Francesco Poli
@francescopoli.bsky.social
Rubicon research fellow at the University of Cambridge. Drinking massive amounts of tea and doing some research in between. Learning, information-seeking, cognitive and brain development. Comp modelling ethusiast. He/him. 🍉
https://francescpoli.github.io/
https://francescpoli.github.io/
Pinned
Francesco Poli
@francescopoli.bsky.social
· Jun 25
Volatility-driven learning in human infants
Infants estimate environmental volatility to learn optimally, with early individual differences linked to temperament.
www.science.org
Out now in Science Advances! We find that infants estimate environmental volatility to learn optimally, with early individual differences linked to temperament. This has be so much fun to work on and ended up being my favourite personal paper! So excited it's out!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Francesco Poli
We have a new conference paper out just now! How do infants explore their own body? We show that in the first weeks of life, infants' self-touch actions allow them to gain information about their own body. ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/112...
Exploration Patterns in Spontaneous Self-Touch Actions in Infancy
Infants frequently touch their own bodies from the earliest months of life, raising questions about whether these self-directed actions reflect active body exploration. We hypothesize that infants’ se...
ieeexplore.ieee.org
October 23, 2025 at 11:46 AM
We have a new conference paper out just now! How do infants explore their own body? We show that in the first weeks of life, infants' self-touch actions allow them to gain information about their own body. ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/112...
Reposted by Francesco Poli
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
The authors review evidence that the primary function of the brain, supported by distributed
neural systems, is the predictive regulation of physiology (i.e., allostasis). An
example from Alzheimer’s ...
www.cell.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:54 PM
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
Reposted by Francesco Poli
𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗫
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
October 11, 2025 at 4:31 PM
𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗫
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
By Mars and Passingham
"Understanding anthropoid foraging challenges may thus contribute to our understanding of human cognition"
Going to the top of the reading list!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
#neuroskyence
Reposted by Francesco Poli
"If we believe in democratic order, let us put science and knowledge back at the heart of things, let us put scientific authority back at the heart of things, let us put culture, education and learning back at the heart of things..."
October 4, 2025 at 12:05 PM
"If we believe in democratic order, let us put science and knowledge back at the heart of things, let us put scientific authority back at the heart of things, let us put culture, education and learning back at the heart of things..."
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."
President Macron: “Europeans, let's wake up!
We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.”
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.”
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
October 4, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."
Why are we still sending our work to Wiley and other publishing companies so that they can profit from it? There's so many better options now, for example: psychopen.eu/journals/
September 26, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Why are we still sending our work to Wiley and other publishing companies so that they can profit from it? There's so many better options now, for example: psychopen.eu/journals/
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Incredible study by Raut et al.: by tracking a single measure (pupil size), you can model slow, large-scale dynamics in neuronal calcium, metabolism, and brain blood oxygen through a shared latent space! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
September 25, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Incredible study by Raut et al.: by tracking a single measure (pupil size), you can model slow, large-scale dynamics in neuronal calcium, metabolism, and brain blood oxygen through a shared latent space! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
So cool!
I’m super excited to finally put my recent work with @behrenstimb.bsky.social on bioRxiv, where we develop a new mechanistic theory of how PFC structures adaptive behaviour using attractor dynamics in space and time!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
So cool!
Reposted by Francesco Poli
How does the brain decide? 🧠
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Transitions in dynamical regime and neural mode during perceptual decisions - Nature
Simultaneous recordings were made of hundreds of neurons in the rat frontal cortex and striatum, showing that decision commitment involves a rapid, coordinated transition in dynamical regime and neura...
www.nature.com
September 17, 2025 at 8:12 PM
How does the brain decide? 🧠
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Our new @nature.com paper shows that neural activity switches from an 'evidence gathering' to a 'commitment' state at a precise moment we call nTc.
After nTc, new evidence is ignored, revealing a neural marker for the instant when the mind is made up.
rdcu.be/eGUrv
Reposted by Francesco Poli
📣📣📣 Hi Everyone! I'm accepting PhD students for the Fall 2026 cycle! Our lab topics include the developmental origins and elaboration of moral cognition/prosocial behavior, persistence, and optimism. More info below!!
September 11, 2025 at 7:37 PM
📣📣📣 Hi Everyone! I'm accepting PhD students for the Fall 2026 cycle! Our lab topics include the developmental origins and elaboration of moral cognition/prosocial behavior, persistence, and optimism. More info below!!
Reposted by Francesco Poli
it's a hyper capitalist racket, and the fact that ***academia*** (full of all those gigantic galaxy brains) collectively still hasn't managed to burn it to the fucking ground says a lot about how deep these exploitative structures run
September 7, 2025 at 7:32 AM
it's a hyper capitalist racket, and the fact that ***academia*** (full of all those gigantic galaxy brains) collectively still hasn't managed to burn it to the fucking ground says a lot about how deep these exploitative structures run
Reposted by Francesco Poli
so ORGANIZE
this is a labour issue - collectively, you are NOT powerless
stop upholding systems that exploit you, chew you up and spit you out ... and that steal and lock away the knowledge you create from the rest of us out here
this is a labour issue - collectively, you are NOT powerless
stop upholding systems that exploit you, chew you up and spit you out ... and that steal and lock away the knowledge you create from the rest of us out here
September 7, 2025 at 7:35 AM
so ORGANIZE
this is a labour issue - collectively, you are NOT powerless
stop upholding systems that exploit you, chew you up and spit you out ... and that steal and lock away the knowledge you create from the rest of us out here
this is a labour issue - collectively, you are NOT powerless
stop upholding systems that exploit you, chew you up and spit you out ... and that steal and lock away the knowledge you create from the rest of us out here
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.
@fluxsociety.bsky.social is there a lost and found at #Flux2025? I lost my coat and jumper during today's poster session. Thanks!
September 6, 2025 at 1:23 PM
@fluxsociety.bsky.social is there a lost and found at #Flux2025? I lost my coat and jumper during today's poster session. Thanks!
Reposted by Francesco Poli
@sofiascatolin.bsky.social
💡 Parent-Child Functional Neural Similarity and Its Association With Child Mental Well-Being
📅 Saturday | Posters III
🕙 10:15–11:45AM | Goldsmith Hall
🎤 Flash talk: Saturday | 9:10–9:15AM | Hyde Suite 1&2
✨ As the Beatles sang: in the end, it’s all about the love we share
💡 Parent-Child Functional Neural Similarity and Its Association With Child Mental Well-Being
📅 Saturday | Posters III
🕙 10:15–11:45AM | Goldsmith Hall
🎤 Flash talk: Saturday | 9:10–9:15AM | Hyde Suite 1&2
✨ As the Beatles sang: in the end, it’s all about the love we share
September 2, 2025 at 12:57 PM
@sofiascatolin.bsky.social
💡 Parent-Child Functional Neural Similarity and Its Association With Child Mental Well-Being
📅 Saturday | Posters III
🕙 10:15–11:45AM | Goldsmith Hall
🎤 Flash talk: Saturday | 9:10–9:15AM | Hyde Suite 1&2
✨ As the Beatles sang: in the end, it’s all about the love we share
💡 Parent-Child Functional Neural Similarity and Its Association With Child Mental Well-Being
📅 Saturday | Posters III
🕙 10:15–11:45AM | Goldsmith Hall
🎤 Flash talk: Saturday | 9:10–9:15AM | Hyde Suite 1&2
✨ As the Beatles sang: in the end, it’s all about the love we share
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Interesting on how publishers respond when concerns are raised 👇 My own experience:
Springer, 3 journals, No action
Elsevier, 3, No action
CUP, 1, No action
Brill, 1, No action
Emerald, 1, No action
Frontiers, 1, No action
Qeios, No action
Cell Press, 1, Editorial note
Royal Society, 1, Retraction
Springer, 3 journals, No action
Elsevier, 3, No action
CUP, 1, No action
Brill, 1, No action
Emerald, 1, No action
Frontiers, 1, No action
Qeios, No action
Cell Press, 1, Editorial note
Royal Society, 1, Retraction
Huge variability documented in how publishers respond when informed about a problematic body of work by a research group. www.jclinepi.com/article/S089...
#publishers #retractions
#publishers #retractions
August 26, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Interesting on how publishers respond when concerns are raised 👇 My own experience:
Springer, 3 journals, No action
Elsevier, 3, No action
CUP, 1, No action
Brill, 1, No action
Emerald, 1, No action
Frontiers, 1, No action
Qeios, No action
Cell Press, 1, Editorial note
Royal Society, 1, Retraction
Springer, 3 journals, No action
Elsevier, 3, No action
CUP, 1, No action
Brill, 1, No action
Emerald, 1, No action
Frontiers, 1, No action
Qeios, No action
Cell Press, 1, Editorial note
Royal Society, 1, Retraction
Reposted by Francesco Poli
This RedNote post shocked me today.
An anonymous user says they are going to upload 60 papers to arXiv soon and are looking for “citation partners” to boost citation counts together by citing each other.
Something is seriously wrong in the system of evaluating researchers by citation counts.
An anonymous user says they are going to upload 60 papers to arXiv soon and are looking for “citation partners” to boost citation counts together by citing each other.
Something is seriously wrong in the system of evaluating researchers by citation counts.
August 25, 2025 at 10:35 PM
This RedNote post shocked me today.
An anonymous user says they are going to upload 60 papers to arXiv soon and are looking for “citation partners” to boost citation counts together by citing each other.
Something is seriously wrong in the system of evaluating researchers by citation counts.
An anonymous user says they are going to upload 60 papers to arXiv soon and are looking for “citation partners” to boost citation counts together by citing each other.
Something is seriously wrong in the system of evaluating researchers by citation counts.
Reposted by Francesco Poli
How is science fighting back against attacks in the US? The project @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social encourages researchers to publish in local newspapers in their hometowns. The goal: remind people of the value of science 👇
www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/one-goal-is-...
#scicomm #wisskomm
www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/one-goal-is-...
#scicomm #wisskomm
August 25, 2025 at 6:33 AM
How is science fighting back against attacks in the US? The project @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social encourages researchers to publish in local newspapers in their hometowns. The goal: remind people of the value of science 👇
www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/one-goal-is-...
#scicomm #wisskomm
www.wissenschaftskommunikation.de/one-goal-is-...
#scicomm #wisskomm
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Great and detailed blog post on compositionality, written by Eric Elmoznino:
ericelmoznino.github.io/blog/2025/08...
#compneuro #neuroai #neuroscience
ericelmoznino.github.io/blog/2025/08...
#compneuro #neuroai #neuroscience
Defining and quantifying compositional structure
What is compositionality? For those of us working in AI or cognitive neuroscience this question can appear easy at first, but becomes increasingly perplexing the more we think about it. We aren’t shor...
ericelmoznino.github.io
August 20, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Great and detailed blog post on compositionality, written by Eric Elmoznino:
ericelmoznino.github.io/blog/2025/08...
#compneuro #neuroai #neuroscience
ericelmoznino.github.io/blog/2025/08...
#compneuro #neuroai #neuroscience
Reposted by Francesco Poli
I mean, Trump has got everyone kissing his arse *by being an enemy*.
How do we imagine that kissing his arse will stop him being an enemy, when being an enemy is working so damn well for him?
Are we stupid? Are we even stupider than Donald Trump? Maybe we are.
How do we imagine that kissing his arse will stop him being an enemy, when being an enemy is working so damn well for him?
Are we stupid? Are we even stupider than Donald Trump? Maybe we are.
August 19, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I mean, Trump has got everyone kissing his arse *by being an enemy*.
How do we imagine that kissing his arse will stop him being an enemy, when being an enemy is working so damn well for him?
Are we stupid? Are we even stupider than Donald Trump? Maybe we are.
How do we imagine that kissing his arse will stop him being an enemy, when being an enemy is working so damn well for him?
Are we stupid? Are we even stupider than Donald Trump? Maybe we are.
Reposted by Francesco Poli
My first paper with @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social is finally out in @natcomms.nature.com ! rdcu.be/eACGf
TL;DR: asymmetric learning rates can be induced by shifts in tonic dopamine giving rise to pessimistic/optimistic biases in agents or animals undergoing reinforcement learning .
TL;DR: asymmetric learning rates can be induced by shifts in tonic dopamine giving rise to pessimistic/optimistic biases in agents or animals undergoing reinforcement learning .
Tonic dopamine and biases in value learning linked through a biologically inspired reinforcement learning model
Nature Communications - Accurate future predictions are essential for guiding behavior, and disruptions in this process are associated with psychiatric disorders. Here the authors show that changes...
rdcu.be
August 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
My first paper with @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social is finally out in @natcomms.nature.com ! rdcu.be/eACGf
TL;DR: asymmetric learning rates can be induced by shifts in tonic dopamine giving rise to pessimistic/optimistic biases in agents or animals undergoing reinforcement learning .
TL;DR: asymmetric learning rates can be induced by shifts in tonic dopamine giving rise to pessimistic/optimistic biases in agents or animals undergoing reinforcement learning .
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Wow: tenure letter writers’ publication records (h-index) are better predictors of tenure decisions than candidates’ own publication record.
Another paper from the same group: "External review letters are more closely related to letter writer characteristics than candidate productivity."
External review letters in academic promotion and tenure decisions are reflective of reviewer characteristics
We examine validity and bias in external review letters (ERLs) in academic settings. ERLs play a critical role in promotion and tenure (P&T) decisions…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Wow: tenure letter writers’ publication records (h-index) are better predictors of tenure decisions than candidates’ own publication record.
Reposted by Francesco Poli
Introducing five concepts from dynamical systems to decode developmental regulatory mechanisms, have a read! @perez-carrasco.bsky.social @roederlab.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social This effort started in a morphogenesis meeting @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social in 2023. journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
August 4, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Introducing five concepts from dynamical systems to decode developmental regulatory mechanisms, have a read! @perez-carrasco.bsky.social @roederlab.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social This effort started in a morphogenesis meeting @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social in 2023. journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...