Micah G. Allen
@micahgallen.com
Professor of Computational Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Aarhus University. PI @ the Embodied Computation Group. We study perception, interoception, & metacogniton.
https://www.the-ecg.org
https://www.the-ecg.org
Pinned
Micah G. Allen
@micahgallen.com
· Jul 30
Stomach–brain coupling indexes a dimensional signature of mental health - Nature Mental Health
Using a relatively large and diverse sample of mostly young adults, this study by Banellis, Rebollo and colleagues examines associations between regional stomach–brain coupling and mental health and i...
www.nature.com
I’m elated to share our latest publication - out now in @natmentalhealth.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s44... - tour de force by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @brainandstomach.bsky.social and the rest of the VMP team!
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
"Socioeconomic status (SES) — not IQ or psychopathology — showed the strongest associations with both resting-state functional connectivity and cortical thickness in the ABCD Study." www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 24, 2025 at 9:02 PM
"Socioeconomic status (SES) — not IQ or psychopathology — showed the strongest associations with both resting-state functional connectivity and cortical thickness in the ABCD Study." www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The roast was amazing. Enjoyed by all. Melt in your mouth delicious. Buon natale per tutti! Now to bed with a belly full of joy, grappa, and fiorintina. Viva Della veneto!
Stage one is complete. 5.9kg bone in beef florentine. Roasted to internal 42c, resting 1h, then finished with oven sear. Christmas Eve dinner for 15 is on track!
December 24, 2025 at 10:55 PM
The roast was amazing. Enjoyed by all. Melt in your mouth delicious. Buon natale per tutti! Now to bed with a belly full of joy, grappa, and fiorintina. Viva Della veneto!
Stage one is complete. 5.9kg bone in beef florentine. Roasted to internal 42c, resting 1h, then finished with oven sear. Christmas Eve dinner for 15 is on track!
December 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Stage one is complete. 5.9kg bone in beef florentine. Roasted to internal 42c, resting 1h, then finished with oven sear. Christmas Eve dinner for 15 is on track!
Merry Christmas from Italy!
December 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Merry Christmas from Italy!
The number 1 movie when you were ten years old will define your 2026
December 20, 2025 at 4:49 PM
The number 1 movie when you were ten years old will define your 2026
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
"Some people do believe that they are able to perform relatively well on tasks even when there is little reason for that confidence. Our results support the claim that overconfidence might be a trait." pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41401360/
December 20, 2025 at 10:07 AM
"Some people do believe that they are able to perform relatively well on tasks even when there is little reason for that confidence. Our results support the claim that overconfidence might be a trait." pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41401360/
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
What if thinking doesn’t begin in the brain, but in the ceaseless labour of our cells? Today’s essay rethinks the question of how we become minds, arguing that cognition begins not in the mind but in the collective processes that keep a body alive @annaciaunica.bsky.social
Why you need your whole body – from head to toes – to think | Aeon Essays
Contemplating the world requires a body, and a body requires an immune system: the rungs of life create the stuff of thought
buff.ly
November 27, 2025 at 11:00 AM
What if thinking doesn’t begin in the brain, but in the ceaseless labour of our cells? Today’s essay rethinks the question of how we become minds, arguing that cognition begins not in the mind but in the collective processes that keep a body alive @annaciaunica.bsky.social
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
All research is exploratory if you’re confused enough
December 19, 2025 at 8:01 AM
All research is exploratory if you’re confused enough
Delighted to delivering a keynote on computational and causal approaches to interoception!
I have an early Christmas present for you! 🎅
Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg!
Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception!
pug2026.org
Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg!
Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception!
pug2026.org
December 19, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Delighted to delivering a keynote on computational and causal approaches to interoception!
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
I have an early Christmas present for you! 🎅
Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg!
Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception!
pug2026.org
Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg!
Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception!
pug2026.org
December 19, 2025 at 8:00 AM
I have an early Christmas present for you! 🎅
Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg!
Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception!
pug2026.org
Happy to announce that we have three excellent keynote speakers at Psychology and Brain 2026 in Heidleberg!
Professors Shamay-Tsoory, Schönauer and Allen will cover topics from empathy over memory to interoception!
pug2026.org
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
It is hugely fun & we are very lucky to do science for the sake of science. But it is amazing to see work we and many others I admire have done turn into public awareness thanks to excellent science writing.
(see also www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/s...)
(see also www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/s...)
December 17, 2025 at 9:25 AM
It is hugely fun & we are very lucky to do science for the sake of science. But it is amazing to see work we and many others I admire have done turn into public awareness thanks to excellent science writing.
(see also www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/s...)
(see also www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/s...)
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
netneurotools: a trainee-oriented approach to network neuroscience | doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Our lab’s internal toolkit for accomplishing everyday tasks in brain imaging ⤵️
Our lab’s internal toolkit for accomplishing everyday tasks in brain imaging ⤵️
December 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
netneurotools: a trainee-oriented approach to network neuroscience | doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Our lab’s internal toolkit for accomplishing everyday tasks in brain imaging ⤵️
Our lab’s internal toolkit for accomplishing everyday tasks in brain imaging ⤵️
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
Are you curious about electrogastrography, but keep getting chicken-related results when googling "EGG"? We have the preprint for you!
In this tutorial, we describe how to acquire and analyse gastric data from human participants. Plus FREE software! Read it here: arxiv.org/abs/2509.17260
In this tutorial, we describe how to acquire and analyse gastric data from human participants. Plus FREE software! Read it here: arxiv.org/abs/2509.17260
December 18, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Are you curious about electrogastrography, but keep getting chicken-related results when googling "EGG"? We have the preprint for you!
In this tutorial, we describe how to acquire and analyse gastric data from human participants. Plus FREE software! Read it here: arxiv.org/abs/2509.17260
In this tutorial, we describe how to acquire and analyse gastric data from human participants. Plus FREE software! Read it here: arxiv.org/abs/2509.17260
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
Infra-slow (<0.1 Hz) modulation of human brain pulsations in awake and sleep states https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.15.692942v1
December 18, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Infra-slow (<0.1 Hz) modulation of human brain pulsations in awake and sleep states https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.15.692942v1
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
I've used Lavaan almost every (work)day for 15 years, but this open source labour of love has never received proper institutional support. I'm delighted to be a small part of an 1.5M OpenScienceNL award, led by Jorgensen, to completely revamp and futureproof Lavaan www.openscience.nl/en/news/45-p...
December 18, 2025 at 7:44 AM
I've used Lavaan almost every (work)day for 15 years, but this open source labour of love has never received proper institutional support. I'm delighted to be a small part of an 1.5M OpenScienceNL award, led by Jorgensen, to completely revamp and futureproof Lavaan www.openscience.nl/en/news/45-p...
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
Last preprint 🎶(of the year).
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 17, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Last preprint 🎶(of the year).
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
If vagus nerve stimulation alters motivation by amplifying internal signals, then bodily states should matter. Using milkshake vs. water loads, we show that tVNS-induced changes in Pavlovian bias are dependent on hunger. #neuroskyence 🩺
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
🧠New preprint!
What if cortical geometry alone already encodes much of white-matter organization?
We introduce a subject-specific, reversible cortical folding model that unfolds and refolds the brain from a single T1w MRI; no diffusion, no ML.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
What if cortical geometry alone already encodes much of white-matter organization?
We introduce a subject-specific, reversible cortical folding model that unfolds and refolds the brain from a single T1w MRI; no diffusion, no ML.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 17, 2025 at 1:48 AM
🧠New preprint!
What if cortical geometry alone already encodes much of white-matter organization?
We introduce a subject-specific, reversible cortical folding model that unfolds and refolds the brain from a single T1w MRI; no diffusion, no ML.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
What if cortical geometry alone already encodes much of white-matter organization?
We introduce a subject-specific, reversible cortical folding model that unfolds and refolds the brain from a single T1w MRI; no diffusion, no ML.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
fMRI signals “up,” but neural metabolism might be going “down.”
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
December 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
fMRI signals “up,” but neural metabolism might be going “down.”
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
In our @natneuro.nature.com paper, we demonstrate that about 40% of voxels with robust BOLD responses exhibit opposite oxygen metabolism, revealing two distinct hemodynamic modes.
rdcu.be/eUPO8
funds @erc.europa.eu
#neuroskyence 🧵:
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
The brain’s energy landscape as a potential window into brain health
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
(study led by Martin Picard and Michel Thiebaut de Schotten)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
(study led by Martin Picard and Michel Thiebaut de Schotten)
First map of human brain mitochondria is ‘groundbreaking’ achievement
Hundreds of cubes of human brain tissue help scientists to chart the energy-making capabilities of various brain regions.
www.nature.com
March 27, 2025 at 9:08 AM
The brain’s energy landscape as a potential window into brain health
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
(study led by Martin Picard and Michel Thiebaut de Schotten)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
(study led by Martin Picard and Michel Thiebaut de Schotten)
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
New writeup on interoception in Scientific American focusing on its role in mental health:
www.scientificamerican.com/article/inte...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/inte...
Disruptions in This Sixth Sense May Drive Mental Illness
Disruptions in interoception may underlie anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health ailments
www.scientificamerican.com
December 16, 2025 at 8:59 PM
New writeup on interoception in Scientific American focusing on its role in mental health:
www.scientificamerican.com/article/inte...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/inte...
Just skimmed the paper and this looks super useful!
If you analyse time-resolved data (M/EEG, iEEG, pupillometry, force recordings…) and feel limited by cluster-based permutation tests (CBPTs); especially when trying to determine when an effect starts or ends; you may want to try our new R package: lnalborczyk.github.io/neurogam/
#rstats #brms #EEG
#rstats #brms #EEG
Modelling time-resolved electrophysiological data with Bayesian generalised additive multilevel models
Providing utility functions for fitting Bayesian generalised additive multilevel models (BGAMMs) to time-resolved data (e.g., M/EEG, pupillometry, mouse-tracking, etc) and identifying clusters.
lnalborczyk.github.io
December 16, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Just skimmed the paper and this looks super useful!
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
If you analyse time-resolved data (M/EEG, iEEG, pupillometry, force recordings…) and feel limited by cluster-based permutation tests (CBPTs); especially when trying to determine when an effect starts or ends; you may want to try our new R package: lnalborczyk.github.io/neurogam/
#rstats #brms #EEG
#rstats #brms #EEG
Modelling time-resolved electrophysiological data with Bayesian generalised additive multilevel models
Providing utility functions for fitting Bayesian generalised additive multilevel models (BGAMMs) to time-resolved data (e.g., M/EEG, pupillometry, mouse-tracking, etc) and identifying clusters.
lnalborczyk.github.io
December 11, 2025 at 11:38 AM
If you analyse time-resolved data (M/EEG, iEEG, pupillometry, force recordings…) and feel limited by cluster-based permutation tests (CBPTs); especially when trying to determine when an effect starts or ends; you may want to try our new R package: lnalborczyk.github.io/neurogam/
#rstats #brms #EEG
#rstats #brms #EEG
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
🧠🪰 The adult Drosophila brain connectome now gives us a complete wiring diagram of ~140k neurons. But a wiring diagram alone isn’t understanding.
How is this massive network organized?
Our paper tackles that question by mapping community structure across the entire fly brain. 1/
How is this massive network organized?
Our paper tackles that question by mapping community structure across the entire fly brain. 1/
New lab paper - will say more about this in a little while
December 15, 2025 at 3:11 PM
🧠🪰 The adult Drosophila brain connectome now gives us a complete wiring diagram of ~140k neurons. But a wiring diagram alone isn’t understanding.
How is this massive network organized?
Our paper tackles that question by mapping community structure across the entire fly brain. 1/
How is this massive network organized?
Our paper tackles that question by mapping community structure across the entire fly brain. 1/
Reposted by Micah G. Allen
Joint modelling of brain and behaviour dynamics with artificial intelligence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Joint modelling of brain and behaviour dynamics with artificial intelligence - Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing our mechanistic understanding of the shared structure between the brain and higher-order behaviours. In this Review, Mathis and Mathis synthesize state-of-...
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Joint modelling of brain and behaviour dynamics with artificial intelligence
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...