Nicole Rust
@nicolecrust.bsky.social
Mood & Memory researcher with a computational bent. https://www.nicolecrust.com. Science advocate. Prof (UPenn Psych) - on leave as a Simons Pivot Fellow. Author: Elusive Cures. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691243054/elusive-cures
Pinned
Nicole Rust
@nicolecrust.bsky.social
· May 10
Just look what was waiting for me when I came back from my run. Elusive Cures is now a REAL BOOK!!
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
✨New Corder Lab preprint 🧠⚡️
- from Dr Sophie Rogers !
Differential modulation of aversive signaling by expectation across the cingulate cortex
We image the same ACC + RSC neurons over time during noxious fear learning to ask: who encodes aversion vs who predicts it 🔮
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
- from Dr Sophie Rogers !
Differential modulation of aversive signaling by expectation across the cingulate cortex
We image the same ACC + RSC neurons over time during noxious fear learning to ask: who encodes aversion vs who predicts it 🔮
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 6, 2026 at 1:21 AM
✨New Corder Lab preprint 🧠⚡️
- from Dr Sophie Rogers !
Differential modulation of aversive signaling by expectation across the cingulate cortex
We image the same ACC + RSC neurons over time during noxious fear learning to ask: who encodes aversion vs who predicts it 🔮
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
- from Dr Sophie Rogers !
Differential modulation of aversive signaling by expectation across the cingulate cortex
We image the same ACC + RSC neurons over time during noxious fear learning to ask: who encodes aversion vs who predicts it 🔮
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I’m excited about the meeting of the minds at the basic/translational nexus reflected in
@catrinahacker.bsky.social ’s new preprint. The terrific term she’s coined to capture work like this is “basic translational neuroscience” - see her post and the terrific figure to go with it!
@catrinahacker.bsky.social ’s new preprint. The terrific term she’s coined to capture work like this is “basic translational neuroscience” - see her post and the terrific figure to go with it!
These results provide a framework for translating between spikes and LFPs, highlighting the scenarios likely to be fruitful for translation.
I call this “basic translational neuroscience” and I’m excited to continue with this approach in my research moving forward!
(9/10)
I call this “basic translational neuroscience” and I’m excited to continue with this approach in my research moving forward!
(9/10)
January 6, 2026 at 6:37 AM
I’m excited about the meeting of the minds at the basic/translational nexus reflected in
@catrinahacker.bsky.social ’s new preprint. The terrific term she’s coined to capture work like this is “basic translational neuroscience” - see her post and the terrific figure to go with it!
@catrinahacker.bsky.social ’s new preprint. The terrific term she’s coined to capture work like this is “basic translational neuroscience” - see her post and the terrific figure to go with it!
New preprint from the lab:
The fact that human brain activity can be measured at high res is *thrilling*. But often it's not spikes; it's "LFP". Sometimes LFP is 3x better for decoding (wow!). Sometimes it's a lot worse (sigh). Why? A mystery! In this thread, Catrina explains. Read her 🧵.
The fact that human brain activity can be measured at high res is *thrilling*. But often it's not spikes; it's "LFP". Sometimes LFP is 3x better for decoding (wow!). Sometimes it's a lot worse (sigh). Why? A mystery! In this thread, Catrina explains. Read her 🧵.
🚨 New preprint!
Why do some insights from spikes translate to field potentials while others don't? In this paper we compare visual memory representations in spikes and LFPs to propose a general framework that answers this question.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 (1/10)
🧠🟦 🧠💻
Why do some insights from spikes translate to field potentials while others don't? In this paper we compare visual memory representations in spikes and LFPs to propose a general framework that answers this question.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 (1/10)
🧠🟦 🧠💻
Neural representations of visual memory in inferotemporal cortex reveal a generalizable framework for translating between spikes and field potentials
Translating neurophysiological findings requires understanding the relationship between common measures of brain activity in animals (spiking activity) and humans (local field potentials, LFP). Prior ...
www.biorxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:38 PM
New preprint from the lab:
The fact that human brain activity can be measured at high res is *thrilling*. But often it's not spikes; it's "LFP". Sometimes LFP is 3x better for decoding (wow!). Sometimes it's a lot worse (sigh). Why? A mystery! In this thread, Catrina explains. Read her 🧵.
The fact that human brain activity can be measured at high res is *thrilling*. But often it's not spikes; it's "LFP". Sometimes LFP is 3x better for decoding (wow!). Sometimes it's a lot worse (sigh). Why? A mystery! In this thread, Catrina explains. Read her 🧵.
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Okay, 2026! Let's do this! 😊
I’m very excited to announce that I’ve just signed a contract with @princetonupress.bsky.social for a new book, tentatively titled “The Genomic Code” 📖 😊
kermit the frog is using a typewriter in a messy room .
ALT: kermit the frog is using a typewriter in a messy room .
media.tenor.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:08 AM
Okay, 2026! Let's do this! 😊
Happy New Year!
I’m a bit tardy to the party, but now I’m ready to say it. I ended 2025 on a waft of fumes, but I’m recharged.
May energy, beauty and awe permeate your 2026. Along with good fortune and good community.
I’m a bit tardy to the party, but now I’m ready to say it. I ended 2025 on a waft of fumes, but I’m recharged.
May energy, beauty and awe permeate your 2026. Along with good fortune and good community.
January 5, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Happy New Year!
I’m a bit tardy to the party, but now I’m ready to say it. I ended 2025 on a waft of fumes, but I’m recharged.
May energy, beauty and awe permeate your 2026. Along with good fortune and good community.
I’m a bit tardy to the party, but now I’m ready to say it. I ended 2025 on a waft of fumes, but I’m recharged.
May energy, beauty and awe permeate your 2026. Along with good fortune and good community.
Beautiful - recommended! Here, @sasolla.bsky.social recaps her decades-long journey from physics to neural networks (working with LeCun & Hopfield) to motor cortex, & and from industry (including Bell Labs) to academia, all driven by curiosity and awe (which flows from her voice). Inspiring!
Episode #36 in #TheoreticalNeurosciencePodcast: On low-dimensional manifolds in motor cortex – with Sara Solla @sasolla.bsky.social
theoreticalneuroscience.no/thn36
Manifold analysis has changed our thinking on how cortex works. One of the pioneers of this modelling approach explains.
theoreticalneuroscience.no/thn36
Manifold analysis has changed our thinking on how cortex works. One of the pioneers of this modelling approach explains.
January 4, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Beautiful - recommended! Here, @sasolla.bsky.social recaps her decades-long journey from physics to neural networks (working with LeCun & Hopfield) to motor cortex, & and from industry (including Bell Labs) to academia, all driven by curiosity and awe (which flows from her voice). Inspiring!
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Episode #36 in #TheoreticalNeurosciencePodcast: On low-dimensional manifolds in motor cortex – with Sara Solla @sasolla.bsky.social
theoreticalneuroscience.no/thn36
Manifold analysis has changed our thinking on how cortex works. One of the pioneers of this modelling approach explains.
theoreticalneuroscience.no/thn36
Manifold analysis has changed our thinking on how cortex works. One of the pioneers of this modelling approach explains.
January 3, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Episode #36 in #TheoreticalNeurosciencePodcast: On low-dimensional manifolds in motor cortex – with Sara Solla @sasolla.bsky.social
theoreticalneuroscience.no/thn36
Manifold analysis has changed our thinking on how cortex works. One of the pioneers of this modelling approach explains.
theoreticalneuroscience.no/thn36
Manifold analysis has changed our thinking on how cortex works. One of the pioneers of this modelling approach explains.
On the continued debate of what counts as an emotion, this one challenges me (despite it meeting many functional criteria that I like). Here, persistence of negative valence in worms is linked to ion channels used to detect electric shock + neuropeptide signaling.
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
Electric shock causes a fleeing-like persistent behavioral response in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Abstract. Behavioral persistency reflects internal brain states, which are the foundations of multiple brain functions. However, experimental paradigms ena
academic.oup.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:41 AM
On the continued debate of what counts as an emotion, this one challenges me (despite it meeting many functional criteria that I like). Here, persistence of negative valence in worms is linked to ion channels used to detect electric shock + neuropeptide signaling.
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
Crowdsourcing: Scales for degrees of evidence
I'm looking for simple scales (eg 0-5) that capture degreees of evidence for (scientific) claims. A bit along the lines of this one proposed by @shansiddiqi.bsky.social et al but perhaps a bit more generic. Know any?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I'm looking for simple scales (eg 0-5) that capture degreees of evidence for (scientific) claims. A bit along the lines of this one proposed by @shansiddiqi.bsky.social et al but perhaps a bit more generic. Know any?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 31, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Crowdsourcing: Scales for degrees of evidence
I'm looking for simple scales (eg 0-5) that capture degreees of evidence for (scientific) claims. A bit along the lines of this one proposed by @shansiddiqi.bsky.social et al but perhaps a bit more generic. Know any?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I'm looking for simple scales (eg 0-5) that capture degreees of evidence for (scientific) claims. A bit along the lines of this one proposed by @shansiddiqi.bsky.social et al but perhaps a bit more generic. Know any?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Always full of insightful laughs! Thank you for keeping it up for 10 years, @markdhumphries.bsky.social.
" ... It can though predict with fair accuracy the activity of held-out neurons during videos of natural scenes. Scenes like driving through a desert. As mice do ... "
" ... It can though predict with fair accuracy the activity of held-out neurons during videos of natural scenes. Scenes like driving through a desert. As mice do ... "
Just published my review of neuroscience in 2025, on The Spike.
The 10th of these, would you believe?
This year we have foundation models, breakthroughs in using light to understand the brain, a gene therapy, and more
Enjoy!
medium.com/the-spike/20...
The 10th of these, would you believe?
This year we have foundation models, breakthroughs in using light to understand the brain, a gene therapy, and more
Enjoy!
medium.com/the-spike/20...
2025: A Review of the Year in Neuroscience
Enlightening the brain
medium.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Always full of insightful laughs! Thank you for keeping it up for 10 years, @markdhumphries.bsky.social.
" ... It can though predict with fair accuracy the activity of held-out neurons during videos of natural scenes. Scenes like driving through a desert. As mice do ... "
" ... It can though predict with fair accuracy the activity of held-out neurons during videos of natural scenes. Scenes like driving through a desert. As mice do ... "
As you contemplate your 2026 New Year's resolutions, here's a challenge:
1) Go to reddit.
2) Search for something you study or otherwise know about.
3) Draw inspiration from misunderstandings.
4) Do something in 2026 to shift the needle toward better understanding, if even just a little bit!
1) Go to reddit.
2) Search for something you study or otherwise know about.
3) Draw inspiration from misunderstandings.
4) Do something in 2026 to shift the needle toward better understanding, if even just a little bit!
December 30, 2025 at 4:09 PM
As you contemplate your 2026 New Year's resolutions, here's a challenge:
1) Go to reddit.
2) Search for something you study or otherwise know about.
3) Draw inspiration from misunderstandings.
4) Do something in 2026 to shift the needle toward better understanding, if even just a little bit!
1) Go to reddit.
2) Search for something you study or otherwise know about.
3) Draw inspiration from misunderstandings.
4) Do something in 2026 to shift the needle toward better understanding, if even just a little bit!
Ish is an inspiring existence proof that you can in fact read (many) books while also doing award-winning, pioneering research.
zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/zuckerman-in...
zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/zuckerman-in...
December 29, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Ish is an inspiring existence proof that you can in fact read (many) books while also doing award-winning, pioneering research.
zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/zuckerman-in...
zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/zuckerman-in...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
What is the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, and what does it have to do with every cell in your body replacing its pieces over time? Join me for this week's Inner Cosmos podcast: "Why Do Your 30 Trillion Cells Feel Like a Self? Part 1"
eagleman.com/podcast/82
#brain #self
eagleman.com/podcast/82
#brain #self
December 29, 2025 at 3:05 PM
What is the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, and what does it have to do with every cell in your body replacing its pieces over time? Join me for this week's Inner Cosmos podcast: "Why Do Your 30 Trillion Cells Feel Like a Self? Part 1"
eagleman.com/podcast/82
#brain #self
eagleman.com/podcast/82
#brain #self
Reposted by Nicole Rust
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
The Entangled Brain
Popular neuroscience accounts often focus on specific mind-brain aspects like addiction, cognition, or memory, but The Entangled Brain tackles a much bigger ...
mitpress.mit.edu
December 28, 2025 at 5:56 PM
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
Annual reminder that the book is open access.
How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing.
Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
That feels like the definition of selective attention (not necessarily spatial). We think the most parsimonious explanation is that stimulants enhance the brain’s natural selective mechanisms. Not at all inconsistent with the general story here, but an interplay between motivation/attention 5/
December 28, 2025 at 3:46 AM
That feels like the definition of selective attention (not necessarily spatial). We think the most parsimonious explanation is that stimulants enhance the brain’s natural selective mechanisms. Not at all inconsistent with the general story here, but an interplay between motivation/attention 5/
Reposted by Nicole Rust
This fits the human results very well. The subheading is ‘Methylphenidate improves motivation’
December 27, 2025 at 6:07 PM
This fits the human results very well. The subheading is ‘Methylphenidate improves motivation’
Hmmm. Puzzling. I wish the authors would have discussed how these results might be reconciled with ones reporting that Ritalin influences the neural and behavioral correlates of attention in a predictable way. e.g. I don't think this paper showing such is cited?
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
December 27, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Hmmm. Puzzling. I wish the authors would have discussed how these results might be reconciled with ones reporting that Ritalin influences the neural and behavioral correlates of attention in a predictable way. e.g. I don't think this paper showing such is cited?
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
Aperiodic exponent from intracranial recordings very accurately predicts depressive symptoms in epilepsy patients. Great work from Mark Libowitz in Ben Shofty’s lab.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Increased Aperiodic Exponents Track Depression Symptom Severity
Roughly one-third of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) fail to respond to standard treatments and develop treatment-resistant MDD. For these patients, alternative therapies ofer additional...
www.biorxiv.org
December 27, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Aperiodic exponent from intracranial recordings very accurately predicts depressive symptoms in epilepsy patients. Great work from Mark Libowitz in Ben Shofty’s lab.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
My feed is imbalanced, tilted toward too much moral outrage. It’s fascinating to see it become the near singular brand of so many. You do you, of course! Me doing me means muting some key words to rebalance the feed force. I’m sorry that means I won’t see some of you (unless you diversify 💙).
December 27, 2025 at 11:43 AM
My feed is imbalanced, tilted toward too much moral outrage. It’s fascinating to see it become the near singular brand of so many. You do you, of course! Me doing me means muting some key words to rebalance the feed force. I’m sorry that means I won’t see some of you (unless you diversify 💙).
Reposted by Nicole Rust
@nicolecrust.bsky.social The more things change, the more they stay the same (found in the 2008 edition of Chaos by J Gleick) #neuroskyence
December 25, 2025 at 5:27 PM
@nicolecrust.bsky.social The more things change, the more they stay the same (found in the 2008 edition of Chaos by J Gleick) #neuroskyence
Replay of this conversation between @lucinauddin.bsky.social and I now up. Among the things we discuss: What makes measuring the mood or emotion of a brain right in front of you different & more challenging than detecting life on an exoplanet light years away?
m.youtube.com/watch?v=tv3Q...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=tv3Q...
December 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Replay of this conversation between @lucinauddin.bsky.social and I now up. Among the things we discuss: What makes measuring the mood or emotion of a brain right in front of you different & more challenging than detecting life on an exoplanet light years away?
m.youtube.com/watch?v=tv3Q...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=tv3Q...
Reposted by Nicole Rust
🧠🐭💊 Check out our work on the role of Central Amygdala cell-types in opioid withdrawal ...
Now published in Neuropsychopharmacology
@npp-journal.bsky.social
Open-access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Now published in Neuropsychopharmacology
@npp-journal.bsky.social
Open-access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 19, 2025 at 3:34 PM
🧠🐭💊 Check out our work on the role of Central Amygdala cell-types in opioid withdrawal ...
Now published in Neuropsychopharmacology
@npp-journal.bsky.social
Open-access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Now published in Neuropsychopharmacology
@npp-journal.bsky.social
Open-access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This is why we all should participate in @skypeascientist.bsky.social 💙. Sign-ups for spring are happening now.
December 19, 2025 at 9:03 PM
This is why we all should participate in @skypeascientist.bsky.social 💙. Sign-ups for spring are happening now.
I’m grateful! Especially in light of the nontraditional-but-passionate career moves I’ve made recently (a book; a research pivot). I was unsure how those would go over; this feedback expresses Uni support. That means a lot (especially in these complex times).
pan-school.sas.upenn.edu/news/nicole-...
pan-school.sas.upenn.edu/news/nicole-...
Nicole Rust Named Rose Family Endowed Term Professor of Psychology
Rust’s research focuses on understanding the brain’s ability to remember the things we’ve seen (“visual memory”), and what in the brain drives the mysterious feeling we call “mood.”
pan-school.sas.upenn.edu
December 19, 2025 at 12:11 PM
I’m grateful! Especially in light of the nontraditional-but-passionate career moves I’ve made recently (a book; a research pivot). I was unsure how those would go over; this feedback expresses Uni support. That means a lot (especially in these complex times).
pan-school.sas.upenn.edu/news/nicole-...
pan-school.sas.upenn.edu/news/nicole-...