Merridee Lefner
@merridee.bsky.social
Postdoc studying the neurobiology of flexible behavior in the Moghaddam lab @OHSU 🧠 PhD from the Wanat lab @UTSA
Pinned
Merridee Lefner
@merridee.bsky.social
· Jul 31
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
Yeah dopamine encodes reward but what about when contingencies shift and behavior needs to be flexible? Turns out VTA GABA neuron activity plays a role, check it out in my first postdoctoral research article here!👇
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
Don't miss this if you are going to #SfN2025 and interested in cross-species psychedelic neuroscience research
Looking forward to hearing the talks and the discussions, and excited about presenting some of the lab's unpublished data and how we are thinking about future research
Looking forward to hearing the talks and the discussions, and excited about presenting some of the lab's unpublished data and how we are thinking about future research
Excited to speak in San Diego on Nov 14 at this SfN Sattelite!
If you're curious about cross-species approaches to #psychedelics, #hallucinations and #consciousness, join us! 🐀👤🧠
Limited spots, register here:
hopkinspsychedelic.org/sfn2025
If you're curious about cross-species approaches to #psychedelics, #hallucinations and #consciousness, join us! 🐀👤🧠
Limited spots, register here:
hopkinspsychedelic.org/sfn2025
October 17, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Don't miss this if you are going to #SfN2025 and interested in cross-species psychedelic neuroscience research
Looking forward to hearing the talks and the discussions, and excited about presenting some of the lab's unpublished data and how we are thinking about future research
Looking forward to hearing the talks and the discussions, and excited about presenting some of the lab's unpublished data and how we are thinking about future research
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
Congratulations to this year's cohort of travel awardees. The committee had an incredibly hard job with over 100 applications! We look forward to seeing you all in Spain next month. Attendees, the data blitz highlighting the awardee's work is on Day 1 at 15:10. #EBPS2025
August 7, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Congratulations to this year's cohort of travel awardees. The committee had an incredibly hard job with over 100 applications! We look forward to seeing you all in Spain next month. Attendees, the data blitz highlighting the awardee's work is on Day 1 at 15:10. #EBPS2025
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
Suspension of all grants to UCLA www.latimes.com/california/s...
Trump freezes $200 million in UCLA science and medical research funding, citing antisemitism
The Trump administration has frozen roughly $200 million in National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and other federal agency-funded research at UCLA, citing allegations the school d...
www.latimes.com
August 1, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Suspension of all grants to UCLA www.latimes.com/california/s...
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 31, 2025 at 3:41 PM
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Yeah dopamine encodes reward but what about when contingencies shift and behavior needs to be flexible? Turns out VTA GABA neuron activity plays a role, check it out in my first postdoctoral research article here!👇
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Yeah dopamine encodes reward but what about when contingencies shift and behavior needs to be flexible? Turns out VTA GABA neuron activity plays a role, check it out in my first postdoctoral research article here!👇
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
Ever wonder how stress and the estrous cycle affects reward learning? Well we have answers for you in our paper led by @askaneuroscientist.bsky.social published in
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning
Neuropsychopharmacology - Estrous cycle stage gates the effect of stress on reward learning
nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
July 16, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Ever wonder how stress and the estrous cycle affects reward learning? Well we have answers for you in our paper led by @askaneuroscientist.bsky.social published in
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
@npp-journal.bsky.social
And huge thanks to the NIH and NSF who supported this research.
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program
In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...
www.spencer.org
May 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
Well the NIH has cancelled the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women in history
It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women
Unreal
www.science.org/content/arti...
It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women
Unreal
www.science.org/content/arti...
NIH cancels its first and largest study centered on women
The Women’s Health Initiative has produced numerous influential findings
www.science.org
April 23, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Well the NIH has cancelled the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women in history
It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women
Unreal
www.science.org/content/arti...
It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women
Unreal
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale
NSF has posted an “update on priorities.”
They’re canceling all “DEI and misinformation/disinformation” grants.
And the guidance on how to fulfill the longstanding, legally mandated Broadening Participation requirement is utterly incoherent.
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
They’re canceling all “DEI and misinformation/disinformation” grants.
And the guidance on how to fulfill the longstanding, legally mandated Broadening Participation requirement is utterly incoherent.
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Updates on NSF Priorities
www.nsf.gov
April 18, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Can confirm that my NSF grant "How False Beliefs Form & How to Correct Them" was cancelled today because it is "not in alignment with current NSF priorities" Shocking that understanding how people are misled by false information is now a forbidden topic. Our work will continue but at a smaller scale
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
The Atlantic story on the situation at NIH is sobering. We are so screwed.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Inside the Collapse at NIH
Administration officials pressured NIH to avoid clear advice from the agency’s own lawyers to restart grant funding now.
www.theatlantic.com
February 27, 2025 at 4:41 PM
The Atlantic story on the situation at NIH is sobering. We are so screwed.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Reposted by Merridee Lefner
The NIH diversity supplement pages have all been pulled down. What is a diversity supplement and why should the public care? A diversity supplement is funding to help diversify the research workforce. You may be wondering, “so what?”. Let me explain. www.nigms.nih.gov/Pages/PageNo...
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
NIGMS supports basic research to understand biological processes and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
www.nigms.nih.gov
January 25, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The NIH diversity supplement pages have all been pulled down. What is a diversity supplement and why should the public care? A diversity supplement is funding to help diversify the research workforce. You may be wondering, “so what?”. Let me explain. www.nigms.nih.gov/Pages/PageNo...