Ann Kennedy
@antihebbiann.bsky.social
Theoretical neuroscientist interested in brain-body interactions and evolution of adaptive behavior. Associate Professor at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego.
Pinned
Ann Kennedy
@antihebbiann.bsky.social
· Dec 11
Interested in diffusion models, behavior forecasting, internal states, neuromechanical modeling, reservoir computing, joint neural/behavioral datasets? Missing the sunshine?
We have multiple fully funded postdoc positions, come join us!
We have multiple fully funded postdoc positions, come join us!
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
SfN 2025 Art of Neuroscience
Full list of Exhibitors
artologica.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
A loss of trust in information is just as bad as a loss of trustworthy information.
I spotted this on Mastodon and I find it horrible, not least for the speed with which this has happened.
November 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
A loss of trust in information is just as bad as a loss of trustworthy information.
Nothing beats the tiny ceremony of clicking and dragging a project from the "my papers in progress" folder to the "my papers finished" folder
November 8, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Nothing beats the tiny ceremony of clicking and dragging a project from the "my papers in progress" folder to the "my papers finished" folder
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
That image is from 1961 and an idealization. Here is an actual trajectory of fixational eye movements. The dots are 2 ms apart. If a midget ganglion cell, with single-cone receptive field, fires at 100 Hz, then every spike reports about a different cone. How can we ever read anything?
November 7, 2025 at 6:23 PM
That image is from 1961 and an idealization. Here is an actual trajectory of fixational eye movements. The dots are 2 ms apart. If a midget ganglion cell, with single-cone receptive field, fires at 100 Hz, then every spike reports about a different cone. How can we ever read anything?
These are great!
This October I’m drawing 1 molecule a day inspired by proteins in pdb @rcsbpdb.bsky.social
Day 20/31
Prompt RIVALS
Pdb: 8V27 & 8G6S
Two rival histone modifications on a nucleosome. Ubiquitination of H2BK120 activates genes while H2AK119 represses them.
Next: BLAST
Suggestions?
Day 20/31
Prompt RIVALS
Pdb: 8V27 & 8G6S
Two rival histone modifications on a nucleosome. Ubiquitination of H2BK120 activates genes while H2AK119 represses them.
Next: BLAST
Suggestions?
November 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
These are great!
I beg your pardon?
November 1, 2025 at 4:59 AM
I beg your pardon?
A very cool series of studies on how olfactory receptor neurons find their target projection neurons in the developing fly brain. My fav part is how the partner-finding process gets reduced from a 3d to a 2d to effectively a 1d search.
🎉 Cheng Lyu is the winner of the 2025 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology for his work in understanding how neural circuits assemble with such remarkable precision during development.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4onaxEE
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4onaxEE
October 31, 2025 at 11:40 PM
A very cool series of studies on how olfactory receptor neurons find their target projection neurons in the developing fly brain. My fav part is how the partner-finding process gets reduced from a 3d to a 2d to effectively a 1d search.
Mixed feelings: a) Morris-Lecar models were my intro to bifurcation analysis! But b) last time I taught Morris-Lecar, a (theory) student did ask "but like... does anyone actually use this now?" so maybe a reminder is due.
(Bif analysis was a big part of www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1..., for one!)
(Bif analysis was a big part of www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1..., for one!)
October 29, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Mixed feelings: a) Morris-Lecar models were my intro to bifurcation analysis! But b) last time I taught Morris-Lecar, a (theory) student did ask "but like... does anyone actually use this now?" so maybe a reminder is due.
(Bif analysis was a big part of www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1..., for one!)
(Bif analysis was a big part of www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1..., for one!)
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
What a time to be alive
The songbird basal ganglia connectome https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.25.684569v1
October 27, 2025 at 5:02 PM
What a time to be alive
Grant: due Tuesday
Reviews: due last week
Brain: "hey I think I found a fix for that problem your undergrad is stuck on, let's code it up real quick!"
Reviews: due last week
Brain: "hey I think I found a fix for that problem your undergrad is stuck on, let's code it up real quick!"
October 23, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Grant: due Tuesday
Reviews: due last week
Brain: "hey I think I found a fix for that problem your undergrad is stuck on, let's code it up real quick!"
Reviews: due last week
Brain: "hey I think I found a fix for that problem your undergrad is stuck on, let's code it up real quick!"
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
Check out this exciting new tool from @ajboender.bsky.social - An aav based CRISPR-Cas9 strategy to knockdown dopamine receptors. Works in mice, voles and hamsters. It was a fun collaboration. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Comparative gene editing reduces dopamine receptor levels across rodent species
Translational challenges in neuroscience originate from species-specific differences that limit the generalizability of experimental findings. Comparative approaches can help distinguish conserved fro...
www.biorxiv.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Check out this exciting new tool from @ajboender.bsky.social - An aav based CRISPR-Cas9 strategy to knockdown dopamine receptors. Works in mice, voles and hamsters. It was a fun collaboration. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
In a grim world, some good things continue, such as the annual @princetonupress.bsky.social 70% off sale. press.princeton.edu/sale/70-off
70% Off Sale
press.princeton.edu
October 19, 2025 at 4:10 PM
In a grim world, some good things continue, such as the annual @princetonupress.bsky.social 70% off sale. press.princeton.edu/sale/70-off
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
This seems rad: overexpressing FruM in a set of proboscis-motorneuron-projecting neurons makes melanogaster males add food-sharing to their courtship repertoire.
It is fascinating to see evolutionary shifts in behavior be tied so concretely to shifts in brain development!
This seems rad: overexpressing FruM in a set of proboscis-motorneuron-projecting neurons makes melanogaster males add food-sharing to their courtship repertoire.
It is fascinating to see evolutionary shifts in behavior be tied so concretely to shifts in brain development!
Cross-species implementation of an innate courtship behavior by manipulation of the sex-determinant gene
In accepting a courting male, Drosophila subobscura females require nuptial gift giving in which a male gives regurgitated crop contents to her mouth to mouth. No similar behavior is found in D. melan...
doi.org
October 20, 2025 at 2:39 AM
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
This seems rad: overexpressing FruM in a set of proboscis-motorneuron-projecting neurons makes melanogaster males add food-sharing to their courtship repertoire.
It is fascinating to see evolutionary shifts in behavior be tied so concretely to shifts in brain development!
This seems rad: overexpressing FruM in a set of proboscis-motorneuron-projecting neurons makes melanogaster males add food-sharing to their courtship repertoire.
It is fascinating to see evolutionary shifts in behavior be tied so concretely to shifts in brain development!
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
We couldn't not rate this classic early DAG by our beloved collective granddagy, Sewall Wright.
14/10. Ten for the DAG, plus one for each cute guinea-pig node.
From Wright (1920) "The Relative Importance of Heredity and Environment in Determining the Piebald Pattern of Guinea-Pigs"
14/10. Ten for the DAG, plus one for each cute guinea-pig node.
From Wright (1920) "The Relative Importance of Heredity and Environment in Determining the Piebald Pattern of Guinea-Pigs"
October 17, 2025 at 1:36 PM
We couldn't not rate this classic early DAG by our beloved collective granddagy, Sewall Wright.
14/10. Ten for the DAG, plus one for each cute guinea-pig node.
From Wright (1920) "The Relative Importance of Heredity and Environment in Determining the Piebald Pattern of Guinea-Pigs"
14/10. Ten for the DAG, plus one for each cute guinea-pig node.
From Wright (1920) "The Relative Importance of Heredity and Environment in Determining the Piebald Pattern of Guinea-Pigs"
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
The bat island paper lives!
I am excited to share my PhD work on head-direction cells recorded in the wild, now published in @science.org, where we recorded neurons in bats flying outdoors on an island.
doi.org/10.1126/sci...
With @ray-neuro.bsky.social, Shir Maimon, Liora Las, Nachum Ulanovsky and many others
doi.org/10.1126/sci...
With @ray-neuro.bsky.social, Shir Maimon, Liora Las, Nachum Ulanovsky and many others
October 17, 2025 at 5:17 PM
The bat island paper lives!
Come be my newest colleague! Scripps neuro is an energetic and supportive department, and uniquely benefits from proximity to our intimidatingly awesome chem and drug discovery programs. Happy to chat about my experiences here so far!
During these uncertain times, I’m very happy to see that my institution, @scripps.edu has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position. Any field in Chemistry or Biology is welcome. I’d especially love to see fellow neuroscientists apply. Please repost!
apply.interfolio.com/174756
apply.interfolio.com/174756
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Come be my newest colleague! Scripps neuro is an energetic and supportive department, and uniquely benefits from proximity to our intimidatingly awesome chem and drug discovery programs. Happy to chat about my experiences here so far!
The number of academic software tools in the world only grows with time, and learning new ones is daunting.
Here, my postdoc @rgast.bsky.social spoke about PyRates, a model translator that lets you study dynamical systems with a whole suite of tools built in Python, Julia, Matlab, and Fortran.
Here, my postdoc @rgast.bsky.social spoke about PyRates, a model translator that lets you study dynamical systems with a whole suite of tools built in Python, Julia, Matlab, and Fortran.
This month’s Discover ASAP features @rgast.bsky.social, PhD, of CRN Team Surmeier 🧪
He introduces PyRates, an open-source tool for generating code across languages to model complex biological systems. See how it advances computational neuroscience and #Parkinsons research.
📺 Watch: bit.ly/4h7Y5Wk
He introduces PyRates, an open-source tool for generating code across languages to model complex biological systems. See how it advances computational neuroscience and #Parkinsons research.
📺 Watch: bit.ly/4h7Y5Wk
October 14, 2025 at 3:39 AM
The number of academic software tools in the world only grows with time, and learning new ones is daunting.
Here, my postdoc @rgast.bsky.social spoke about PyRates, a model translator that lets you study dynamical systems with a whole suite of tools built in Python, Julia, Matlab, and Fortran.
Here, my postdoc @rgast.bsky.social spoke about PyRates, a model translator that lets you study dynamical systems with a whole suite of tools built in Python, Julia, Matlab, and Fortran.
Weissbourd lab still wins the prize for best lab swag (also this is how I pick my collaborators)
October 12, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Weissbourd lab still wins the prize for best lab swag (also this is how I pick my collaborators)
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
The NIH has awarded a $14.2M Director’s Transformative Research Award to a team led by Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist @ardemp.bskyverified.social, Prof. @liye-tsri.bsky.social and Assoc. Prof. @xinjin.bsky.social to map interoception and build the first atlas of this hidden sixth sense.
Scripps Research-led team receives $14.2M NIH award to map the body’s “hidden sixth sense”
www.scripps.edu
October 10, 2025 at 12:06 AM
The NIH has awarded a $14.2M Director’s Transformative Research Award to a team led by Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist @ardemp.bskyverified.social, Prof. @liye-tsri.bsky.social and Assoc. Prof. @xinjin.bsky.social to map interoception and build the first atlas of this hidden sixth sense.
PS- Having never worked on pain before, the background reading for this project was really fascinating. For example, this abstract from P.D. Wall's 1979 "On the relation of injury to pain".
(But given Wall's opinion on theorists studying pain perhaps the feeling wouldn't be mutual.)
(But given Wall's opinion on theorists studying pain perhaps the feeling wouldn't be mutual.)
October 9, 2025 at 3:03 PM
PS- Having never worked on pain before, the background reading for this project was really fascinating. For example, this abstract from P.D. Wall's 1979 "On the relation of injury to pain".
(But given Wall's opinion on theorists studying pain perhaps the feeling wouldn't be mutual.)
(But given Wall's opinion on theorists studying pain perhaps the feeling wouldn't be mutual.)
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
Brain area linked to chronic pain discovered — offering hope for treatments @nature.com @betleylab.bsky.social @antihebbiann.bsky.social @nitsangoldstein.bsky.social @pennngg.bsky.social @scripps.edu @pittanesthesiology.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
October 8, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Brain area linked to chronic pain discovered — offering hope for treatments @nature.com @betleylab.bsky.social @antihebbiann.bsky.social @nitsangoldstein.bsky.social @pennngg.bsky.social @scripps.edu @pittanesthesiology.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A parabrachial hub for need-state control of enduring pain - Nature
Activity in a set of parabranchial neurons in the mouse brain is increased during chronic pain, predicts coping behaviour, and can be modulated by circuits activated by survival threats.
www.nature.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
we are almost booked! Only a handful of openings left. So, please do attend if you register. Also, here is the poster!
October 7, 2025 at 9:41 PM
we are almost booked! Only a handful of openings left. So, please do attend if you register. Also, here is the poster!
Reposted by Ann Kennedy
Attending #SfN2025 in San Diego☀️? Don’t miss the Dorris Neuroscience Center Symposium at @scripps.edu, happening right before the meeting. A great lineup of speakers to kick off your SfN week. Plan your trip accordingly and register for free here:
www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...
Please amplify!
www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...
Please amplify!
October 7, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Attending #SfN2025 in San Diego☀️? Don’t miss the Dorris Neuroscience Center Symposium at @scripps.edu, happening right before the meeting. A great lineup of speakers to kick off your SfN week. Plan your trip accordingly and register for free here:
www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...
Please amplify!
www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...
Please amplify!