Katharina Schmack
@kathaschmack.bsky.social
Psychiatrist | Neuroscientist | Founding Member of the Psychosis Collective @TheCrick @UCLPsychiatry
Glad to read in the Guardian today that some German concepts central to indoor wellbeing are becoming more widely appreciated 😅
Read on for a short glossary on indoor climate for those living with people raised in Germany
Read on for a short glossary on indoor climate for those living with people raised in Germany
January 21, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Glad to read in the Guardian today that some German concepts central to indoor wellbeing are becoming more widely appreciated 😅
Read on for a short glossary on indoor climate for those living with people raised in Germany
Read on for a short glossary on indoor climate for those living with people raised in Germany
Last experiment before submission? 🤞
January 17, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Last experiment before submission? 🤞
I was so busy conferencing that I only took one photo on arrival!
Wonderful to see old friends, make new ones, and talk bottomless science.
My goal for ACNP 2027: make it onto the @ahmarilab.bsky.social #fashionsOfAcnp feed 😀
#acnp2026 @acnporg.bsky.social
Wonderful to see old friends, make new ones, and talk bottomless science.
My goal for ACNP 2027: make it onto the @ahmarilab.bsky.social #fashionsOfAcnp feed 😀
#acnp2026 @acnporg.bsky.social
January 16, 2026 at 4:45 PM
I was so busy conferencing that I only took one photo on arrival!
Wonderful to see old friends, make new ones, and talk bottomless science.
My goal for ACNP 2027: make it onto the @ahmarilab.bsky.social #fashionsOfAcnp feed 😀
#acnp2026 @acnporg.bsky.social
Wonderful to see old friends, make new ones, and talk bottomless science.
My goal for ACNP 2027: make it onto the @ahmarilab.bsky.social #fashionsOfAcnp feed 😀
#acnp2026 @acnporg.bsky.social
Lab member: can I show you some data?
Me, 9am: YES
Me, 8pm: YES
Me, 3am: YES
Me, while undergoing surgery: YES
Me, 9am: YES
Me, 8pm: YES
Me, 3am: YES
Me, while undergoing surgery: YES
January 13, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Lab member: can I show you some data?
Me, 9am: YES
Me, 8pm: YES
Me, 3am: YES
Me, while undergoing surgery: YES
Me, 9am: YES
Me, 8pm: YES
Me, 3am: YES
Me, while undergoing surgery: YES
For anyone who made it through the “Everything was better back then” moments of the holiday season:
Reward sensitivity declines with age.
That might explain why apples tasted like apples, music felt real, and TV was just better.
Reward sensitivity declines with age.
That might explain why apples tasted like apples, music felt real, and TV was just better.
January 2, 2026 at 8:31 PM
For anyone who made it through the “Everything was better back then” moments of the holiday season:
Reward sensitivity declines with age.
That might explain why apples tasted like apples, music felt real, and TV was just better.
Reward sensitivity declines with age.
That might explain why apples tasted like apples, music felt real, and TV was just better.
Images were processed in accordance with journal guidelines.
December 30, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Images were processed in accordance with journal guidelines.
LinkedIn got my thoughtful 2025 year-in-review reflection.
Bluesky gets the stupidest thing I did in 2022:
Booking travel to a conference in Maine, happily thinking “Cool, there’s a direct flight from London to Portland.”
Bluesky gets the stupidest thing I did in 2022:
Booking travel to a conference in Maine, happily thinking “Cool, there’s a direct flight from London to Portland.”
December 29, 2025 at 2:15 PM
LinkedIn got my thoughtful 2025 year-in-review reflection.
Bluesky gets the stupidest thing I did in 2022:
Booking travel to a conference in Maine, happily thinking “Cool, there’s a direct flight from London to Portland.”
Bluesky gets the stupidest thing I did in 2022:
Booking travel to a conference in Maine, happily thinking “Cool, there’s a direct flight from London to Portland.”
Reposted by Katharina Schmack
New preprint from the lab!
A frontal motor circuit for economic decisions and actions:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use a novel task in mice, cortex-wide imaging and optogenetics, NPX recording and modelling to reveal a circuit mechanism that transforms abstract decisions to spatial actions.
A frontal motor circuit for economic decisions and actions:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use a novel task in mice, cortex-wide imaging and optogenetics, NPX recording and modelling to reveal a circuit mechanism that transforms abstract decisions to spatial actions.
A frontal motor circuit for economic decisions and actions
Flexible behaviour requires transforming abstract cognitive representations, such as value preferences, into concrete motor actions. During economic decision-making, individuals evaluate options to gu...
www.biorxiv.org
December 14, 2025 at 10:59 AM
New preprint from the lab!
A frontal motor circuit for economic decisions and actions:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use a novel task in mice, cortex-wide imaging and optogenetics, NPX recording and modelling to reveal a circuit mechanism that transforms abstract decisions to spatial actions.
A frontal motor circuit for economic decisions and actions:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use a novel task in mice, cortex-wide imaging and optogenetics, NPX recording and modelling to reveal a circuit mechanism that transforms abstract decisions to spatial actions.
Ready for a crash course in psychosis?
My recent public lecture is now on YouTube! I explain what psychosis is, what we are doing about it in the lab, and what the future may hold.
Watch & share👇
youtu.be/EUb3_5ecatU
My recent public lecture is now on YouTube! I explain what psychosis is, what we are doing about it in the lab, and what the future may hold.
Watch & share👇
youtu.be/EUb3_5ecatU
A Crash Course in Psychosis – with Katharina Schmack
YouTube video by The Francis Crick Institute
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Ready for a crash course in psychosis?
My recent public lecture is now on YouTube! I explain what psychosis is, what we are doing about it in the lab, and what the future may hold.
Watch & share👇
youtu.be/EUb3_5ecatU
My recent public lecture is now on YouTube! I explain what psychosis is, what we are doing about it in the lab, and what the future may hold.
Watch & share👇
youtu.be/EUb3_5ecatU
December 7, 2025 at 4:55 PM
One great thing about having kids: you do all the fun things you would never do otherwise – and your body immediately reminds you why 😅
Still, the 45-second slide ride down this #London sculpture tower, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, was absolutely worth the stiff neck!
Still, the 45-second slide ride down this #London sculpture tower, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, was absolutely worth the stiff neck!
December 7, 2025 at 9:52 AM
One great thing about having kids: you do all the fun things you would never do otherwise – and your body immediately reminds you why 😅
Still, the 45-second slide ride down this #London sculpture tower, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, was absolutely worth the stiff neck!
Still, the 45-second slide ride down this #London sculpture tower, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, was absolutely worth the stiff neck!
What would Francis Crick make of this?
I really enjoyed being part of this conversation on consciousness with @anilseth.bsky.social @stevefleming.bsky.social @cosmicskeptic.bsky.social, hosted by @profbriancox.bsky.social. Listen now!
I really enjoyed being part of this conversation on consciousness with @anilseth.bsky.social @stevefleming.bsky.social @cosmicskeptic.bsky.social, hosted by @profbriancox.bsky.social. Listen now!
What can science tell us about consciousness?
Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about the nature of consciousness.
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform:
lnk.to/AQOSConsciou...
Join our expert panellists as they answer audience questions about the nature of consciousness.
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform:
lnk.to/AQOSConsciou...
November 27, 2025 at 5:33 PM
What would Francis Crick make of this?
I really enjoyed being part of this conversation on consciousness with @anilseth.bsky.social @stevefleming.bsky.social @cosmicskeptic.bsky.social, hosted by @profbriancox.bsky.social. Listen now!
I really enjoyed being part of this conversation on consciousness with @anilseth.bsky.social @stevefleming.bsky.social @cosmicskeptic.bsky.social, hosted by @profbriancox.bsky.social. Listen now!
How often have you heard that schizophrenia is “80% genetic”?
That number is almost certainly too high because it comes from twin studies that overestimate heritabilty.
Great explainer of this phenomenon👇
#neuroskyence #neuroscience #psychiatry
That number is almost certainly too high because it comes from twin studies that overestimate heritabilty.
Great explainer of this phenomenon👇
#neuroskyence #neuroscience #psychiatry
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:49 AM
How often have you heard that schizophrenia is “80% genetic”?
That number is almost certainly too high because it comes from twin studies that overestimate heritabilty.
Great explainer of this phenomenon👇
#neuroskyence #neuroscience #psychiatry
That number is almost certainly too high because it comes from twin studies that overestimate heritabilty.
Great explainer of this phenomenon👇
#neuroskyence #neuroscience #psychiatry
Genius workspace, then and now.
(Neither my desk nor my desktop look like this. Draw your own conclusions 😅)
(Neither my desk nor my desktop look like this. Draw your own conclusions 😅)
November 12, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Genius workspace, then and now.
(Neither my desk nor my desktop look like this. Draw your own conclusions 😅)
(Neither my desk nor my desktop look like this. Draw your own conclusions 😅)
“She [Rosalind Franklin] would have thought of herself simply as a scientist whose achievements should have been judged on their own terms, not as a ‘woman scientist’ striking a blow for the rights of women.”
#notAWomanScientist
(1/n)
#notAWomanScientist
(1/n)
'She certainly felt insulted when she found that the main dining room at King's, where scientists would meet for discussions over lunch or coffee, was open only to men; this un-Parisian attitude was hard to take even if not unusual in English colleges at the time.'
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
November 9, 2025 at 1:09 PM
“She [Rosalind Franklin] would have thought of herself simply as a scientist whose achievements should have been judged on their own terms, not as a ‘woman scientist’ striking a blow for the rights of women.”
#notAWomanScientist
(1/n)
#notAWomanScientist
(1/n)
He: You spent money on an AIR PURIFIER?
Me: [erupting into a 15-minute talk on air pollution in cancer and dementia, confidently citing studies I once skimmed]
He: You really should be in sales.
Me: That's half my job, using vague recollections of science to convince people to fund more science.
Me: [erupting into a 15-minute talk on air pollution in cancer and dementia, confidently citing studies I once skimmed]
He: You really should be in sales.
Me: That's half my job, using vague recollections of science to convince people to fund more science.
November 8, 2025 at 9:32 PM
He: You spent money on an AIR PURIFIER?
Me: [erupting into a 15-minute talk on air pollution in cancer and dementia, confidently citing studies I once skimmed]
He: You really should be in sales.
Me: That's half my job, using vague recollections of science to convince people to fund more science.
Me: [erupting into a 15-minute talk on air pollution in cancer and dementia, confidently citing studies I once skimmed]
He: You really should be in sales.
Me: That's half my job, using vague recollections of science to convince people to fund more science.
Reposted by Katharina Schmack
Apply to become a CSHL-Simons Fellow in Neuroscience!
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Fellows Positions | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
CSHL Simons Fellow in NEUROSCIENCE Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is seeking to fill a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Fellow position in the area of NEUROSCIENCE (experimental and/or computationa...
www.cshl.edu
October 24, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Apply to become a CSHL-Simons Fellow in Neuroscience!
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
Run your own lab, pursue bold ideas, join a highly collaborative community!
All areas including experimental or computational neuro, including NeuroAI & systems
PhD required; ≤~1 yr postdoc
www.cshl.edu/about-us/car...
1/7 I could be Katharina Rubi. So, why am I still Katharina Schmack-(suppressed giggles)-can-you-spell-that for me?
Here’s a story about a dopamine-degrading enzyme that fell out of fashion. 🧵
Here’s a story about a dopamine-degrading enzyme that fell out of fashion. 🧵
November 5, 2025 at 11:16 PM
1/7 I could be Katharina Rubi. So, why am I still Katharina Schmack-(suppressed giggles)-can-you-spell-that for me?
Here’s a story about a dopamine-degrading enzyme that fell out of fashion. 🧵
Here’s a story about a dopamine-degrading enzyme that fell out of fashion. 🧵
Cycling through London and something tells me many wishes will come true 🪔
November 4, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Cycling through London and something tells me many wishes will come true 🪔
Yes, I’m of a certain age, but would it kill the supermarket self-checkout worker to at least hesitate for a second before pressing “visibly over 25”?
#foreverYoung
#foreverYoung
October 31, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Yes, I’m of a certain age, but would it kill the supermarket self-checkout worker to at least hesitate for a second before pressing “visibly over 25”?
#foreverYoung
#foreverYoung
Everything I say in this video is true! Join us to start your lab at the Crick – Europe’s largest indoor playground for scientists 👩🔬👨🔬!
Crick group leaders work across disciplines, supported by core funding and mentoring to build ambitious, curiosity-driven research.
Apply now to join us ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Apply now to join us ➡️ www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
October 27, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Everything I say in this video is true! Join us to start your lab at the Crick – Europe’s largest indoor playground for scientists 👩🔬👨🔬!
Reposted by Katharina Schmack
Good point! Let’s revive the tradition: if you recently read an interesting paper (doesn’t matter which field) please share!! #FridayPaperClub
October 24, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Good point! Let’s revive the tradition: if you recently read an interesting paper (doesn’t matter which field) please share!! #FridayPaperClub
Scenes from our lab Slack channel:
“Ugh… that’s disappointing.”
“Wait, let me check.”
“Hold on, something’s funny…”
“WHAT?!”
“Ohhh… that’s actually interesting.”
“Back to the analysis we go…”
“No way… THE EXPERIMENT WORKED!”
I love this team! The rollercoaster of science never gets old! 😍🔬
“Ugh… that’s disappointing.”
“Wait, let me check.”
“Hold on, something’s funny…”
“WHAT?!”
“Ohhh… that’s actually interesting.”
“Back to the analysis we go…”
“No way… THE EXPERIMENT WORKED!”
I love this team! The rollercoaster of science never gets old! 😍🔬
two elderly women are riding a roller coaster together and one is covering her face .
Alt: two elderly women are riding a roller coaster together and one is covering her face .
media.tenor.com
October 18, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Scenes from our lab Slack channel:
“Ugh… that’s disappointing.”
“Wait, let me check.”
“Hold on, something’s funny…”
“WHAT?!”
“Ohhh… that’s actually interesting.”
“Back to the analysis we go…”
“No way… THE EXPERIMENT WORKED!”
I love this team! The rollercoaster of science never gets old! 😍🔬
“Ugh… that’s disappointing.”
“Wait, let me check.”
“Hold on, something’s funny…”
“WHAT?!”
“Ohhh… that’s actually interesting.”
“Back to the analysis we go…”
“No way… THE EXPERIMENT WORKED!”
I love this team! The rollercoaster of science never gets old! 😍🔬