Drew Schreiner
@schreinerdrew.bsky.social
learning | neuroethology | basal ganglia | birdsong | decision-making | natural history | Current K99 Postdoc Rich Mooney @Duke | PhD Christina Gremel @UC San Diego
Pinned
Drew Schreiner
@schreinerdrew.bsky.social
· Mar 12
Dual neuromodulatory dynamics underlie birdsong learning - Nature
Dopamine release in the basal ganglia of the zebra finch is driven by neurons associated with reinforcement learning and by cholinergic signalling, and tracks performance quality during long-term lear...
www.nature.com
Proud to have contributed to @jiaxuanqi.bsky.social's masterpiece out @nature.com! She shows that dopamine transients track the learned quality of song during juvenile learning and that dopamine release is driven not just by VTA firing, but by a local cholinergic mechanism! (1/x)
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Delighted to see this finally out: rdcu.be/eO9oW
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
Subsecond dopamine fluctuations do not specify the vigor of ongoing actions
Nature Neuroscience - Liu and colleagues show that the vigor (that is, speed and amplitude) of dexterous movements is not controlled by ongoing fluctuations in extracellular dopamine within the...
rdcu.be
November 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Delighted to see this finally out: rdcu.be/eO9oW
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
We tested whether brief striatal dopamine release events influence the vigor of skilled movements. Despite popular belief, we did not find any evidence linking rapid dopamine dynamics to motor vigor on a moment-by-moment basis.
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
To truly understand the neurobiological basis of complex behaviors - the real 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 - we must overcome the limitations of traditional, short-term behavioral tests.
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
To truly understand the neurobiological basis of complex behaviors - the real 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 - we must overcome the limitations of traditional, short-term behavioral tests.
The Eno (Durham, left) and the Neckar (Tuebingen, right) rivers taken ~12 hrs apart
November 10, 2025 at 1:25 PM
The Eno (Durham, left) and the Neckar (Tuebingen, right) rivers taken ~12 hrs apart
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Shared cognitive biases influence numerical judgments in macaques and crows @PNAS.org
Shared cognitive biases influence numerical judgments in macaques and crows
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 44, November 2025.
SignificanceCognitive biases, often seen as uniquely human flaws, may instead reflect fundamental decision-making strategies shared across species. By demonstrating that macaque monkeys and carrion crows exhibit human-like biases in numerical estimation—...
dlvr.it
November 8, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Shared cognitive biases influence numerical judgments in macaques and crows @PNAS.org
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
How do VTA DA neurons sculpt downstream representations to reinforce actions? VERY excited about our new preprint (by Alex Pan Vazquez & @czimmerman.bsky.social )
VTA dopamine neuron activity produces spatially organized value representations https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.04.685995v1
November 7, 2025 at 8:46 PM
How do VTA DA neurons sculpt downstream representations to reinforce actions? VERY excited about our new preprint (by Alex Pan Vazquez & @czimmerman.bsky.social )
NINDS was going to host a get together for K99/R00 fellows that I was really looking forward to.
We could try to re-create it if enough folks are interested? Feel free to reach out to me
We could try to re-create it if enough folks are interested? Feel free to reach out to me
Sigh. NIH normally sends several hundred scientists to the SFN annual meeting to learn, exchange info, come up with new ideas, and advance science. (The exchange of ideas is the very core of the scientific enterprise.)
This year, no one from NIH will attend due to the gov't implosion.
This year, no one from NIH will attend due to the gov't implosion.
Enjoy a broad range of lectures and network with experts in the field at #SfN25! 🧠
Gain valuable insights and tools to enhance your research and career.
Browse through to lectures and build your itinerary in the 2025 Neuroscience Meeting Planner
🔗 vist.ly/4de72
#neurosky #neuroskyence
Gain valuable insights and tools to enhance your research and career.
Browse through to lectures and build your itinerary in the 2025 Neuroscience Meeting Planner
🔗 vist.ly/4de72
#neurosky #neuroskyence
November 7, 2025 at 11:22 PM
NINDS was going to host a get together for K99/R00 fellows that I was really looking forward to.
We could try to re-create it if enough folks are interested? Feel free to reach out to me
We could try to re-create it if enough folks are interested? Feel free to reach out to me
Imagine if someone recursively trained LLMs to write, review, and edit papers. What would scientific papers look like after ~1000 epochs? How bad would the model collapse be? How much new input would be needed to avoid it?
November 7, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Imagine if someone recursively trained LLMs to write, review, and edit papers. What would scientific papers look like after ~1000 epochs? How bad would the model collapse be? How much new input would be needed to avoid it?
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
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ssnap.submittable.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
New seminar coming up!
We are lucky to have @emilyjanedennis.bsky.social of HHMI/Janelia and Stuart Newson of @btobirds.bsky.social tell us about their work on the bioacoustics and neuroscience of acoustic signaling in small mammals
🗓️November 18th @ 11:00 ET
✅Register here: braincoustics.com
We are lucky to have @emilyjanedennis.bsky.social of HHMI/Janelia and Stuart Newson of @btobirds.bsky.social tell us about their work on the bioacoustics and neuroscience of acoustic signaling in small mammals
🗓️November 18th @ 11:00 ET
✅Register here: braincoustics.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Our Behavioural Brain Research special issue on Ultrasonic Communication in Rodents is growing, rapidly – and actually a lot faster than I manage to post about it. Nine new manuscripts got accepted since my last post. Quite impressive work. Check it out:
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
November 6, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Our Behavioural Brain Research special issue on Ultrasonic Communication in Rodents is growing, rapidly – and actually a lot faster than I manage to post about it. Nine new manuscripts got accepted since my last post. Quite impressive work. Check it out:
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Still think brain regions don’t exist? That everything is everywhere? That cell types don’t matter and that everything is a dynamical phase portrait?
Wrong.
Interconnected brain modules exist at the level of fine grained transcriptomics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Wrong.
Interconnected brain modules exist at the level of fine grained transcriptomics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals input-dependent area identity - Nature
BARseq interrogates the expression of 104 cell-type marker genes in 10.3 million cells over nine mouse forebrain hemispheres to reveal the role of peripheral inputs on cortical area development.
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Still think brain regions don’t exist? That everything is everywhere? That cell types don’t matter and that everything is a dynamical phase portrait?
Wrong.
Interconnected brain modules exist at the level of fine grained transcriptomics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Wrong.
Interconnected brain modules exist at the level of fine grained transcriptomics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
What other seemingly obligatory phrases do you notice in neuro papers?
November 4, 2025 at 6:29 PM
What other seemingly obligatory phrases do you notice in neuro papers?
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
The published version of our study on the early-life transition from isolation USVs to adult-like USVs in juvenile mice is out in Animal Behaviour!
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m1YDmjMA4GP
bsky.app/profile/kati...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m1YDmjMA4GP
bsky.app/profile/kati...
November 3, 2025 at 1:49 PM
The published version of our study on the early-life transition from isolation USVs to adult-like USVs in juvenile mice is out in Animal Behaviour!
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m1YDmjMA4GP
bsky.app/profile/kati...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m1YDmjMA4GP
bsky.app/profile/kati...
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Magical fall sunrise in the woods
November 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Magical fall sunrise in the woods
Magical fall sunrise in the woods
November 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Magical fall sunrise in the woods
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Babe wake up CoStar is doing new wave learning theory
October 31, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Babe wake up CoStar is doing new wave learning theory
My partner works at one of these food banks (foodbankcenc.org/give). Demand for food ALREADY far exceeds supply (less funding, fewer donations from companies/individuals due to...everything). If you are able, please donate to a local food bank
October 31, 2025 at 1:47 PM
My partner works at one of these food banks (foodbankcenc.org/give). Demand for food ALREADY far exceeds supply (less funding, fewer donations from companies/individuals due to...everything). If you are able, please donate to a local food bank
Woolly bear gang (Isabella Tiger Moth) Look at those teeny feet!
Also, there is folklore that the length of the black band predicts how harsh of a winter it will be - looks like a mild one
Also, there is folklore that the length of the black band predicts how harsh of a winter it will be - looks like a mild one
October 31, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Woolly bear gang (Isabella Tiger Moth) Look at those teeny feet!
Also, there is folklore that the length of the black band predicts how harsh of a winter it will be - looks like a mild one
Also, there is folklore that the length of the black band predicts how harsh of a winter it will be - looks like a mild one
Sad to have missed the talks today! But also good to know for the basal ganglia heads that @swebags.bsky.social is on here
Strong opening by @mohebial.bsky.social for today's @swebags.bsky.social seminar!
October 30, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Sad to have missed the talks today! But also good to know for the basal ganglia heads that @swebags.bsky.social is on here
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Very happy to see this collaboration with @babeheim.bsky.social published in Animal Cognition: 'Vocal mimicry in corvids'. Since posting the first preprint, we have identified evidence for vocal mimicry in 8 more species, thanks to the community highlighting additional sources #communityscience
October 30, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Very happy to see this collaboration with @babeheim.bsky.social published in Animal Cognition: 'Vocal mimicry in corvids'. Since posting the first preprint, we have identified evidence for vocal mimicry in 8 more species, thanks to the community highlighting additional sources #communityscience
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
More than two decades have passed since we discovered that rare disruptions of the FOXP2 gene disturb development of proficient speech/language skills. Today we know of multiple FOXP genes that are directly implicated in distinct brain-related conditions with differences in symptoms & severity.🧪 1/n
October 29, 2025 at 5:09 PM
More than two decades have passed since we discovered that rare disruptions of the FOXP2 gene disturb development of proficient speech/language skills. Today we know of multiple FOXP genes that are directly implicated in distinct brain-related conditions with differences in symptoms & severity.🧪 1/n
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
Thrilled that our paper is out today in Nature!
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
Sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits
Nature - Experiments with human volunteers and macaques show that expectations produced by probabilistic cueing of future sensory inputs shape motor circuit dynamics in order to increase the...
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Thrilled that our paper is out today in Nature!
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
Two states diverged in the cortex - I took the one less occupied
Bifurcations—an underexplored concept in neuroscience—can help explain how small differences in neural circuits give rise to entirely novel functions, writes Xiao-Jing Wang.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/neural-dynam...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/neural-dynam...
The missing half of the neurodynamical systems theory
Bifurcations—an underexplored concept in neuroscience—can help explain how small differences in neural circuits give rise to entirely novel functions.
www.thetransmitter.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Two states diverged in the cortex - I took the one less occupied
Reposted by Drew Schreiner
As NSF GRFP is in the news, PLEASE spread the word about the new EGFP program they have for past GRFP honorable mentions. Universities in eligible states can apply to get funding for HMs in the same amount as GRFP. My impression is that many depts don't know this exists and so don't apply.
September 30, 2025 at 7:15 AM
As NSF GRFP is in the news, PLEASE spread the word about the new EGFP program they have for past GRFP honorable mentions. Universities in eligible states can apply to get funding for HMs in the same amount as GRFP. My impression is that many depts don't know this exists and so don't apply.