Mick Bonner
@mickbonner.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins. My lab studies human vision using cognitive neuroscience and machine learning. bonnerlab.org
Pinned
Mick Bonner
@mickbonner.bsky.social
· Dec 11
Dimensionality reduction may be the wrong approach to understanding neural representations. Our new paper shows that across human visual cortex, dimensionality is unbounded and scales with dataset size—we show this across nearly four orders of magnitude. journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Mick Bonner
I have a PhD opening for my #VIDI BrainShorts project 📽️🧠🤖! Are you or do you know an ambitious, recent (or almost) MSc graduate with a background in NeuroAI and interest in large-scale data collection and video perception? Check out our vacancy! (deadline Feb 15).
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Vacancy — PhD Position in NeuroAI for Video Perception in the Human Brain
<p><span>Are you interested in using AI to unravel the mysteries of the brain? Do you want to perform cutting-edge NeuroAI research and leverage deep learning to understand human vision? Then check out the vacancy below and apply for a PhD position in this exciting research direction.</span></p>
werkenbij.uva.nl
January 16, 2026 at 12:31 PM
I have a PhD opening for my #VIDI BrainShorts project 📽️🧠🤖! Are you or do you know an ambitious, recent (or almost) MSc graduate with a background in NeuroAI and interest in large-scale data collection and video perception? Check out our vacancy! (deadline Feb 15).
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Reposted by Mick Bonner
Wonderful article about our recent paper in @pnasnexus.org! Thanks, @sachapfeiffer.bsky.social and @mickbonner.bsky.social!
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
Why do we find some scenes more aesthetic than others?
For my first in @sciencenews.bsky.social, I wrote about a new study that suggests that our aesthetic preferences could have evolved as cognitive shortcuts. 🧠🧪
www.sciencenews.org/article/brai...
For my first in @sciencenews.bsky.social, I wrote about a new study that suggests that our aesthetic preferences could have evolved as cognitive shortcuts. 🧠🧪
www.sciencenews.org/article/brai...
Easy on the eyes is also easy on the brain
A new study finds that the brain spends less energy processing scenes that people find aesthetically pleasing.
www.sciencenews.org
January 9, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Wonderful article about our recent paper in @pnasnexus.org! Thanks, @sachapfeiffer.bsky.social and @mickbonner.bsky.social!
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
@yikai-tang.bsky.social @uoftpsychology.bsky.social @artsci.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca
Reposted by Mick Bonner
Our new paper in @sfnjournals.bsky.social shows different neural systems for integrating views into places--PPA integrates views *of* a location (e.g., views of a landmark), while RSC integrates views *from* a location (e.g., views of a panorama). Work by the bluesky-less Linfeng Tony Han.
#JNeurosci: Using fMRI, Han and Epstein explored how people integrate different kinds of views to form mental maps of places, revealing two sets of brain regions involved in integrating views of landmarks into existing mental maps of a virtual city.
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0187-25.2025
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0187-25.2025
January 7, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Our new paper in @sfnjournals.bsky.social shows different neural systems for integrating views into places--PPA integrates views *of* a location (e.g., views of a landmark), while RSC integrates views *from* a location (e.g., views of a panorama). Work by the bluesky-less Linfeng Tony Han.
Reposted by Mick Bonner
Why isn’t modern AI built around principles from cognitive science or neuroscience? Starting a substack (infinitefaculty.substack.com/p/why-isnt-m...) by writing down my thoughts on that question: as part of a first series of posts giving my current thoughts on the relation between these fields. 1/3
Why isn’t modern AI built around principles from cognitive science?
First post in a series on cognitive science and AI
infinitefaculty.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Why isn’t modern AI built around principles from cognitive science or neuroscience? Starting a substack (infinitefaculty.substack.com/p/why-isnt-m...) by writing down my thoughts on that question: as part of a first series of posts giving my current thoughts on the relation between these fields. 1/3
Reposted by Mick Bonner
Spread the word: I'm looking to hire a postdoc to explore the concept of attention (as studied in psych/neuro, not the transformer mechanism) in large Vision-Language Models. More details here: lindsay-lab.github.io/2025/12/08/p...
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
Lindsay Lab - Postdoc Position
Artificial neural networks applied to psychology, neuroscience, and climate change
lindsay-lab.github.io
December 8, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Spread the word: I'm looking to hire a postdoc to explore the concept of attention (as studied in psych/neuro, not the transformer mechanism) in large Vision-Language Models. More details here: lindsay-lab.github.io/2025/12/08/p...
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
Prediction: task-based optimization will ultimately prove to have a relatively minor role in DNN models of the ventral stream. Although tasks (including self-supervised ones) are currently crucial, there are signs that a simpler approach is possible. A thread:
December 15, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Prediction: task-based optimization will ultimately prove to have a relatively minor role in DNN models of the ventral stream. Although tasks (including self-supervised ones) are currently crucial, there are signs that a simpler approach is possible. A thread:
Hopkins Cog Sci is hiring! We have two open faculty positions: one in vision, and one language. Please repost!
December 12, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Hopkins Cog Sci is hiring! We have two open faculty positions: one in vision, and one language. Please repost!
Reposted by Mick Bonner
📢The UniReps x @ellis.eu
speaker series is back! Come join us in our next appointment 18th December 4 pm CET with @meenakshikhosla.bsky.social
and Raj Magesh Gauthaman🔵🔴
speaker series is back! Come join us in our next appointment 18th December 4 pm CET with @meenakshikhosla.bsky.social
and Raj Magesh Gauthaman🔵🔴
December 12, 2025 at 10:48 AM
📢The UniReps x @ellis.eu
speaker series is back! Come join us in our next appointment 18th December 4 pm CET with @meenakshikhosla.bsky.social
and Raj Magesh Gauthaman🔵🔴
speaker series is back! Come join us in our next appointment 18th December 4 pm CET with @meenakshikhosla.bsky.social
and Raj Magesh Gauthaman🔵🔴
Reposted by Mick Bonner
Now out in #JNeurosci -- we found changes in medial parietal cortex after manual exploration of everyday real-world objects
doi.org/10.1523/JNEU...
with Beth Rispoli, Vinai Roopchansingh & @cibaker.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1523/JNEU...
with Beth Rispoli, Vinai Roopchansingh & @cibaker.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Now out in #JNeurosci -- we found changes in medial parietal cortex after manual exploration of everyday real-world objects
doi.org/10.1523/JNEU...
with Beth Rispoli, Vinai Roopchansingh & @cibaker.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1523/JNEU...
with Beth Rispoli, Vinai Roopchansingh & @cibaker.bsky.social
Dimensionality reduction may be the wrong approach to understanding neural representations. Our new paper shows that across human visual cortex, dimensionality is unbounded and scales with dataset size—we show this across nearly four orders of magnitude. journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
December 11, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Dimensionality reduction may be the wrong approach to understanding neural representations. Our new paper shows that across human visual cortex, dimensionality is unbounded and scales with dataset size—we show this across nearly four orders of magnitude. journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...