Aya Ben-Yakov
@ayab.bsky.social
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Super thrilled to finally share the results of our team effort, from the lab of the one and only @ayab.bsky.social. Hopefully it will stir interesting discussions about how the brain balances continuity and segmentation
Excited to share a new paper spearheaded by the wonderful @baror-shira.bsky.social:
tinyurl.com/bd8xdcum
@erc.europa.eu @nathumbehav.nature.com
We test the link between serial dependence (as an index of continuity) and event boundaries (indexing segmentation). A few key findings in the thread:
tinyurl.com/bd8xdcum
@erc.europa.eu @nathumbehav.nature.com
We test the link between serial dependence (as an index of continuity) and event boundaries (indexing segmentation). A few key findings in the thread:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02403-w
tinyurl.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Super thrilled to finally share the results of our team effort, from the lab of the one and only @ayab.bsky.social. Hopefully it will stir interesting discussions about how the brain balances continuity and segmentation
Excited to share a new paper spearheaded by the wonderful @baror-shira.bsky.social:
tinyurl.com/bd8xdcum
@erc.europa.eu @nathumbehav.nature.com
We test the link between serial dependence (as an index of continuity) and event boundaries (indexing segmentation). A few key findings in the thread:
tinyurl.com/bd8xdcum
@erc.europa.eu @nathumbehav.nature.com
We test the link between serial dependence (as an index of continuity) and event boundaries (indexing segmentation). A few key findings in the thread:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02403-w
tinyurl.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Excited to share a new paper spearheaded by the wonderful @baror-shira.bsky.social:
tinyurl.com/bd8xdcum
@erc.europa.eu @nathumbehav.nature.com
We test the link between serial dependence (as an index of continuity) and event boundaries (indexing segmentation). A few key findings in the thread:
tinyurl.com/bd8xdcum
@erc.europa.eu @nathumbehav.nature.com
We test the link between serial dependence (as an index of continuity) and event boundaries (indexing segmentation). A few key findings in the thread:
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
How do the brain’s event representations change as we gain familiarity with an experience?
Brain regions’ representations can become coarser or finer as event familiarity increases. Fine-tuning predicts memory recall.
Excited to share this work with Narjes Al-Zahli & @chrisbaldassano.bsky.social!
Brain regions’ representations can become coarser or finer as event familiarity increases. Fine-tuning predicts memory recall.
Excited to share this work with Narjes Al-Zahli & @chrisbaldassano.bsky.social!
Repeated Viewing of a Narrative Movie Changes Event Timescales in The Brain
Many experiences occur repeatedly throughout our lives: we might watch the same movie more than once and listen to the same song on repeat. How does the brain modify its representations of events when...
www.biorxiv.org
September 2, 2025 at 1:37 PM
How do the brain’s event representations change as we gain familiarity with an experience?
Brain regions’ representations can become coarser or finer as event familiarity increases. Fine-tuning predicts memory recall.
Excited to share this work with Narjes Al-Zahli & @chrisbaldassano.bsky.social!
Brain regions’ representations can become coarser or finer as event familiarity increases. Fine-tuning predicts memory recall.
Excited to share this work with Narjes Al-Zahli & @chrisbaldassano.bsky.social!
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Our new paper out in NHB! We started this back in @ptoncompmemlab.bsky.social's lab when I was a postdoc and Rolando was a grad student, showing that stable fMRI representations of places (learned in Rolando's custom-made VR world) provide the best anchors for later item learning
What if we could tell you how well you’ll remember your next visit to your local coffee shop? ☕️
In our new Nature Human Behaviour paper, we show that the 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 can be measured with neuroimaging – and 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸.
In our new Nature Human Behaviour paper, we show that the 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 can be measured with neuroimaging – and 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸.
New study by @xrmasiso.bsky.social et al shows that spatial contexts with more reliable brain representations better support memory for future experiences within them, revealing how stable neural maps help the brain organize and recall life events.
January 5, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Our new paper out in NHB! We started this back in @ptoncompmemlab.bsky.social's lab when I was a postdoc and Rolando was a grad student, showing that stable fMRI representations of places (learned in Rolando's custom-made VR world) provide the best anchors for later item learning
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
I will be recruiting 🌟PhD students🌟 for my newish lab! If you're interested in learning & memory mechanisms applied to individual, interactive & collective behavior using computational modeling, real-world experiments and fMRI, email me! RTs much appreciated 🙏 rouhanilab.com
Interactive Cognition Lab | USC
Interactive Cognition Lab at USC, led by principal investigator, Dr. Nina Rouhani.
rouhanilab.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I will be recruiting 🌟PhD students🌟 for my newish lab! If you're interested in learning & memory mechanisms applied to individual, interactive & collective behavior using computational modeling, real-world experiments and fMRI, email me! RTs much appreciated 🙏 rouhanilab.com
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
What happens when we learn a new shortcut between places we thought were unconnected? Hannah found that the hippocampus rapidly adjusts its representations of environments to join them into a connected map - excited to share this final paper from her PhD work with me and @mariamaly.bsky.social !
How do we update our predictions when our environment changes?
The hippocampus rapidly integrates previously distinct sequences to support updated predictions.
Proud of this work with Hannah Tarder-Stoll & @chrisbaldassano.bsky.social!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The hippocampus rapidly integrates previously distinct sequences to support updated predictions.
Proud of this work with Hannah Tarder-Stoll & @chrisbaldassano.bsky.social!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The Hippocampus Rapidly Integrates Sequence Representations During Novel Multistep Predictions
Memories for temporally extended sequences can be used adaptively to predict future events on multiple timescales, a function that relies on the hippocampus. For such predictions to be useful, they sh...
www.biorxiv.org
September 16, 2025 at 7:42 PM
What happens when we learn a new shortcut between places we thought were unconnected? Hannah found that the hippocampus rapidly adjusts its representations of environments to join them into a connected map - excited to share this final paper from her PhD work with me and @mariamaly.bsky.social !
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
How might stories shed light on brain function? Check out this opinion piece by @alexbarnett.bsky.social and I about the DMN and "situation models" -- our understanding of the current "state of affairs" in a story (or even experience).
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
September 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
How might stories shed light on brain function? Check out this opinion piece by @alexbarnett.bsky.social and I about the DMN and "situation models" -- our understanding of the current "state of affairs" in a story (or even experience).
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
New preprint! My stellar undergrad, June Kim, & @charan-neuro.bsky.social find that intersubject pattern similarity at encoding (especially in posteromedial cortex) relates to shared/differing content between Ss at recall (measured using topic modeling) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Natural language processing captures memory content associated with shared neural patterns at encoding
People can experience the same event yet form distinct memories shaped by individual interpretations. Prior research shows that multivariate activity patterns in the Default Mode Network (DMN) are cor...
www.biorxiv.org
September 16, 2025 at 6:08 PM
New preprint! My stellar undergrad, June Kim, & @charan-neuro.bsky.social find that intersubject pattern similarity at encoding (especially in posteromedial cortex) relates to shared/differing content between Ss at recall (measured using topic modeling) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Over 450 scientists have signed and the list is growing. Israeli scientists - please consider adding your name. Even if it feels like you've signed a dozen letters, we need to keep the flame of opposition alive.
In the past year and a half, we have been intensively protesting and fighting the Israeli government in an attempt to stop the war, secure the release of all hostages, and prevent the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Until now, our protests have primarily been focused internally.
July 28, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Over 450 scientists have signed and the list is growing. Israeli scientists - please consider adding your name. Even if it feels like you've signed a dozen letters, we need to keep the flame of opposition alive.
Come join us at ELSC!
ELSC invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in neuroscience.
We're looking for exceptional early-career scientists to lead innovative, interdisciplinary, and impactful research.
Apply Now:
ttp.huji.ac.il
elsc.huji.ac.il/opportunitie...
We're looking for exceptional early-career scientists to lead innovative, interdisciplinary, and impactful research.
Apply Now:
ttp.huji.ac.il
elsc.huji.ac.il/opportunitie...
July 21, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Come join us at ELSC!
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Check out our new study by @atabk.bsky.social! He tweaked a word list memory task to have hidden rules at encoding, which shifted and created “event boundaries.” People recalled pre-boundary words more, and post-boundary words less. Other fun bits in the paper include a reinforcement learning model!
This study examines how events structured recall, which was impaired for items after event boundaries. A reinforcement learning model showed that decision certainty predicts recall success.
@atabk.bsky.social @wouterkool.bsky.social @zreagh.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
@atabk.bsky.social @wouterkool.bsky.social @zreagh.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Free recall is shaped by inference and scaffolded by event structure - Communications Psychology
This study examines how event boundaries affect recall of items in a decision-making task. Events structured recall, which was impaired for items after boundaries. A reinforcement learning model showe...
www.nature.com
April 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Check out our new study by @atabk.bsky.social! He tweaked a word list memory task to have hidden rules at encoding, which shifted and created “event boundaries.” People recalled pre-boundary words more, and post-boundary words less. Other fun bits in the paper include a reinforcement learning model!
An exciting new book by Nachum Ulanovsky that calls for a more ecological approach to neuroscience across disciplines, outlining the advances that make this possible. @mitpress.bsky.social
In his new book, published today, Nachum Ulanovsky calls on the field to embrace naturalistic conditions and move away from overcontrolled experiments.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur...
‘Natural Neuroscience,’ an excerpt
In his new book, Nachum Ulanovsky calls on the field to embrace naturalistic conditions and move away from overcontrolled experiments.
www.thetransmitter.org
April 21, 2025 at 5:25 AM
An exciting new book by Nachum Ulanovsky that calls for a more ecological approach to neuroscience across disciplines, outlining the advances that make this possible. @mitpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
New preprint from Yining Ding (@liliand.bsky.social)!
"Temporal order memory in naturalistic events is scaffolded by semantic knowledge and hierarchical event structure"
osf.io/preprints/ps...
"Temporal order memory in naturalistic events is scaffolded by semantic knowledge and hierarchical event structure"
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
March 26, 2025 at 10:45 PM
New preprint from Yining Ding (@liliand.bsky.social)!
"Temporal order memory in naturalistic events is scaffolded by semantic knowledge and hierarchical event structure"
osf.io/preprints/ps...
"Temporal order memory in naturalistic events is scaffolded by semantic knowledge and hierarchical event structure"
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
The craziest/loveliest part of departing from @ayab.bsky.social 's lab was this jaw dropping clip they made with KlingAI and a *single* photo of me. I guess this is what you get when you mess with masters of naturalistic stimuli 😱
Such a great gift and now the rest of the world can easily extort me
Such a great gift and now the rest of the world can easily extort me
March 19, 2025 at 5:22 PM
The craziest/loveliest part of departing from @ayab.bsky.social 's lab was this jaw dropping clip they made with KlingAI and a *single* photo of me. I guess this is what you get when you mess with masters of naturalistic stimuli 😱
Such a great gift and now the rest of the world can easily extort me
Such a great gift and now the rest of the world can easily extort me
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
So happy that our paper on event segmentation in large language models is now out in Behavior Research Methods! tinyurl.com/2j76882b With @mtoneva.bsky.social, @ptoncompmemlab.bsky.social, and Manoj Kumar, we show that LLMs can segment narrative text into meaningful events similarly to humans.
Large language models can segment narrative events similarly to humans - Behavior Research Methods
Humans perceive discrete events such as “restaurant visits” and “train rides” in their continuous experience. One important prerequisite for studying human event perception is the ability of researche...
tinyurl.com
January 4, 2025 at 10:55 PM
So happy that our paper on event segmentation in large language models is now out in Behavior Research Methods! tinyurl.com/2j76882b With @mtoneva.bsky.social, @ptoncompmemlab.bsky.social, and Manoj Kumar, we show that LLMs can segment narrative text into meaningful events similarly to humans.
Congratulations Ofer!!! Haifa are lucky to have you
December 25, 2024 at 9:17 AM
Congratulations Ofer!!! Haifa are lucky to have you
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Human hippocampal and entorhinal neurons encode the temporal structure of experience.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Human hippocampal and entorhinal neurons encode the temporal structure of experience - Nature
Single-neuron recordings from intracranial electrodes inserted into human brains for clinical reasons suggest that the temporal structure of human experience is encoded in human hippocampal and entorh...
www.nature.com
November 28, 2024 at 2:42 PM
Human hippocampal and entorhinal neurons encode the temporal structure of experience.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
I want to draw attention to a special issue that Lila Davachi and I put together to memorialize our friend and colleague Sarah DuBrow. It’s full of papers inspired by her work and her being from a group of collaborators, friends, and fans! Thanks @bradpostle.bsky.social for helping make this happen.
November 23, 2024 at 12:14 AM
I want to draw attention to a special issue that Lila Davachi and I put together to memorialize our friend and colleague Sarah DuBrow. It’s full of papers inspired by her work and her being from a group of collaborators, friends, and fans! Thanks @bradpostle.bsky.social for helping make this happen.
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Very excited that this paper led by @cybellesmith.bsky.social is now out in JoCN!! We show how humans and recurrent neural nets can learn statistics unfolding at multiple timescales rapidly and concurrently.
direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...
direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...
Rapid Learning of Temporal Dependencies at Multiple Timescales
Abstract. Our environment contains temporal information unfolding simultaneously at multiple timescales. How do we learn and represent these dynamic and overlapping information streams? We investigate...
direct.mit.edu
November 25, 2024 at 4:13 PM
Very excited that this paper led by @cybellesmith.bsky.social is now out in JoCN!! We show how humans and recurrent neural nets can learn statistics unfolding at multiple timescales rapidly and concurrently.
direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...
direct.mit.edu/jocn/article...
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Does encoding the present compete with predicting the future?
Across 3 studies, we find that encoding and prediction are coupled, not competitive!
Proud of co-first authors Craig Poskanzer & Hannah Tarder-Stoll, along w/ @raheemajavid.bsky.social & Edoardo Spolaore!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Across 3 studies, we find that encoding and prediction are coupled, not competitive!
Proud of co-first authors Craig Poskanzer & Hannah Tarder-Stoll, along w/ @raheemajavid.bsky.social & Edoardo Spolaore!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
September 30, 2024 at 2:42 PM
Does encoding the present compete with predicting the future?
Across 3 studies, we find that encoding and prediction are coupled, not competitive!
Proud of co-first authors Craig Poskanzer & Hannah Tarder-Stoll, along w/ @raheemajavid.bsky.social & Edoardo Spolaore!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Across 3 studies, we find that encoding and prediction are coupled, not competitive!
Proud of co-first authors Craig Poskanzer & Hannah Tarder-Stoll, along w/ @raheemajavid.bsky.social & Edoardo Spolaore!
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Our paper on how blocked training supports learning of multiple schemas, with Andre Beukers, @collinsilvy.bsky.social, Ross Kempner, Nick Franklin, and @gershbrain.bsky.social, is now out in Communications Psychology! rdcu.be/dEeaG
#neuroskyence
#psychscisky
#neuroskyence
#psychscisky
April 9, 2024 at 4:00 PM
Our paper on how blocked training supports learning of multiple schemas, with Andre Beukers, @collinsilvy.bsky.social, Ross Kempner, Nick Franklin, and @gershbrain.bsky.social, is now out in Communications Psychology! rdcu.be/dEeaG
#neuroskyence
#psychscisky
#neuroskyence
#psychscisky
If you're going to be at #CNS2024 and are interested in event segmentation and serial dependence, come check out Shira Baror's poster:
Monday, April 15 2:30-4:30
The project is at an early stage with very promising pilot results, so we'd love to get your feedback!
Monday, April 15 2:30-4:30
The project is at an early stage with very promising pilot results, so we'd love to get your feedback!
April 9, 2024 at 12:25 PM
If you're going to be at #CNS2024 and are interested in event segmentation and serial dependence, come check out Shira Baror's poster:
Monday, April 15 2:30-4:30
The project is at an early stage with very promising pilot results, so we'd love to get your feedback!
Monday, April 15 2:30-4:30
The project is at an early stage with very promising pilot results, so we'd love to get your feedback!
Reposted by Aya Ben-Yakov
Hippocampal-cortical interactions during event boundaries support retention of complex narrative events Officially out in Neuron with
@charan-neuro.bsky.social
Brendan Cohn-Sheehy,
Mitchell Nguyen, Reesha Yadav, and James Spargo!:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1i3703BtfH...
@charan-neuro.bsky.social
Brendan Cohn-Sheehy,
Mitchell Nguyen, Reesha Yadav, and James Spargo!:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1i3703BtfH...
November 8, 2023 at 5:20 PM
Hippocampal-cortical interactions during event boundaries support retention of complex narrative events Officially out in Neuron with
@charan-neuro.bsky.social
Brendan Cohn-Sheehy,
Mitchell Nguyen, Reesha Yadav, and James Spargo!:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1i3703BtfH...
@charan-neuro.bsky.social
Brendan Cohn-Sheehy,
Mitchell Nguyen, Reesha Yadav, and James Spargo!:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1i3703BtfH...