allegedly) in body armor.
But tell me again why "criminal illegal aliens" are the threat to our democracy?
www.startribune.com/melissa-hort...
Reposted by Alik Widge
A friend just texted me from LA that this was happening at the park she was at
ICE is going to parks in Los Angeles and kidnapping nannies who are caring for small children
The children are witnessing these kidnappings and being held in custody until their parents are contacted
Women and children in parks
The children are witnessing these kidnappings and being held in custody until their parents are contacted
Women and children in parks
June 14, 2025 at 1:04 AM
A friend just texted me from LA that this was happening at the park she was at
It is a proven scientific fact that this whole crisis would be solved if the protestors just went over to the San Andreas and jumped up and down in unison. California would break off, float away, and become a sovereign nation. Science, people, science.
June 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
It is a proven scientific fact that this whole crisis would be solved if the protestors just went over to the San Andreas and jumped up and down in unison. California would break off, float away, and become a sovereign nation. Science, people, science.
This is one of the dumbest things I've seen this week that didn't come from a Trumpist. RDoC was suggested 15 years ago. It takes time to do new science, let alone translate.
Also, who says new psychiatric treatments should be drugs? Ever hear of this thing called neuromodulation?
Also, who says new psychiatric treatments should be drugs? Ever hear of this thing called neuromodulation?
It has been more than 15 years since the RDoC recommendations were published. The RDoC recommendations have had no impact on psychiatric drug discovery to date.
zendudest.substack.com/p/rip-rdoc?r...
zendudest.substack.com/p/rip-rdoc?r...
R.I.P. RDoC?
Part 1: Is it feasible to develop new psychiatric medications using RDoC guidances?
zendudest.substack.com
May 28, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This is one of the dumbest things I've seen this week that didn't come from a Trumpist. RDoC was suggested 15 years ago. It takes time to do new science, let alone translate.
Also, who says new psychiatric treatments should be drugs? Ever hear of this thing called neuromodulation?
Also, who says new psychiatric treatments should be drugs? Ever hear of this thing called neuromodulation?
Cool image from www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... . X-axis, economic adversity. Y-axis, 20 years later, propensity of that state towards "D", for personality traits associated with being generally jerkish towards others.
You kinda assume that it's high D in red states, low D in blue, but that's wrong!
You kinda assume that it's high D in red states, low D in blue, but that's wrong!
May 21, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Cool image from www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... . X-axis, economic adversity. Y-axis, 20 years later, propensity of that state towards "D", for personality traits associated with being generally jerkish towards others.
You kinda assume that it's high D in red states, low D in blue, but that's wrong!
You kinda assume that it's high D in red states, low D in blue, but that's wrong!
Reposted by Alik Widge
Major team effort on phase-locked stim of human hippocampal theta rhythms finally out in the wild! W/ @jkragel.bsky.social @alikwidge.bsky.social and a cast of many. Thanks to the BRAIN Initiative for making it possible.
rdcu.be/ej7VE
rdcu.be/ej7VE
Closed-loop control of theta oscillations enhances human hippocampal network connectivity
Nature Communications - Closed-loop brain stimulation of the human hippocampal theta rhythm produces lasting enhancement of network communication. This implicates theta rhythms in human hippocampal...
rdcu.be
May 2, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Major team effort on phase-locked stim of human hippocampal theta rhythms finally out in the wild! W/ @jkragel.bsky.social @alikwidge.bsky.social and a cast of many. Thanks to the BRAIN Initiative for making it possible.
rdcu.be/ej7VE
rdcu.be/ej7VE
What is the word for when autocorrect gets it wrong again but the word kinda fits so you keep it?
Like when my phone chose "divergent direction" over "different", or "over" over "instead" that I tried to type just now, but I liked the style.
Like when my phone chose "divergent direction" over "different", or "over" over "instead" that I tried to type just now, but I liked the style.
April 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
What is the word for when autocorrect gets it wrong again but the word kinda fits so you keep it?
Like when my phone chose "divergent direction" over "different", or "over" over "instead" that I tried to type just now, but I liked the style.
Like when my phone chose "divergent direction" over "different", or "over" over "instead" that I tried to type just now, but I liked the style.
People! You're not catching the bright side of this! We finally found a way that Republicans are willing to raise taxes and raise the revenue we need to support social programs!
Oh, yeah, sure, it's ultra regressive, whatever, you just are NEVER satisfied, are you?
Oh, yeah, sure, it's ultra regressive, whatever, you just are NEVER satisfied, are you?
April 3, 2025 at 4:12 PM
People! You're not catching the bright side of this! We finally found a way that Republicans are willing to raise taxes and raise the revenue we need to support social programs!
Oh, yeah, sure, it's ultra regressive, whatever, you just are NEVER satisfied, are you?
Oh, yeah, sure, it's ultra regressive, whatever, you just are NEVER satisfied, are you?
Reposted by Alik Widge
Trans Day of Visibility should be a day of joy, but it feels somber this year. The onslaught of attacks against trans folks seems endless, so I just want to say this:
Trans people deserve respect, freedom, and autonomy. They deserve to live their lives as their true selves without fear.
Trans people deserve respect, freedom, and autonomy. They deserve to live their lives as their true selves without fear.
March 31, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Trans Day of Visibility should be a day of joy, but it feels somber this year. The onslaught of attacks against trans folks seems endless, so I just want to say this:
Trans people deserve respect, freedom, and autonomy. They deserve to live their lives as their true selves without fear.
Trans people deserve respect, freedom, and autonomy. They deserve to live their lives as their true selves without fear.
In Minnesota-specific news, one of the woman-protecting state legislators who introduced the bill promoting "Trump Derangement Syndrome" as a mental illness... was just arrested for soliciting sex from a teenage girl.
Why IS this such a pattern?
www.startribune.com/justin-eicho...
Why IS this such a pattern?
www.startribune.com/justin-eicho...
Four things to know about the Minnesota senator accused of soliciting a teen for sex
GOP leaders have called on Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, to resign.
www.startribune.com
March 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
In Minnesota-specific news, one of the woman-protecting state legislators who introduced the bill promoting "Trump Derangement Syndrome" as a mental illness... was just arrested for soliciting sex from a teenage girl.
Why IS this such a pattern?
www.startribune.com/justin-eicho...
Why IS this such a pattern?
www.startribune.com/justin-eicho...
Courtesy of a 13yo on spring break
March 17, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Courtesy of a 13yo on spring break