Edward Vessel
@edwardvessel.bsky.social
Asst Prof at CCNY Psychology & CUNY Grad Ctr. Neuroscience of aesthetics, art, curiosity and insight. How do people get pleasure from understanding? #neuroaesthetics #empiricalaesthetics
Pinned
📣 New Paper Alert!
My PhD student Hannah Ovadia and I wrote a concise update on “The Role of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in Aesthetic Appeal” to synthesize evidence, highlight issues, and most importantly, consider theoretical alternatives.
Free access:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lz-h8MqMi...
My PhD student Hannah Ovadia and I wrote a concise update on “The Role of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in Aesthetic Appeal” to synthesize evidence, highlight issues, and most importantly, consider theoretical alternatives.
Free access:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lz-h8MqMi...
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared
Google Scholar Is Doomed
Academia built entire careers on a free Google service with zero guarantees. What could go wrong?
hannahshelley.neocities.org
August 13, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Submissions are now open!
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
November 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Submissions are now open!
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Submissions are now open!
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
iaea-jena2026.org
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
iaea-jena2026.org
November 10, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Submissions are now open!
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
iaea-jena2026.org
The 2026 IAEA Congress invites researchers, scholars, and artists from different domains and countries to present and share empirical research on aesthetics, creativity, and the psychology and neurobiology of the arts and aesthetics.
iaea-jena2026.org
I had a lovely conversation with @magdakacz2025.bsky.social as part of her "Dancing into Brain Health" podcast last week. You can listen to it here: open.spotify.com/episode/1sMW...
Thanks Magda!
Thanks Magda!
Spotify – Web Player
open.spotify.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:34 PM
I had a lovely conversation with @magdakacz2025.bsky.social as part of her "Dancing into Brain Health" podcast last week. You can listen to it here: open.spotify.com/episode/1sMW...
Thanks Magda!
Thanks Magda!
Reposted by Edward Vessel
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
📣 New Paper Alert!
My PhD student Hannah Ovadia and I wrote a concise update on “The Role of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in Aesthetic Appeal” to synthesize evidence, highlight issues, and most importantly, consider theoretical alternatives.
Free access:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lz-h8MqMi...
My PhD student Hannah Ovadia and I wrote a concise update on “The Role of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in Aesthetic Appeal” to synthesize evidence, highlight issues, and most importantly, consider theoretical alternatives.
Free access:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lz-h8MqMi...
October 22, 2025 at 9:27 PM
📣 New Paper Alert!
My PhD student Hannah Ovadia and I wrote a concise update on “The Role of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in Aesthetic Appeal” to synthesize evidence, highlight issues, and most importantly, consider theoretical alternatives.
Free access:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lz-h8MqMi...
My PhD student Hannah Ovadia and I wrote a concise update on “The Role of the Default Mode Network (DMN) in Aesthetic Appeal” to synthesize evidence, highlight issues, and most importantly, consider theoretical alternatives.
Free access:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lz-h8MqMi...
So I'm now feeling my first direct effect of the shutdown. CUNY Research Foundation can't set up payroll for my new Research Assistant, who is being paid off a federal grant. Sigh.
October 22, 2025 at 3:45 PM
So I'm now feeling my first direct effect of the shutdown. CUNY Research Foundation can't set up payroll for my new Research Assistant, who is being paid off a federal grant. Sigh.
Yesterday I heard and saw what looked like a hawk over City College. Telltale scream of a large bird of prey. I wonder if it’s nesting atop a campus building.
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Yesterday I heard and saw what looked like a hawk over City College. Telltale scream of a large bird of prey. I wonder if it’s nesting atop a campus building.
How do we see style?: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
How do we see style?
In a recent series of experiments, Boger and Firestone ask: How do we perceive style?’.
Their findings suggest that style perception relies on basic perceptual processes
involved in differentiating im...
www.cell.com
October 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM
How do we see style?: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Jacinda Ardern is so fantastic. I love that she is out there pushing for the idea of compassionate leadership.
youtu.be/xJg1McSvgo8?...
youtu.be/xJg1McSvgo8?...
Jacinda Ardern - “A Different Kind of Power” | The Daily Show
YouTube video by The Daily Show
youtu.be
September 24, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Jacinda Ardern is so fantastic. I love that she is out there pushing for the idea of compassionate leadership.
youtu.be/xJg1McSvgo8?...
youtu.be/xJg1McSvgo8?...
Reposted by Edward Vessel
This is good 🧠🧪🐡
The “Blooming” Field of Neuroarts
Despite major federal funding cuts, researchers are dedicated to determining how engaging in the arts can improve our brain health.
www.brainfacts.org
September 11, 2025 at 1:20 PM
This is good 🧠🧪🐡
APA Monitor article on what happens in the brain when we view art
www.apa.org/monitor/2025...
#neuroaesthetics
www.apa.org/monitor/2025...
#neuroaesthetics
www.apa.org
September 11, 2025 at 2:44 PM
APA Monitor article on what happens in the brain when we view art
www.apa.org/monitor/2025...
#neuroaesthetics
www.apa.org/monitor/2025...
#neuroaesthetics
Reposted by Edward Vessel
A new study uses AI-generated stimuli to uncover attention to complex scene features. Read more in a post by @ankosov.bsky.social on a new #psynomAPP paper by @songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social, and @dirkbwalther.bsky.social buff.ly/2So7ndD
September 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
A new study uses AI-generated stimuli to uncover attention to complex scene features. Read more in a post by @ankosov.bsky.social on a new #psynomAPP paper by @songaeun.bsky.social, @drmack.bsky.social, and @dirkbwalther.bsky.social buff.ly/2So7ndD
Reposted by Edward Vessel
📣 Call for unpublished studies on discrimination of bisexual people!
⬇️ Please see the full call below
We are very grateful for all contributions!
#SocialPsych #PsychSciSky
⬇️ Please see the full call below
We are very grateful for all contributions!
#SocialPsych #PsychSciSky
September 9, 2025 at 12:54 AM
📣 Call for unpublished studies on discrimination of bisexual people!
⬇️ Please see the full call below
We are very grateful for all contributions!
#SocialPsych #PsychSciSky
⬇️ Please see the full call below
We are very grateful for all contributions!
#SocialPsych #PsychSciSky
I've been selected as a 2026 Osher Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences (@calacademy.bsky.social), for a project with Indre Viskontas (@indrevis.bsky.social) and Cal Academy. Thanks so much to Rhonda Rubenstein and for facilitating this opportunity!
www.calacademy.org/osher-fellows
www.calacademy.org/osher-fellows
Osher Fellows
Osher Fellows bring their world-renowned creative expertise to the Academy's science learning programs.
www.calacademy.org
August 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I've been selected as a 2026 Osher Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences (@calacademy.bsky.social), for a project with Indre Viskontas (@indrevis.bsky.social) and Cal Academy. Thanks so much to Rhonda Rubenstein and for facilitating this opportunity!
www.calacademy.org/osher-fellows
www.calacademy.org/osher-fellows
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Are interoception and mental health linked? Many assume so, with interoception even described as a psychiatric “p-factor.” But in our latest preprint, we were surprised to find little evidence for such a connection. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Thread with our reflections on the matter 👇
Interoceptive Ability is Unrelated to Mental Health Symptoms: Evidence From a Large Scale Multi-Domain Psychophysical Investigation
Interoception-the sensing and perception of the internal viscera-is widely cast as a transdiagnostic mechanism linking brain-body interaction to mental illness. Prevailing models propose that altered ...
www.medrxiv.org
August 27, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Are interoception and mental health linked? Many assume so, with interoception even described as a psychiatric “p-factor.” But in our latest preprint, we were surprised to find little evidence for such a connection. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Thread with our reflections on the matter 👇
Reposted by Edward Vessel
No brush, no pencil. Just a typewriter.
Artist James, using a 1930s Smith Premier typewriter, typed out this painting.
#art #printer #unique #typewriter #illustration
Artist James, using a 1930s Smith Premier typewriter, typed out this painting.
#art #printer #unique #typewriter #illustration
August 26, 2025 at 4:01 AM
No brush, no pencil. Just a typewriter.
Artist James, using a 1930s Smith Premier typewriter, typed out this painting.
#art #printer #unique #typewriter #illustration
Artist James, using a 1930s Smith Premier typewriter, typed out this painting.
#art #printer #unique #typewriter #illustration
Reposted by Edward Vessel
This paper shows that some human "gestalt" style visual processing can emerge in purely feedforward deep nets with the right inductive biases and fine-tuning:
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
🧠📈 🧪 #NeuroAI
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
🧠📈 🧪 #NeuroAI
A feedforward mechanism for human-like contour integration
Author summary A central challenge in vision science is understanding how the visual system links fragmented local features into coherent object representations. One foundational process supporting th...
journals.plos.org
August 26, 2025 at 5:42 PM
This paper shows that some human "gestalt" style visual processing can emerge in purely feedforward deep nets with the right inductive biases and fine-tuning:
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
🧠📈 🧪 #NeuroAI
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
🧠📈 🧪 #NeuroAI
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Huge thanks to the #VSAC2025 organizers for such an incredible conference! Special thanks to everyone who stopped by my poster "From preliminary findings to a large-scale diary study: Investigating aesthetic experience in everyday life" - loved the insightful discussions and exchanges! 🤓💡
August 25, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Huge thanks to the #VSAC2025 organizers for such an incredible conference! Special thanks to everyone who stopped by my poster "From preliminary findings to a large-scale diary study: Investigating aesthetic experience in everyday life" - loved the insightful discussions and exchanges! 🤓💡
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Had a blast chatting with @neildegrassetyson.com on @startalkradio.bsky.social ’s podcast about how AI and neuroscience come together
startalkmedia.com/show/mindrea...
startalkmedia.com/show/mindrea...
Mindreading with Jean Rémi-King - StarTalk Special Edition
What would it take to read someone’s mind? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, & Gary O’Reilly explore the science of decoding our thoughts w/ Jean-Rémi King.
startalkmedia.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Had a blast chatting with @neildegrassetyson.com on @startalkradio.bsky.social ’s podcast about how AI and neuroscience come together
startalkmedia.com/show/mindrea...
startalkmedia.com/show/mindrea...
Reposted by Edward Vessel
(link fixed) New theory: Categorization is Baked Into the Brain
It is not at the end of sensory processing but a core computation that begins at the earliest stages, occurring throughout the cortex as predictive feedback shapes feedforward processing. #neuroscience
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
It is not at the end of sensory processing but a core computation that begins at the earliest stages, occurring throughout the cortex as predictive feedback shapes feedforward processing. #neuroscience
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
August 25, 2025 at 12:18 PM
(link fixed) New theory: Categorization is Baked Into the Brain
It is not at the end of sensory processing but a core computation that begins at the earliest stages, occurring throughout the cortex as predictive feedback shapes feedforward processing. #neuroscience
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
It is not at the end of sensory processing but a core computation that begins at the earliest stages, occurring throughout the cortex as predictive feedback shapes feedforward processing. #neuroscience
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Reposted by Edward Vessel
Eye movements, vision and memory through the lens of Sherlock - awesome collaborative project led by @matthiasnau.bsky.social
Excited to share our new paper w/ @cibaker.bsky.social in @natcomms.nature.com linking active vision & memory!
We provide evidence that gaze reinstatement & neural reactivation are deeply related phenomena that jointly reflect the experiences constructed during recall. doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🧵1/9
We provide evidence that gaze reinstatement & neural reactivation are deeply related phenomena that jointly reflect the experiences constructed during recall. doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🧵1/9
Neural and behavioral reinstatement jointly reflect retrieval of narrative events - Nature Communications
When people recall a movie, their eye movements and brain activity resemble those observed during the viewing. These behavioral and neural reactivations are linked through a common process, likely ref...
doi.org
August 25, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Eye movements, vision and memory through the lens of Sherlock - awesome collaborative project led by @matthiasnau.bsky.social
Reposted by Edward Vessel
✨ Does our body resonate differently when an everyday object is reframed by an artist as ready-made art?
Full story & #OpenScience #Rcode are available in our latest publication Ruta, Schino, Wolfe & Iosifyan (2025) Scientific Reports ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Full story & #OpenScience #Rcode are available in our latest publication Ruta, Schino, Wolfe & Iosifyan (2025) Scientific Reports ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ready-made bodily sensations - Scientific Reports
Embodiment plays an important role in art engagement, yet it is unclear how expectations shape bodily sensations, especially when interacting with ready-made art. In this study, we investigated how ex...
www.nature.com
August 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
✨ Does our body resonate differently when an everyday object is reframed by an artist as ready-made art?
Full story & #OpenScience #Rcode are available in our latest publication Ruta, Schino, Wolfe & Iosifyan (2025) Scientific Reports ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Full story & #OpenScience #Rcode are available in our latest publication Ruta, Schino, Wolfe & Iosifyan (2025) Scientific Reports ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Eek. This is not good, and will definitely impact CCNY, which is an HSI.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...
Education Department Backs Away From Program for Hispanic-Serving Colleges
www.nytimes.com
August 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Eek. This is not good, and will definitely impact CCNY, which is an HSI.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...