Jo Carpenter
@jocarpenter.bsky.social
✨Maps and memories✨
hippocampal-entorhinal electrophysiologist
Moser & Dunn Groups • KISN Norway
hippocampal-entorhinal electrophysiologist
Moser & Dunn Groups • KISN Norway
Pinned
Jo Carpenter
@jocarpenter.bsky.social
· Nov 22
At @FENSorg this year?
Poster #PS01-26AM-004 (WED)
Presenting my work on remapping of neural populations across the HPC-EC circuit using data from 3 simultaneously-recorded Neuropixels 2.0 probes (CA1-MEC/PaS-Sub) in freely moving rats exploring 5 different rooms over 12 hours!
Poster #PS01-26AM-004 (WED)
Presenting my work on remapping of neural populations across the HPC-EC circuit using data from 3 simultaneously-recorded Neuropixels 2.0 probes (CA1-MEC/PaS-Sub) in freely moving rats exploring 5 different rooms over 12 hours!
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
September 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵1/
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
“If everything is everywhere, why have distinct areas? Here we show that the function of a brain area is more related to how different types of information are combined (formatted) in neural representations than merely whether that information is present.”
New results for a new year! “Linking neural population formatting to function” describes our modern take on an old question: how can we understand the contribution of a brain area to behavior?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧠👩🏻🔬🧪🧵
#neuroskyence
1/
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧠👩🏻🔬🧪🧵
#neuroskyence
1/
Linking neural population formatting to function
Animals capable of complex behaviors tend to have more distinct brain areas than simpler organisms, and artificial networks that perform many tasks tend to self-organize into modules (1-3). This sugge...
www.biorxiv.org
September 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM
“If everything is everywhere, why have distinct areas? Here we show that the function of a brain area is more related to how different types of information are combined (formatted) in neural representations than merely whether that information is present.”
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Our collaboration - from PhD work - examining input-specific (EC L3) contributions to rate and temporal coding in CA1 place cells is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🔬🧠
rdcu.be/evWtz
rdcu.be/evWtz
Direct entorhinal control of CA1 temporal coding
Nature Communications - Temporal coding in the hippocampus is thought to be key for memory and predictions. Here, the authors show that blocking one entorhinal input affects two aspects of...
rdcu.be
July 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Our collaboration - from PhD work - examining input-specific (EC L3) contributions to rate and temporal coding in CA1 place cells is now out in @natcomms.nature.com 🔬🧠
rdcu.be/evWtz
rdcu.be/evWtz
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Amazing study: @tamir-eliav.bsky.social from the Ulanovsky lab describes replay events in a large scale environment (200 m tunnel). 🦇
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Fragmented replay of very large environments in the hippocampus of bats
Hippocampal replays in bats flying in a 200-m tunnel depict short fragments of long
flight trajectories, suggesting constraints on the mechanisms and functions of replay.
www.cell.com
June 14, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Amazing study: @tamir-eliav.bsky.social from the Ulanovsky lab describes replay events in a large scale environment (200 m tunnel). 🦇
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
(1/6) Thrilled to share our triple-N dataset (Non-human Primate Neural Responses to Natural Scenes)! It captures thousands of high-level visual neuron responses in macaques to natural scenes using #Neuropixels.
May 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
(1/6) Thrilled to share our triple-N dataset (Non-human Primate Neural Responses to Natural Scenes)! It captures thousands of high-level visual neuron responses in macaques to natural scenes using #Neuropixels.
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Check out my preprint on hippocampal ripple diversity, with @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret at the MRC BNDU, where we reveal that distinct CA1 laminar profiles of ripples are associated with different reactivation dynamics: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
March 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Check out my preprint on hippocampal ripple diversity, with @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret at the MRC BNDU, where we reveal that distinct CA1 laminar profiles of ripples are associated with different reactivation dynamics: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
1/ Our paper appeared in @Nature today! www.nature.com/articles/s41... w/ Fiete Lab and @khonamikail.bsky.social .
Explains emergence of multiple grid cell modules, w/ excellent match to data! Novel mechanism for applying across vast systems from development to ecosystems. 🧵👇
Explains emergence of multiple grid cell modules, w/ excellent match to data! Novel mechanism for applying across vast systems from development to ecosystems. 🧵👇
Global modules robustly emerge from local interactions and smooth gradients - Nature
The principle of peak selection is described, by which local interactions and smooth gradients drive self-organization of discrete global modules.
www.nature.com
February 19, 2025 at 11:20 PM
1/ Our paper appeared in @Nature today! www.nature.com/articles/s41... w/ Fiete Lab and @khonamikail.bsky.social .
Explains emergence of multiple grid cell modules, w/ excellent match to data! Novel mechanism for applying across vast systems from development to ecosystems. 🧵👇
Explains emergence of multiple grid cell modules, w/ excellent match to data! Novel mechanism for applying across vast systems from development to ecosystems. 🧵👇
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Every scientist, long before they were a scientist, was a little kid who stood in front of a fish tank or stared up at the stars or turned over a rock to look at the bugs underneath and said “wow”. On the best days, working in science still feels like that.
February 19, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Every scientist, long before they were a scientist, was a little kid who stood in front of a fish tank or stared up at the stars or turned over a rock to look at the bugs underneath and said “wow”. On the best days, working in science still feels like that.
Congratulations Abe and Rich!!
Grid cells have a geometry in time. Thanks to @azvollan.bsky.social l & @rjgardner.bsky.social for this heroic discovery. @ercresearch.bsky.social
#KiloNeurons @m-bmoser.bsky.social @kavlintnu.bsky.social @nature.com
@kavlifoundation.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#KiloNeurons @m-bmoser.bsky.social @kavlintnu.bsky.social @nature.com
@kavlifoundation.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Left–right-alternating theta sweeps in entorhinal–hippocampal maps of space - Nature
A study in rats proposes a mechanism for how the brain maps the surrounding environment, including places it has never seen, by alternating left and right forward sweeps in successive theta cycles.
www.nature.com
February 3, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Congratulations Abe and Rich!!
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
We are still taking applications!
We have an open post doc position funded by an ERC Consolidator grant. It is 3 years full-time and we are looking for someone with expertise in molecular methods (engram tagging/opto/DREADDs/Immunohistochemistry) to join our big, team-science projects. www.genzellab.com/we-are-hiring
We are hiring! — Genzel Lab
www.genzellab.com
January 19, 2025 at 8:10 PM
We are still taking applications!
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
It’s an incredible feeling to see something you’ve poured your heart into come to life. This work was born from my curiosity about hippocampal “cognitive tuning.”
Our interpretation of the environment depends on our actions, constantly evolving as we pursue our goals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our interpretation of the environment depends on our actions, constantly evolving as we pursue our goals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hippocampal neuronal activity is aligned with action plans - Nature
Using high-density electrophysiological recordings, how internally generated cell assemblies are updated by action plans to meet external goals is explored.
www.nature.com
January 9, 2025 at 10:36 PM
It’s an incredible feeling to see something you’ve poured your heart into come to life. This work was born from my curiosity about hippocampal “cognitive tuning.”
Our interpretation of the environment depends on our actions, constantly evolving as we pursue our goals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our interpretation of the environment depends on our actions, constantly evolving as we pursue our goals
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Our paper on ketamine’s effect on astrocytes and behavior is out in Neuron by Marc Duque, Alex Chen, Eric Hsu, and colleagues @marcduque.bsky.social @alexbchen.bsky.social @ehsu6.bsky.social, with the Engert, Fishman, & Bergles labs, www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Ketamine induces plasticity in a norepinephrine-astroglial circuit to promote behavioral perseverance
Transient exposure to ketamine can trigger lasting changes in behavior and mood. We found that brief ketamine exposure causes long-term suppression of…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 18, 2024 at 7:22 PM
Our paper on ketamine’s effect on astrocytes and behavior is out in Neuron by Marc Duque, Alex Chen, Eric Hsu, and colleagues @marcduque.bsky.social @alexbchen.bsky.social @ehsu6.bsky.social, with the Engert, Fishman, & Bergles labs, www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
celebrating another year of excellent science, happy animals, and *happy people* at the kavli ❤️✨
@kavlintnu.bsky.social
@kavlintnu.bsky.social
December 14, 2024 at 7:22 PM
celebrating another year of excellent science, happy animals, and *happy people* at the kavli ❤️✨
@kavlintnu.bsky.social
@kavlintnu.bsky.social
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Do octopuses dream?
In any case, can't get enough of watching them sleep 😴🐙 Look at this symphony of patterns and movements! Incredible.
youtu.be/006DjAixu9E?...
In any case, can't get enough of watching them sleep 😴🐙 Look at this symphony of patterns and movements! Incredible.
youtu.be/006DjAixu9E?...
Do octopuses dream? Brain recordings provide the first clues
YouTube video by nature video
youtu.be
December 7, 2024 at 9:03 AM
Do octopuses dream?
In any case, can't get enough of watching them sleep 😴🐙 Look at this symphony of patterns and movements! Incredible.
youtu.be/006DjAixu9E?...
In any case, can't get enough of watching them sleep 😴🐙 Look at this symphony of patterns and movements! Incredible.
youtu.be/006DjAixu9E?...
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
In those animals we didn't observe a correlation between ripples and glucose fluctuations. To me, this strongly suggested pancreatic insulin release is a mechanistic intermediate
December 5, 2024 at 12:28 PM
In those animals we didn't observe a correlation between ripples and glucose fluctuations. To me, this strongly suggested pancreatic insulin release is a mechanistic intermediate
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Wow, thanks so much Adrien! It was such an exciting project to work on, and many directions to follow up. Another *really hidden gem (it didn't end up in the paper), we (@jocarpenter and I) treated three rats with streptozotocin which effectively kills beta cells in the pancreas...
December 5, 2024 at 12:28 PM
Wow, thanks so much Adrien! It was such an exciting project to work on, and many directions to follow up. Another *really hidden gem (it didn't end up in the paper), we (@jocarpenter and I) treated three rats with streptozotocin which effectively kills beta cells in the pancreas...
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Awesome pub looking at the unique role of AD- and M2-projecting RSC circuits from Xiaoxiao Lin et al.
#neuroskyence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Projection-specific circuits of retrosplenial cortex with differential contributions to spatial cognition - Molecular Psychiatry
Molecular Psychiatry - Projection-specific circuits of retrosplenial cortex with differential contributions to spatial cognition
www.nature.com
November 12, 2024 at 4:15 AM
Awesome pub looking at the unique role of AD- and M2-projecting RSC circuits from Xiaoxiao Lin et al.
#neuroskyence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#neuroskyence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thankful for a loving family, all of my super funny friends, a happy and collaborative lab environment, and my rat Rafael for giving me some beautiful data tonight 🤩🥰🍗
November 28, 2024 at 6:43 PM
Thankful for a loving family, all of my super funny friends, a happy and collaborative lab environment, and my rat Rafael for giving me some beautiful data tonight 🤩🥰🍗
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
While this result is really exciting, the paper also contains some hidden gems. Ext Data Fig. 3, for instance, show the power spectrum of ripple occurrence. It reveals that ripple rates fluctuate not only on a 24-hour circadian cycle but also on a 4-hour ultradian cycle.
5/
5/
November 25, 2024 at 5:23 PM
While this result is really exciting, the paper also contains some hidden gems. Ext Data Fig. 3, for instance, show the power spectrum of ripple occurrence. It reveals that ripple rates fluctuate not only on a 24-hour circadian cycle but also on a 4-hour ultradian cycle.
5/
5/
Very timely piece. With 3-4 probes per rat and ultra long recordings, I’ve already generated 95TB of data for a single project. Thinking lots these days about how to store and publish all of this… 😬😬
Raw files vs. spike times x behavior or something in between?? Or both?
Raw files vs. spike times x behavior or something in between?? Or both?
Happy to contribute to this @thetransmitter.bsky.social piece by @neurovium.bsky.social about challenges and opportunities on open data www.thetransmitter.org/the-big-pict...
To keep or not to keep: Neurophysiology’s data dilemma
An exponential growth in data size presents neuroscientists with a significant challenge: Should we be keeping all raw data or focusing on processed datasets? I asked experimentalists and theorists…
www.thetransmitter.org
November 25, 2024 at 9:09 PM
Very timely piece. With 3-4 probes per rat and ultra long recordings, I’ve already generated 95TB of data for a single project. Thinking lots these days about how to store and publish all of this… 😬😬
Raw files vs. spike times x behavior or something in between?? Or both?
Raw files vs. spike times x behavior or something in between?? Or both?
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
go.bsky.app/LdtUYZS
I created a starter pack for the growing community of hippocampus physiologists that have joined the great migration. Also included the physiology-adjacent.
Tell me who I haven’t found yet
I created a starter pack for the growing community of hippocampus physiologists that have joined the great migration. Also included the physiology-adjacent.
Tell me who I haven’t found yet
November 12, 2024 at 9:00 PM
go.bsky.app/LdtUYZS
I created a starter pack for the growing community of hippocampus physiologists that have joined the great migration. Also included the physiology-adjacent.
Tell me who I haven’t found yet
I created a starter pack for the growing community of hippocampus physiologists that have joined the great migration. Also included the physiology-adjacent.
Tell me who I haven’t found yet
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Now out in Neuron! We benchmark place cell models using a massive CA1 dataset—nearly 70,000 rate maps—collected as mice explore environments with different geometries
BVC models perform remarkably well, but we hope this dataset/approach becomes a resource for testing/refining place cell models
BVC models perform remarkably well, but we hope this dataset/approach becomes a resource for testing/refining place cell models
Psyched that my postdoc work w @markbrandonlab.bsky.social + @atkeinath.bsky.social is now in Neuron! TL/DR: remapping in CA1 has a representational structure that is reliable across brains, and we use this representation to test models of cognitive maps.
#NeuroSky #NeuroAI 🧪🧠
tinyurl.com/4juhmad8
#NeuroSky #NeuroAI 🧪🧠
tinyurl.com/4juhmad8
Identifying representational structure in CA1 to benchmark theoretical models of cognitive mapping
Decades of theoretical and empirical work have suggested the hippocampus instantiates some form of a cognitive map. Yet, tests of competing theories h…
tinyurl.com
November 22, 2024 at 7:26 PM
Now out in Neuron! We benchmark place cell models using a massive CA1 dataset—nearly 70,000 rate maps—collected as mice explore environments with different geometries
BVC models perform remarkably well, but we hope this dataset/approach becomes a resource for testing/refining place cell models
BVC models perform remarkably well, but we hope this dataset/approach becomes a resource for testing/refining place cell models
This paper adds to a nice list of papers recently that (broadly) merge brain and body biology:
The others one are www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
And www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The others one are www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
And www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 20, 2024 at 10:09 AM
This paper adds to a nice list of papers recently that (broadly) merge brain and body biology:
The others one are www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
And www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The others one are www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
And www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jo Carpenter
Super-psyched to share this preprint from my student Yicong (Alan) Zheng: "Recurrent Inhibitory Dynamics in the Entorhinal Cortex Support Pattern Separation" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... It's a new biologicaly-based computational model of the entorhinal-hippocampal system. Thread (1/?)
Recurrent Inhibitory Dynamics in the Entorhinal Cortex Support Pattern Separation
The entorhinal cortex (EC) provides the major input to the hippocampus (HPC). Numerous computational models on the EC propose that its grid cells serve as a spatial metric, supporting path integration...
www.biorxiv.org
November 18, 2024 at 10:47 PM
Super-psyched to share this preprint from my student Yicong (Alan) Zheng: "Recurrent Inhibitory Dynamics in the Entorhinal Cortex Support Pattern Separation" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... It's a new biologicaly-based computational model of the entorhinal-hippocampal system. Thread (1/?)
It’s always a fun lab meeting when the prodigal child @Erik_Hermansen1 returns! (booking conference rooms is not our strong suit)
November 22, 2024 at 10:36 AM
It’s always a fun lab meeting when the prodigal child @Erik_Hermansen1 returns! (booking conference rooms is not our strong suit)