Kurt Fraser
@kurtfraser.bsky.social
Brain scientist, tall human, dog owner in the twin cities
Snowstorm walk to heal the soul
December 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Snowstorm walk to heal the soul
I don’t need to buy a house, I need to buy a cottage
December 27, 2025 at 1:08 AM
I don’t need to buy a house, I need to buy a cottage
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
A shared ensemble in the prelimbic cortex links impulsivity and anxiety-like behavior. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.25.696439v1
December 26, 2025 at 9:15 PM
A shared ensemble in the prelimbic cortex links impulsivity and anxiety-like behavior. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.25.696439v1
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
It's been quite a year for hypothalamic development. With this heroic analysis of developmental cell lineage, coupled with earlier multimode-based gene regulatory network analysis, the prosomere model looks like it has passed into history.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Resolving forebrain developmental organisation by analysis of differential growth patterns - Nature Communications
Experiments on the embryonic chick brain reveal distinct directional growth patterns and a tripartite hypothalamus, challenging the classic segmented prosomere model and offering an updated view of ho...
www.nature.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:08 PM
It's been quite a year for hypothalamic development. With this heroic analysis of developmental cell lineage, coupled with earlier multimode-based gene regulatory network analysis, the prosomere model looks like it has passed into history.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
I love my two blackout drunk Minnesota sons
December 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM
I love my two blackout drunk Minnesota sons
Horrifying news being confirmed about the state of NSF at the NSF IOS/BIO webinar
December 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Horrifying news being confirmed about the state of NSF at the NSF IOS/BIO webinar
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
We recently posted a new review preprint: “Ventral hippocampus and the contextual control of Pavlovian and instrumental behavior”, written with fantastic collaborators Samantha Moriarty (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Travis Todd (University of Vermont).
lnkd.in/dJ5ydAaZ
lnkd.in/dJ5ydAaZ
December 18, 2025 at 5:21 PM
We recently posted a new review preprint: “Ventral hippocampus and the contextual control of Pavlovian and instrumental behavior”, written with fantastic collaborators Samantha Moriarty (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Travis Todd (University of Vermont).
lnkd.in/dJ5ydAaZ
lnkd.in/dJ5ydAaZ
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!!
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
December 15, 2025 at 6:26 PM
*First preprint from our lab* !!!!!
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
How does the brain learn to anchor its internal sense of direction to the outside world? 🧭
led by Mark Plitt @markplitt.bsky.social & Dan Turner-Evans, w/ Vivek Jayaraman:
“Octopamine instructs head direction plasticity” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread ⬇️
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Thrilled this is out, led by former PD Cameron Ogg (now with her own lab at @rhodescollege.bsky.social!). It was a driven by a desire to see, in real-time, how LC activity/NE release influences downstream targets in behaving animals. SO hard to do, but Cameron did it! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Locus coeruleus norepinephrine neurons facilitate orbitofrontal cortex remapping and behavioral flexibility
Ogg et al. use in vivo imaging techniques to record activity in the locus coeruleus
(LC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during a reversal learning task in freely
moving rodents. They show that man...
www.cell.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Thrilled this is out, led by former PD Cameron Ogg (now with her own lab at @rhodescollege.bsky.social!). It was a driven by a desire to see, in real-time, how LC activity/NE release influences downstream targets in behaving animals. SO hard to do, but Cameron did it! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
VGF in the Nucleus Accumbens Regulates Synaptic and Opioid-Evoked Plasticity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.10.693464v1
December 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
VGF in the Nucleus Accumbens Regulates Synaptic and Opioid-Evoked Plasticity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.10.693464v1
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
🚨New Kutlu Lab preprint! Excited to share our latest work led by Oyku Dinckol and Noah Wenger.
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We find that ACh shapes DLS neural ensembles for outcome learning but is biased toward signaling threats over rewards 👇
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We find that ACh shapes DLS neural ensembles for outcome learning but is biased toward signaling threats over rewards 👇
Dorsolateral striatal acetylcholine reorganizes neural ensembles to anticipate threat
Adaptive behavior requires flexible encoding of emotional valence. Although striatal acetylcholine (ACh) signaling is critical for reinforcement learning, its contribution to aversive learning has rem...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 2:24 PM
🚨New Kutlu Lab preprint! Excited to share our latest work led by Oyku Dinckol and Noah Wenger.
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We find that ACh shapes DLS neural ensembles for outcome learning but is biased toward signaling threats over rewards 👇
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We find that ACh shapes DLS neural ensembles for outcome learning but is biased toward signaling threats over rewards 👇
PULL THE TRIGGER ON Mu5C1M0L ITS OVER @bobgreybeard
I want to make lbotenic acid lesions in the brain. Is there a manual?
December 13, 2025 at 1:41 AM
PULL THE TRIGGER ON Mu5C1M0L ITS OVER @bobgreybeard
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
very excited to share some of the final bits of work from my PhD! 🎉 we find that phasic DA in the accumbens simultaneously tracks persistent motivation towards reward cues in addition to new learning (but maybe not RPE?!) in sign-tracking rats. check out the preprint below!
Phasic dopamine encodes persistent attraction to reward cues https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.09.693300v1
December 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
very excited to share some of the final bits of work from my PhD! 🎉 we find that phasic DA in the accumbens simultaneously tracks persistent motivation towards reward cues in addition to new learning (but maybe not RPE?!) in sign-tracking rats. check out the preprint below!
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Oh I have a comment: “Loss of promising talent supported by these [DEI] programmes will substantially weaken our research capacity, limit innovation and substantially reduce discoveries important for driving scientific advancements.”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
December 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Oh I have a comment: “Loss of promising talent supported by these [DEI] programmes will substantially weaken our research capacity, limit innovation and substantially reduce discoveries important for driving scientific advancements.”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Delighted to share our latest article on brain mechanisms of pain, appetitive & aversive learning, led by @yilizhao.bsky.social & In-seon Lee, out now in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! We show that brain mechanisms of expectancy are domain general, not unique to pain! www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
December 11, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Delighted to share our latest article on brain mechanisms of pain, appetitive & aversive learning, led by @yilizhao.bsky.social & In-seon Lee, out now in @sfnjournals.bsky.social! We show that brain mechanisms of expectancy are domain general, not unique to pain! www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
December 11, 2025 at 11:16 AM
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
There is simply too much snow already and it’s only Dec 10
December 10, 2025 at 10:05 PM
There is simply too much snow already and it’s only Dec 10
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
NMDA receptor ablation in medial prefrontal cortex disrupts value updating and reward history integration https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.06.692679v1
December 10, 2025 at 7:15 PM
NMDA receptor ablation in medial prefrontal cortex disrupts value updating and reward history integration https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.06.692679v1
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Excited to share our new GLP-1 receptor agonist study! Chronic semaglutide potentiates motivation for small food rewards and associated cues, but reduces intake when food is freely available—surprising twist! #GLP-1, #behavior #neuroscience #pharmacology 1/
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Chronic semaglutide treatment enhances the incentive motivational value of a small food reward and associated cue in male and female rats
Rationale: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, are increasingly utilized in clinical practice due to their efficacy in promoting sustained weight loss following chr...
www.biorxiv.org
December 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Excited to share our new GLP-1 receptor agonist study! Chronic semaglutide potentiates motivation for small food rewards and associated cues, but reduces intake when food is freely available—surprising twist! #GLP-1, #behavior #neuroscience #pharmacology 1/
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Grateful for the outstanding efforts of THE TEAM, led by Steve Chang, and generous support from the University of Michigan Research Scouts Program (OORRS033123) and NIH (T32DA060142: Christopher Turner, T32DA007281: Daniela Pereira, R25GM086262: Natalia Morales Pagán).
December 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Grateful for the outstanding efforts of THE TEAM, led by Steve Chang, and generous support from the University of Michigan Research Scouts Program (OORRS033123) and NIH (T32DA060142: Christopher Turner, T32DA007281: Daniela Pereira, R25GM086262: Natalia Morales Pagán).
weight down, less food consumed, learning normal, but motivation up!
Chronic semaglutide treatment enhances the incentive motivational value of a small food reward and associated cue in male and female rats https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.06.692775v1
December 10, 2025 at 4:50 PM
weight down, less food consumed, learning normal, but motivation up!
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Chronic semaglutide treatment enhances the incentive motivational value of a small food reward and associated cue in male and female rats https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.06.692775v1
December 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Chronic semaglutide treatment enhances the incentive motivational value of a small food reward and associated cue in male and female rats https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.06.692775v1
Reposted by Kurt Fraser
Lecturer position in Neurobiology at UMass Amherst. Come join a great group of instructors teaching in the Biology, Psych & Brain Sci, and Neuroscience majors. Review starts Jan 5, 2026. Please forward/apply!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
#NeuroJobs #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs #HigherEd
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
#NeuroJobs #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs #HigherEd
December 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Lecturer position in Neurobiology at UMass Amherst. Come join a great group of instructors teaching in the Biology, Psych & Brain Sci, and Neuroscience majors. Review starts Jan 5, 2026. Please forward/apply!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
#NeuroJobs #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs #HigherEd
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
#NeuroJobs #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs #HigherEd