Ben Kanter
@beneuroscience.bsky.social
Neuroscientist / Neuroethologist at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, NTNU.
www.brkanter.com
#Memory #Learning #Time #Space #Hibernation #Torpor #Sleep #Dynamics #Circuits #AnimalBehavior #Ethology #Ecology
www.brkanter.com
#Memory #Learning #Time #Space #Hibernation #Torpor #Sleep #Dynamics #Circuits #AnimalBehavior #Ethology #Ecology
Pinned
Ben Kanter
@beneuroscience.bsky.social
· Sep 25
1/5 How does the brain turn the low-dimensional, universal grid cell metric into the rich, diverse codes needed for memory in hippocampal place cells? 🧵
Preprint link 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint link 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Functional independence of entorhinal grid cell modules enables remapping in hippocampal place cells
A systems-level understanding of cortical computation requires insight into how neural codes are transformed across distinct brain circuits. In the mammalian cortex, one of the few systems where such ...
www.biorxiv.org
So happy to release this to the world!! A big one that's been cooking for years.
If you like #Memory #GridCells #PlaceCells #Theory #Attractors #Neuropixels or just anything exciting in #Neuroscience, this is a must read 👇
If you like #Memory #GridCells #PlaceCells #Theory #Attractors #Neuropixels or just anything exciting in #Neuroscience, this is a must read 👇
Reposted by Ben Kanter
What's the relation between voltage and calcium in dendrites? Xiang Wu studied this in CA2 hippocampal pyramidal cells in behaving mice. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 21, 2026 at 7:51 PM
What's the relation between voltage and calcium in dendrites? Xiang Wu studied this in CA2 hippocampal pyramidal cells in behaving mice. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Ripple oscillations are central for memory and sleep.
But ripple detection in humans remains challenging. Here we introduce a simulation approach in @natcomms.nature.com as common ripple detectors mainly pick up 1/f noise and not genuine oscillations
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
But ripple detection in humans remains challenging. Here we introduce a simulation approach in @natcomms.nature.com as common ripple detectors mainly pick up 1/f noise and not genuine oscillations
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
Aperiodic 1/f noise drives ripple activity in humans - Nature Communications
How aperiodic 1/f noise drives ripple activity in human brain and impacts on ripple detections is not fully understood. Here authors show that ripple detections should be driven by the 1/f noise, whic...
www.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Ripple oscillations are central for memory and sleep.
But ripple detection in humans remains challenging. Here we introduce a simulation approach in @natcomms.nature.com as common ripple detectors mainly pick up 1/f noise and not genuine oscillations
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
But ripple detection in humans remains challenging. Here we introduce a simulation approach in @natcomms.nature.com as common ripple detectors mainly pick up 1/f noise and not genuine oscillations
👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by Ben Kanter
The second paper from the lab is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We discovered that cannibalistic behavior in fly larvae is social-context dependent. Larval groups avoid dead conspecifics; individuals show high attraction. They only do it when no one is watching 😉
We discovered that cannibalistic behavior in fly larvae is social-context dependent. Larval groups avoid dead conspecifics; individuals show high attraction. They only do it when no one is watching 😉
January 21, 2026 at 12:29 PM
The second paper from the lab is now available on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We discovered that cannibalistic behavior in fly larvae is social-context dependent. Larval groups avoid dead conspecifics; individuals show high attraction. They only do it when no one is watching 😉
We discovered that cannibalistic behavior in fly larvae is social-context dependent. Larval groups avoid dead conspecifics; individuals show high attraction. They only do it when no one is watching 😉
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Excited to share our new preprint! We explore the link between the locus coeruleus (LC) and arousal for astrocytes, pyramidal cells, interneurons in the hippocampus. A fantastic collaboration with @sianduss.bsky.social @bohaceklab.bsky.social, and many others: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/5
January 19, 2026 at 1:36 PM
Excited to share our new preprint! We explore the link between the locus coeruleus (LC) and arousal for astrocytes, pyramidal cells, interneurons in the hippocampus. A fantastic collaboration with @sianduss.bsky.social @bohaceklab.bsky.social, and many others: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/5
Reposted by Ben Kanter
New preprint! We used neuropixels 2.0 in a small microbat (first time as far as I know) to show that: 1) slow and fast spiking neurons in auditory cortex respond differently when bats vocalize. 2) networks of (mostly) fast spiking neurons form right around the time of vocalization.
Vocal production differentially affects fast- and broad-spiking neurons in auditory cortex https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.15.699648v1
January 16, 2026 at 7:18 PM
New preprint! We used neuropixels 2.0 in a small microbat (first time as far as I know) to show that: 1) slow and fast spiking neurons in auditory cortex respond differently when bats vocalize. 2) networks of (mostly) fast spiking neurons form right around the time of vocalization.
Reposted by Ben Kanter
I’m very happy to share the latest from my lab published in @Nature
Hippocampal neurons that initially encode reward shift their tuning over the course of days to precede or predict reward.
Full text here:
rdcu.be/eY5nh
Hippocampal neurons that initially encode reward shift their tuning over the course of days to precede or predict reward.
Full text here:
rdcu.be/eY5nh
January 14, 2026 at 9:32 PM
I’m very happy to share the latest from my lab published in @Nature
Hippocampal neurons that initially encode reward shift their tuning over the course of days to precede or predict reward.
Full text here:
rdcu.be/eY5nh
Hippocampal neurons that initially encode reward shift their tuning over the course of days to precede or predict reward.
Full text here:
rdcu.be/eY5nh
Reposted by Ben Kanter
“A unifying account of replay as context-driven memory reactivation” doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Been waiting for this one for a while! Congrats @annaschapiro.bsky.social @neurozz.bsky.social
Been waiting for this one for a while! Congrats @annaschapiro.bsky.social @neurozz.bsky.social
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.
doi.org
January 14, 2026 at 11:28 PM
“A unifying account of replay as context-driven memory reactivation” doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Been waiting for this one for a while! Congrats @annaschapiro.bsky.social @neurozz.bsky.social
Been waiting for this one for a while! Congrats @annaschapiro.bsky.social @neurozz.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Kanter
🎉NEW preprint with @stephen-ramanoel.bsky.social 🎉
Using mobile EEG and immersive VR we found that theta bursts in the retrosplenial complex encode both acceleration and alignment with the body principal axes, providing a stable egocentric scaffold for orientation : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Using mobile EEG and immersive VR we found that theta bursts in the retrosplenial complex encode both acceleration and alignment with the body principal axes, providing a stable egocentric scaffold for orientation : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Theta activity in the RSC anchors space to the body cardinal axes
Understanding human navigation in ecological, freely moving conditions requires uncovering how the brain anchors directional representations to the ′s orientation. Using high-density mobile electroenc...
www.biorxiv.org
December 5, 2025 at 7:34 AM
🎉NEW preprint with @stephen-ramanoel.bsky.social 🎉
Using mobile EEG and immersive VR we found that theta bursts in the retrosplenial complex encode both acceleration and alignment with the body principal axes, providing a stable egocentric scaffold for orientation : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Using mobile EEG and immersive VR we found that theta bursts in the retrosplenial complex encode both acceleration and alignment with the body principal axes, providing a stable egocentric scaffold for orientation : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Episodic memory consolidation by reactivation of human concept neurons during sleep reflects contents, not sequence of events https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.10.698827v1
January 11, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Episodic memory consolidation by reactivation of human concept neurons during sleep reflects contents, not sequence of events https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.10.698827v1
Reposted by Ben Kanter
For decades, imaging has forced the same trade-off:
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Ultrafast Frame-Free Imaging of Neural Activity with Event Cameras
Frame-based fluorescence imaging has long defined how neural activity is optically measured. This approach requires acquiring all pixels within an image, regardless of whether they carry meaningful ne...
www.biorxiv.org
January 10, 2026 at 1:41 PM
For decades, imaging has forced the same trade-off:
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Set a frame rate → sacrifice resolution or field of view to go fast.
We break that rule
Using an EVENT-BASED CAMERA, we record neural activity without frames. Signals are captured only where and when they occur:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Explicit and implicit modularity that emerges in simple neural network models even in the absence of anatomical constraints. Whether modularity emerges or not strongly depends on the geometry of the inputs and other factors. Extensively revised article with many new results. With @wjj.bsky.social
When and why do modular representations emerge in neural networks?
@stefanofusi.bsky.social and I posted a preprint answering this question last year, and now it has been extensively revised, refocused, and generalized. Read more here: doi.org/10.1101/2024... (1/7)
@stefanofusi.bsky.social and I posted a preprint answering this question last year, and now it has been extensively revised, refocused, and generalized. Read more here: doi.org/10.1101/2024... (1/7)
January 9, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Explicit and implicit modularity that emerges in simple neural network models even in the absence of anatomical constraints. Whether modularity emerges or not strongly depends on the geometry of the inputs and other factors. Extensively revised article with many new results. With @wjj.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Preprint out, from my work with @mamassian.bsky.social and Anne! We show that time perception is shaped not only by context but also by structural constraints, by extending classical Bayesian models by explicitly quantifying a structural prior impacting duration discrimination.
shorturl.at/q8bE6
shorturl.at/q8bE6
Modeling how contextual and structural biases shape duration perception
Human time perception is flexible and shaped by both structural constraints and contextual influences. Disentangling these sources of bias is essential for understanding the predictive mechanisms unde...
www.biorxiv.org
January 9, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Preprint out, from my work with @mamassian.bsky.social and Anne! We show that time perception is shaped not only by context but also by structural constraints, by extending classical Bayesian models by explicitly quantifying a structural prior impacting duration discrimination.
shorturl.at/q8bE6
shorturl.at/q8bE6
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Less than two weeks left to apply for the Cephalopod Neuroscience Gordon Conference! An exciting lineup of speakers and posters, and financial aid is available upon request. 🐙🦑
www.grc.org/cephalopod-n...
www.grc.org/cephalopod-n...
January 6, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Less than two weeks left to apply for the Cephalopod Neuroscience Gordon Conference! An exciting lineup of speakers and posters, and financial aid is available upon request. 🐙🦑
www.grc.org/cephalopod-n...
www.grc.org/cephalopod-n...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Have you tried #OCTRON yet?
Here's a speedy run-through of the pipeline, showing how you go from annotating animals, to training a model, and visualising predictions in new videos. Everything you need to track your favourite species! 💪
Here's a speedy run-through of the pipeline, showing how you go from annotating animals, to training a model, and visualising predictions in new videos. Everything you need to track your favourite species! 💪
January 6, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Have you tried #OCTRON yet?
Here's a speedy run-through of the pipeline, showing how you go from annotating animals, to training a model, and visualising predictions in new videos. Everything you need to track your favourite species! 💪
Here's a speedy run-through of the pipeline, showing how you go from annotating animals, to training a model, and visualising predictions in new videos. Everything you need to track your favourite species! 💪
Reposted by Ben Kanter
🧠 New year, new preprint!
Why does motor learning involve multiple brain regions? We propose that the cortico-cerebellar system learns a "map" of actions where similar movements are nearby, while basal ganglia do RL in this simplified space.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Why does motor learning involve multiple brain regions? We propose that the cortico-cerebellar system learns a "map" of actions where similar movements are nearby, while basal ganglia do RL in this simplified space.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 5, 2026 at 12:54 PM
🧠 New year, new preprint!
Why does motor learning involve multiple brain regions? We propose that the cortico-cerebellar system learns a "map" of actions where similar movements are nearby, while basal ganglia do RL in this simplified space.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Why does motor learning involve multiple brain regions? We propose that the cortico-cerebellar system learns a "map" of actions where similar movements are nearby, while basal ganglia do RL in this simplified space.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
New article in Hunter Gatherer Research!
Foraging societies practice consensus-based politics. We conduct a xc review and argue that it helps to boost collective intelligence.
Consensus, cooperation and collective intelligence in foraging societies
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...
Foraging societies practice consensus-based politics. We conduct a xc review and argue that it helps to boost collective intelligence.
Consensus, cooperation and collective intelligence in foraging societies
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...
Consensus, cooperation and collective intelligence in foraging societies | Hunter Gatherer Research
Consensus-based collective decision-making is a common feature of political life in hunter-gatherer (forager) societies. In this paper, we ask why. Synthesising evidence from anthropology and experimental social psychology, we argue that consensus-based ...
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 3:58 PM
New article in Hunter Gatherer Research!
Foraging societies practice consensus-based politics. We conduct a xc review and argue that it helps to boost collective intelligence.
Consensus, cooperation and collective intelligence in foraging societies
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...
Foraging societies practice consensus-based politics. We conduct a xc review and argue that it helps to boost collective intelligence.
Consensus, cooperation and collective intelligence in foraging societies
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
Neuronal calcium spikes enable vector inversion in the Drosophila brain
In the fly central complex, PFNa neurons switch from firing classical sodium spikes
when depolarized to firing non-canonical T-type calcium spikes when hyperpolarized.
This bidirectional spiking allow...
www.cell.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:35 PM
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
Reposted by Ben Kanter
New preprint from the lab! 🚀
We find that hippocampal OLM interneurons provide a circuit-level inhibitory feedback signal that dynamically controls when and where behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity can occur.
Feedback welcome!
We find that hippocampal OLM interneurons provide a circuit-level inhibitory feedback signal that dynamically controls when and where behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity can occur.
Feedback welcome!
Dendrite-targeting OLM interneurons regulate the formation of learning-related CA1 place cell representations https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.21.695825v1
January 5, 2026 at 3:11 PM
New preprint from the lab! 🚀
We find that hippocampal OLM interneurons provide a circuit-level inhibitory feedback signal that dynamically controls when and where behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity can occur.
Feedback welcome!
We find that hippocampal OLM interneurons provide a circuit-level inhibitory feedback signal that dynamically controls when and where behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity can occur.
Feedback welcome!
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Coincidence of thalamic HD signal and retrosplenial visual input is detected in the Presubiculum! 🎯 This may be the neuronal basis for landmark anchoring of the HD signal. Pleased to announce the VOR is now available elifesciences.org/articles/92443 Congrats first author Louis Richevaux 🙌
Projection-specific integration of convergent thalamic and retrosplenial signals in the presubicular head direction cortex
Nonlinear dendritic integration in single presubicular neurons provides a mechanism for combining vestibular-based head-direction signals and visual landmark signals to anchor the brain’s internal com...
elifesciences.org
January 5, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Coincidence of thalamic HD signal and retrosplenial visual input is detected in the Presubiculum! 🎯 This may be the neuronal basis for landmark anchoring of the HD signal. Pleased to announce the VOR is now available elifesciences.org/articles/92443 Congrats first author Louis Richevaux 🙌
Reposted by Ben Kanter
1/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich.
January 2, 2026 at 5:52 PM
1/n: A new collaborative preprint from the lab to start the year: "A multi-ring shifter network computes head direction in zebrafish" together with Siyuan Mei, Martin Stemmler and Andreas Herz from the LMU, Munich.
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Naked-mole rats are specialized to a subterranean lifestlye. Besides of having an extraordinary sense of touch, they show an eusocial lifestlye. The neural underpinnings can now be studied as @malkemper-lab.bsky.social managed to record from freely moving mole-rats.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Neuronal recordings in head-fixed and freely-moving mole-rats
Mole-rats are subterranean rodents that have evolved remarkable sensory adaptations to life in underground tunnel systems, yet their neural mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a pro...
www.biorxiv.org
January 2, 2026 at 10:48 AM
Naked-mole rats are specialized to a subterranean lifestlye. Besides of having an extraordinary sense of touch, they show an eusocial lifestlye. The neural underpinnings can now be studied as @malkemper-lab.bsky.social managed to record from freely moving mole-rats.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Revealing a universal architecture of sleep by recording from different (and evolutionary distant) species.
How cooler can it be???
Congrats to @antbergel.bsky.social and PA Libourel for this masterpiece.
How cooler can it be???
Congrats to @antbergel.bsky.social and PA Libourel for this masterpiece.
⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound!
Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals
Nature Neuroscience - Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping...
rdcu.be
December 29, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Revealing a universal architecture of sleep by recording from different (and evolutionary distant) species.
How cooler can it be???
Congrats to @antbergel.bsky.social and PA Libourel for this masterpiece.
How cooler can it be???
Congrats to @antbergel.bsky.social and PA Libourel for this masterpiece.
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Do you love quantifying animal behavior as much as we do? We have just the tool for you! Presenting #OCTRON - a pipeline that helps you create rich annotation data and enables training of custom segmentation models. Have a look, particularly if you work with non-model / invertebrate organisms!
December 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Do you love quantifying animal behavior as much as we do? We have just the tool for you! Presenting #OCTRON - a pipeline that helps you create rich annotation data and enables training of custom segmentation models. Have a look, particularly if you work with non-model / invertebrate organisms!
Reposted by Ben Kanter
So reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can't fly, but they are VERY MAGICAL.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
December 20, 2025 at 11:36 PM
So reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) can't fly, but they are VERY MAGICAL.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
For example, their EYES CHANGE COLOR during the year & they're one of the few large mammals that can see UV. Golden brown in summer, deep blue in winter.
Let's talk about the unique visual adaptations of Rudolph and company.
Reposted by Ben Kanter
Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
Most insects slow down in bitter cold. Not snow flies. - UW Medicine | Newsroom
newsroom.uw.edu
December 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...