Alireza Modirshanechi
@modirshanechi.bsky.social
Postdoc at Helmholtz Munich (Schulz lab) and MPI for Biological Cybernetics (Dayan lab) || Ph.D. from EPFL (Gerstner lab) || Working on computational models of learning and decision-making in the brain; https://sites.google.com/view/modirsha
Pinned
New in @pnas.org: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
We study how humans explore a 61-state environment with a stochastic region that mimics a “noisy-TV.”
Results: Participants keep exploring the stochastic part even when it’s unhelpful, and novelty-seeking best explains this behavior.
#cogsci #neuroskyence
We study how humans explore a 61-state environment with a stochastic region that mimics a “noisy-TV.”
Results: Participants keep exploring the stochastic part even when it’s unhelpful, and novelty-seeking best explains this behavior.
#cogsci #neuroskyence
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Interested in the latest advances in neuroscience (neural dynamics and internal models) and how they can be leveraged to build smarter, adaptive AI?
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
Leveraging insights from neuroscience to build adaptive artificial intelligence
Nature Neuroscience - Adaptive intelligence envisions AI that, like animals, learns online, generalizes and adapts quickly. This Perspective reviews biological foundations, progress in AI and...
rdcu.be
December 31, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Interested in the latest advances in neuroscience (neural dynamics and internal models) and how they can be leveraged to build smarter, adaptive AI?
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
➡️ My first real solo piece 🖤🫶 @natneuro.nature.com
rdcu.be/eWVmA
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Way back in 1999, Kenji Doya sketched a big picture theory of the brain:
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 1, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Way back in 1999, Kenji Doya sketched a big picture theory of the brain:
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
1️⃣The cerebellum is specialized for supervised learning
2️⃣The basal ganglia are for reinforcement learning
3️⃣The cerebral cortex is for unsupervised learning
How does this hold up in 2026? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
New Perspective from myself, Sarah Heilbronner and @myoo.bsky.social . “Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization” in Nature Neuroscience. 🧵
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization
Nature Neuroscience - Parcellation of the cortex into functionally modular brain areas is foundational to neuroscience. Here, Hayden, Heilbronner and Yoo question the central status of brain areas...
rdcu.be
December 23, 2025 at 1:02 PM
New Perspective from myself, Sarah Heilbronner and @myoo.bsky.social . “Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization” in Nature Neuroscience. 🧵
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
rdcu.be/eVZ1A
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
A trending PNAS article in the last week is “Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil.” Explore now: https://ow.ly/Lj1550XNIgO
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
December 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM
A trending PNAS article in the last week is “Evolved birth physiology meets modern birth practice: Sustained effects of planned cesarean delivery on child hair cortisol in Brazil.” Explore now: https://ow.ly/Lj1550XNIgO
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/oIyQ50XNIcn.
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Postdoctoral research position in #ComputationalPsychiatry and #EEG as part of relmed.ac.uk trial testing reinforcement learning as biomarker for antidepressant treatment response. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @mikebrowning.bsky.social @relmed.bsky.social
Antidepressant treatment shouldn't be a guessing game. RELMED is working towards using advanced research to predict which medication is most likely to help each person along their individual path to recovery.
relmed.ac.uk
December 21, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Postdoctoral research position in #ComputationalPsychiatry and #EEG as part of relmed.ac.uk trial testing reinforcement learning as biomarker for antidepressant treatment response. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... @uclbrainscience.bsky.social @mikebrowning.bsky.social @relmed.bsky.social
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Our paper is finally out in Nature Human Behavior!!
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
Happy to share our new paper in @nathumbehav.nature.com: t.co/Ciq7AKvle5. Using 500k+ behavioral trials, we show that #serialdependence deviates from #Bayesian predictions, pointing to a new narrative about how recent experience shapes perception. @aozkirli.bsky.social @achetverikov.bsky.social
December 22, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Our paper is finally out in Nature Human Behavior!!
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
@epfl-brainmind.bsky.social
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🐒 Would you like to study the fantastic Assamese macaques at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand? Apply for a PhD position in our A2 project led by @primbehavecol.bsky.social!
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
December 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
🐒 Would you like to study the fantastic Assamese macaques at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand? Apply for a PhD position in our A2 project led by @primbehavecol.bsky.social!
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
⏰You can apply until tomorrow, December 20. More info here: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/open+posi...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🔬 We're hiring a Junior Group Leader for Data-Driven Digital Twins/System Models in medicine/life sciences at @uni_goettingen! Perfect opportunity for early-career researchers who want to:
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
December 19, 2025 at 8:02 AM
🔬 We're hiring a Junior Group Leader for Data-Driven Digital Twins/System Models in medicine/life sciences at @uni_goettingen! Perfect opportunity for early-career researchers who want to:
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
- Lead their own research group
- Work at the intersection of AI, simulation, and biomedicine
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Our paper on data constrained RNN that generalize to optogenetic perturbations now citable on eLife:
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
December 18, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Our paper on data constrained RNN that generalize to optogenetic perturbations now citable on eLife:
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
PhD position in Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience at CHUV (Lausanne, Switzerland) focused on social cognition.
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
December 18, 2025 at 9:12 AM
PhD position in Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience at CHUV (Lausanne, Switzerland) focused on social cognition.
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
Great for strong Master’s grads in neuroscience / psychology, especially with interests in neuroimaging or behavior. Deadline 7 January, 2026 recrutement.chuv.ch/vacancy/phd-...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
I am very excited and grateful to have been awarded a Consolidator grant by @erc.europa.eu. We will use it to investigate the role of memory in perception, focused on the hippocampus. Thank you to all the colleagues in my team and the department for their support in making this possible!
We are pleased to share that Peter Kok has been awarded the Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC)!
www.in.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/news/blog-po...
www.in.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/news/blog-po...
EU funding awarded to Imaging Neuroscience PI — Department of Imaging Neuroscience
European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant awarded to Peter Kok
www.in.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk
December 11, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I am very excited and grateful to have been awarded a Consolidator grant by @erc.europa.eu. We will use it to investigate the role of memory in perception, focused on the hippocampus. Thank you to all the colleagues in my team and the department for their support in making this possible!
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Fully-funded International Neuroscience Doctoral Programme🧠 Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
December 16, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Fully-funded International Neuroscience Doctoral Programme🧠 Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
Deadline: Jan 31, 2026
fchampalimaud.org/champalimaud...
Research program spans systems/computational/theoretical/clinical/sensory/motor neuroscience, neuroethology, intelligence, and more!!
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Opportunity for @Harvard #PhD students 👀
#KempnerInstitute grad fellowship applications are now open!
Join our dynamic community of Ph.D. students studying #intelligence! Apply by Feb. 15.
Learn more and apply ➡️ bit.ly/48ZAP9q
#AI #NeuroAI
#KempnerInstitute grad fellowship applications are now open!
Join our dynamic community of Ph.D. students studying #intelligence! Apply by Feb. 15.
Learn more and apply ➡️ bit.ly/48ZAP9q
#AI #NeuroAI
Graduate Fellowship - Kempner Institute
Kempner Graduate Fellowships support a dynamic and diverse community of PhD students across a number of graduate programs at Harvard, seeding new and innovative scientific discoveries in labs across t...
bit.ly
December 15, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Opportunity for @Harvard #PhD students 👀
#KempnerInstitute grad fellowship applications are now open!
Join our dynamic community of Ph.D. students studying #intelligence! Apply by Feb. 15.
Learn more and apply ➡️ bit.ly/48ZAP9q
#AI #NeuroAI
#KempnerInstitute grad fellowship applications are now open!
Join our dynamic community of Ph.D. students studying #intelligence! Apply by Feb. 15.
Learn more and apply ➡️ bit.ly/48ZAP9q
#AI #NeuroAI
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
We are hiring a new Ph. D. student on neuroimaging and/or computational modeling on motivation and emotion. Tübingen is a great place to pursue work on these topics!!
uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/...
uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/...
PhD Position on computational modelling and neuroscience (m/f/d)
uni-tuebingen.de
December 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
We are hiring a new Ph. D. student on neuroimaging and/or computational modeling on motivation and emotion. Tübingen is a great place to pursue work on these topics!!
uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/...
uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Best part about being a scientist is the people I get to work with. Valentin (@bio-emergent.bsky.social) and I got to give a talk at NeurIPS, bridging a gap between low- and high-dim perspectives of the brain. Thankfully, the audience was (somewhat) more awake than the San Diego desert 🏜️
December 8, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Best part about being a scientist is the people I get to work with. Valentin (@bio-emergent.bsky.social) and I got to give a talk at NeurIPS, bridging a gap between low- and high-dim perspectives of the brain. Thankfully, the audience was (somewhat) more awake than the San Diego desert 🏜️
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🧠 New paper alert (the 1st one from our new lab)!
Led by 1st author & VR wizard @jaquent.bsky.social
@natcomms.nature.com
How do our brains distinguish novel from familiar places as we explore our environments, e.g., a new city?
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🧵 Thread below with key findings ⬇️
Led by 1st author & VR wizard @jaquent.bsky.social
@natcomms.nature.com
How do our brains distinguish novel from familiar places as we explore our environments, e.g., a new city?
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🧵 Thread below with key findings ⬇️
December 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
🧠 New paper alert (the 1st one from our new lab)!
Led by 1st author & VR wizard @jaquent.bsky.social
@natcomms.nature.com
How do our brains distinguish novel from familiar places as we explore our environments, e.g., a new city?
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🧵 Thread below with key findings ⬇️
Led by 1st author & VR wizard @jaquent.bsky.social
@natcomms.nature.com
How do our brains distinguish novel from familiar places as we explore our environments, e.g., a new city?
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...
🧵 Thread below with key findings ⬇️
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
One week left to apply to the EPFL computer science PhD program www.epfl.ch/education/ph.... It's an amazing environment to do impactful research 🧪 (with unparalleled compute)! My NeuroAI group is hiring 🧠🤖. Consider this review service by our fantastic PhD students: www.linkedin.com/posts/spnesh...
December 8, 2025 at 2:20 PM
One week left to apply to the EPFL computer science PhD program www.epfl.ch/education/ph.... It's an amazing environment to do impactful research 🧪 (with unparalleled compute)! My NeuroAI group is hiring 🧠🤖. Consider this review service by our fantastic PhD students: www.linkedin.com/posts/spnesh...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
We tend to think of neurons as either excitatory or inhibitory, but some neurons chemically inhibit their downstream targets while electrically exciting their neighbors. What is gained by having an inhibitory neuron excite its neighbor?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
We tend to think of neurons as either excitatory or inhibitory, but some neurons chemically inhibit their downstream targets while electrically exciting their neighbors. What is gained by having an inhibitory neuron excite its neighbor?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Are you unable to continue your research in the USA due to political pressure? 14 Postdoc fellowships (2 years) are available for relocating to Germany
Please spread the news:
14 PostDoctoral Fellowships in the Early Career Rescue Fellowship Programme in Freiburg, Konstanz and Tübingen.
Contact me, if you want to work with us in Tübingen.
stellen.uni-konstanz.de/en/jobpostin...
14 PostDoctoral Fellowships in the Early Career Rescue Fellowship Programme in Freiburg, Konstanz and Tübingen.
Contact me, if you want to work with us in Tübingen.
stellen.uni-konstanz.de/en/jobpostin...
14 Postdoctoral Fellowships - Early Career Rescue Fellowship Programme
stellen.uni-konstanz.de
December 8, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Are you unable to continue your research in the USA due to political pressure? 14 Postdoc fellowships (2 years) are available for relocating to Germany
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Prakhar, in a recent thought-provoking paper and thread, boldly claimed that the learning-rate biases may be mere “statistical ghosts” of decaying learning rates
We took up the challenge and put this claim to the test. Here are our findings (w/ @romanececchi.bsky.social). 1/n
osf.io/preprints/ps...
We took up the challenge and put this claim to the test. Here are our findings (w/ @romanececchi.bsky.social). 1/n
osf.io/preprints/ps...
December 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Prakhar, in a recent thought-provoking paper and thread, boldly claimed that the learning-rate biases may be mere “statistical ghosts” of decaying learning rates
We took up the challenge and put this claim to the test. Here are our findings (w/ @romanececchi.bsky.social). 1/n
osf.io/preprints/ps...
We took up the challenge and put this claim to the test. Here are our findings (w/ @romanececchi.bsky.social). 1/n
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Thrilled to start 2026 as faculty in Psych & CS
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
December 6, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Thrilled to start 2026 as faculty in Psych & CS
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
@ualberta.bsky.social + Amii.ca Fellow! 🥳 Recruiting students to develop theories of cognition in natural & artificial systems 🤖💭🧠. Find me at #NeurIPS2025 workshops (speaking coginterp.github.io/neurips2025 & organising @dataonbrainmind.bsky.social)
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
🧵Excited to present our latest work at #Neurips25! Together with @avm.bsky.social, we discover 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: regions in neural networks loss landscapes where parameters diverge to infinity (in regression settings!)
We find that MLPs in these channels can take derivatives and compute GLUs 🤯
We find that MLPs in these channels can take derivatives and compute GLUs 🤯
December 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
🧵Excited to present our latest work at #Neurips25! Together with @avm.bsky.social, we discover 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: regions in neural networks loss landscapes where parameters diverge to infinity (in regression settings!)
We find that MLPs in these channels can take derivatives and compute GLUs 🤯
We find that MLPs in these channels can take derivatives and compute GLUs 🤯
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Thoughtful review with some good recent historical perspective on the ongoing paradigm shift that is radically changing the way we think about what brain areas do.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
How distributed is the brain-wide network that is recruited for cognition? - Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Both localized and distributed views on the functional organization of the brain have been put forward. In this Perspective, Rosen and Freedman examine the degree to which these two views account for ...
www.nature.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Thoughtful review with some good recent historical perspective on the ongoing paradigm shift that is radically changing the way we think about what brain areas do.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
Can we achieve nonlinear multimodal neural fusion while also enabling real-time recursive decoding for #BCI?
In our third paper at #NeurIPS2025, we present MRINE, which does exactly that — improving decoding even for modalities w/ distinct timescales & distributions.
👏 Eray Erturk
🧵 Paper Code ⬇️
In our third paper at #NeurIPS2025, we present MRINE, which does exactly that — improving decoding even for modalities w/ distinct timescales & distributions.
👏 Eray Erturk
🧵 Paper Code ⬇️
December 4, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Can we achieve nonlinear multimodal neural fusion while also enabling real-time recursive decoding for #BCI?
In our third paper at #NeurIPS2025, we present MRINE, which does exactly that — improving decoding even for modalities w/ distinct timescales & distributions.
👏 Eray Erturk
🧵 Paper Code ⬇️
In our third paper at #NeurIPS2025, we present MRINE, which does exactly that — improving decoding even for modalities w/ distinct timescales & distributions.
👏 Eray Erturk
🧵 Paper Code ⬇️
Reposted by Alireza Modirshanechi
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...