Shrey Dixit
@shreydixit.bsky.social
Doctoral Researcher doing NeuroAI at the Max Planck Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Pinned
Shrey Dixit
@shreydixit.bsky.social
· Jun 25
Who Does What in Deep Learning? Multidimensional Game-Theoretic Attribution of Function of Neural Units
Neural networks now generate text, images, and speech with billions of parameters, producing a need to know how each neural unit contributes to these high-dimensional outputs. Existing explainable-AI ...
arxiv.org
🚨Preprint Alert: Who Does What in Deep Learning? Multidimensional Contribution of Neural Units using Game Theory: arxiv.org/abs/2506.19732
The result of my MSc thesis is out with @kayson.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @patrickmineault.bsky.social @kordinglab.bsky.social, Claus C. Hilgetag
The result of my MSc thesis is out with @kayson.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @patrickmineault.bsky.social @kordinglab.bsky.social, Claus C. Hilgetag
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
At @elife.bsky.social you can now include explainer videos with every figure. Like going to a seminar while you engage with the paper. First example here elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Click the arrows next to each figure to get a video of @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social explaining it for you!
Click the arrows next to each figure to get a video of @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social explaining it for you!
January 22, 2026 at 6:16 PM
At @elife.bsky.social you can now include explainer videos with every figure. Like going to a seminar while you engage with the paper. First example here elifesciences.org/articles/106...
Click the arrows next to each figure to get a video of @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social explaining it for you!
Click the arrows next to each figure to get a video of @mathiassablemeyer.bsky.social explaining it for you!
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Close reading is a technique for careful analysis of a piece of writing, practiced by many ancient cultures, major religions, & academic scholars. The latest fastai course experimented with using AI to go deeper when reading. 1/
www.fast.ai/posts/2026-0...
www.fast.ai/posts/2026-0...
How To Use AI for the Ancient Art of Close Reading – fast.ai
Experiments in reading with LLMs
www.fast.ai
January 21, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Close reading is a technique for careful analysis of a piece of writing, practiced by many ancient cultures, major religions, & academic scholars. The latest fastai course experimented with using AI to go deeper when reading. 1/
www.fast.ai/posts/2026-0...
www.fast.ai/posts/2026-0...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Are connectome-based network mapping methods and the >200 papers that have used it invalid?
New paper out in
@NatureNeuro
says YES. nature.com/articles/s41...
I have concerns about this new paper's methods and conclusions, but am biased. What do others think?
New paper out in
@NatureNeuro
says YES. nature.com/articles/s41...
I have concerns about this new paper's methods and conclusions, but am biased. What do others think?
Investigating the methodological foundation of lesion network mapping - Nature Neuroscience
The lesion network mapping method links diverse brain lesions to similar functional brain networks, reflecting general brain organization rather than disorder-specific circuits.
nature.com
January 18, 2026 at 1:59 AM
Are connectome-based network mapping methods and the >200 papers that have used it invalid?
New paper out in
@NatureNeuro
says YES. nature.com/articles/s41...
I have concerns about this new paper's methods and conclusions, but am biased. What do others think?
New paper out in
@NatureNeuro
says YES. nature.com/articles/s41...
I have concerns about this new paper's methods and conclusions, but am biased. What do others think?
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
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 Shrey Dixit
Our new paper, now published in Cell Reports, asks how the brain adaptively shapes its representations according to the statistical structure of the environment to overcome the limits of working memory capacity.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Efficient coding in working memory is adapted to the structure of the environment
Huang et al. show that the brain optimizes working memory by compressing information
when environmental regularities exist. MEG reveals distinct neural systems for abstract
structure and item details,...
www.cell.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Our new paper, now published in Cell Reports, asks how the brain adaptively shapes its representations according to the statistical structure of the environment to overcome the limits of working memory capacity.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Really thrilled that this paper led by @neurozz.bsky.social is now published in its final version in @elife.bsky.social!!
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
A unifying account of replay as context-driven memory reactivation
A context-driven memory model simulates a wide range of characteristics of waking and sleeping hippocampal replay, providing a new account of how and why replay occurs.
elifesciences.org
January 15, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Really thrilled that this paper led by @neurozz.bsky.social is now published in its final version in @elife.bsky.social!!
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
This is a memory-focused (as opposed to RL-focused) account of the detailed characteristics of forward and backward awake and sleep replay!
elifesciences.org/articles/99931
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Another cool paper from Iran: nature.com/articles/s41... Prenatal stress makes mouse offspring more anxious, hyperactive, forgetful, and more drawn to morphine while laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons become hyperexcitable. From Kerman, a city with reported violent crackdowns on protests.
The hyperexcitability of laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons accompanies adverse behavioral and cognitive outcomes of prenatal stress - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - The hyperexcitability of laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons accompanies adverse behavioral and cognitive outcomes of prenatal stress
nature.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Another cool paper from Iran: nature.com/articles/s41... Prenatal stress makes mouse offspring more anxious, hyperactive, forgetful, and more drawn to morphine while laterodorsal tegmentum cholinergic neurons become hyperexcitable. From Kerman, a city with reported violent crackdowns on protests.
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
The field of #neuromorphics is lacking *accessible*, *intuitive*, and *practical* introductions. Ramashish Gaurav, Petruț Antoniu Bogdan, and I are setting out to fix this with a book on Practical Spiking Neural Networks! ✅
Any and all contributions are welcome! 💕
Early access at: snnbook.net
Any and all contributions are welcome! 💕
Early access at: snnbook.net
January 14, 2026 at 10:37 AM
The field of #neuromorphics is lacking *accessible*, *intuitive*, and *practical* introductions. Ramashish Gaurav, Petruț Antoniu Bogdan, and I are setting out to fix this with a book on Practical Spiking Neural Networks! ✅
Any and all contributions are welcome! 💕
Early access at: snnbook.net
Any and all contributions are welcome! 💕
Early access at: snnbook.net
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
We’d love your feedback on BERG (github.com/gifale95/BERG): pretrained encoding models + a Python toolkit for generating in silico neural responses for in silico experimentation. Your input will make BERG more useful and reliable!
forms.gle/pybrqcaqdso2...
#NeuroAI #CompNeuro #neuroscience #AI
forms.gle/pybrqcaqdso2...
#NeuroAI #CompNeuro #neuroscience #AI
The Brain Encoding Response Generator (BERG) survey
Thank you for taking part in this survey aimed at (anonymously) collecting your thoughts and suggestions on a new resource called the Brain Encoding Response Generator (BERG; https://github.com/gifale...
forms.gle
November 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
We’d love your feedback on BERG (github.com/gifale95/BERG): pretrained encoding models + a Python toolkit for generating in silico neural responses for in silico experimentation. Your input will make BERG more useful and reliable!
forms.gle/pybrqcaqdso2...
#NeuroAI #CompNeuro #neuroscience #AI
forms.gle/pybrqcaqdso2...
#NeuroAI #CompNeuro #neuroscience #AI
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
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 Shrey Dixit
Introducing DroPE: Extending Context by Dropping Positional Embeddings
We found embeddings like RoPE aid training but bottleneck long-sequence generalization. Our solution’s simple: treat them as a temporary training scaffold, not a permanent necessity.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.12167
pub.sakana.ai/DroPE
We found embeddings like RoPE aid training but bottleneck long-sequence generalization. Our solution’s simple: treat them as a temporary training scaffold, not a permanent necessity.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.12167
pub.sakana.ai/DroPE
January 12, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Introducing DroPE: Extending Context by Dropping Positional Embeddings
We found embeddings like RoPE aid training but bottleneck long-sequence generalization. Our solution’s simple: treat them as a temporary training scaffold, not a permanent necessity.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.12167
pub.sakana.ai/DroPE
We found embeddings like RoPE aid training but bottleneck long-sequence generalization. Our solution’s simple: treat them as a temporary training scaffold, not a permanent necessity.
arxiv.org/abs/2512.12167
pub.sakana.ai/DroPE
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Please spread the word🔊My lab is looking to hire two international postdocs. If you want to do comp neuro, combine machine learning and awesome math to understand neural circuit activity, then come work with us! Bonn is such a cool place for neuroscience now, you don't want to miss out.
January 10, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Please spread the word🔊My lab is looking to hire two international postdocs. If you want to do comp neuro, combine machine learning and awesome math to understand neural circuit activity, then come work with us! Bonn is such a cool place for neuroscience now, you don't want to miss out.
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
January 9, 2026 at 1:27 AM
With some trepidation, I'm putting this out into the world:
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
gershmanlab.com/textbook.html
It's a textbook called Computational Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience, which I wrote for my class.
My hope is that this will be a living document, continuously improved as I get feedback.
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
New preprint: Inference over hidden contexts shapes the geometry of conceptual knowledge for flexible behaviour.
In this pre-reg study, our core claim was that we don’t just learn stimulus-reward. We infer hidden context and that inference re-wires attention and neural state space on the fly.
1/8
In this pre-reg study, our core claim was that we don’t just learn stimulus-reward. We infer hidden context and that inference re-wires attention and neural state space on the fly.
1/8
January 8, 2026 at 7:46 AM
New preprint: Inference over hidden contexts shapes the geometry of conceptual knowledge for flexible behaviour.
In this pre-reg study, our core claim was that we don’t just learn stimulus-reward. We infer hidden context and that inference re-wires attention and neural state space on the fly.
1/8
In this pre-reg study, our core claim was that we don’t just learn stimulus-reward. We infer hidden context and that inference re-wires attention and neural state space on the fly.
1/8
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
I'm increasingly of the opinion that we shouldn't give credence to any published result unless it has been subject to a good faith attempt to explain the results by a null model, ideally by an independent group that doesn't believe the result is true, and shown to be robust.
But (shocker) with realistic amounts of noise you recover something that looks exactly like their plot. It even has roughly the same level of discordance, about 40% in total!
January 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM
I'm increasingly of the opinion that we shouldn't give credence to any published result unless it has been subject to a good faith attempt to explain the results by a null model, ideally by an independent group that doesn't believe the result is true, and shown to be robust.
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Would love to hear expert views on this paper. It appears to show that the operationalization of brain activity the field has relied on for 3 decades—the BOLD response—is not actually a sensible measure of brain activity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
BOLD signal changes can oppose oxygen metabolism across the human cortex - Nature Neuroscience
Using quantitative brain imaging, the authors show opposite fMRI BOLD signal to metabolic activity due to variable oxygen extraction across the human cortex. This questions the canonical interpretatio...
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM
This paper had a pretty shocking headline result (40% of voxels!), so I dug into it, and I think it is wrong. Essentially: they compare two noisy measures and find that about 40% of voxels have different sign between the two. I think this is just noise!
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
New preprint. We show that in addition to reward prediction errors (RPEs), dorsal striatal dopamine signals encode sensory prediction errors (SPEs), the difference between sensory prior & observed stimulus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Dorsal striatal dopamine integrates sensory and reward prediction errors to guide perceptual decisions
Perceptual decisions are shaped by expectations about sensory stimuli and rewards, learned through sensory and reward prediction errors. Dopamine is known to convey reward prediction errors that shape...
www.biorxiv.org
January 5, 2026 at 10:49 AM
New preprint. We show that in addition to reward prediction errors (RPEs), dorsal striatal dopamine signals encode sensory prediction errors (SPEs), the difference between sensory prior & observed stimulus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 AM
🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists
Interested? Get in touch via direct message
careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e...
#MicroSky 🧪
#PostDoc @univie.ac.at
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Awesome article on medical breakthroughs that came from basic neuroscience research in rodents. Major success examples in postpartum depression, non-opioid pain and migraine treatment.
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
How basic neuroscience has paved the path to new drugs
A growing list of medications—such as zuranolone for postpartum depression, suzetrigine for pain, and the gepants class of migraine medicines—exist because of insights from basic research.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 31, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Awesome article on medical breakthroughs that came from basic neuroscience research in rodents. Major success examples in postpartum depression, non-opioid pain and migraine treatment.
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
This is exactly why funding basic science is so important!
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
It is not often I get an epiphany from our own research.
But this year Torbjørn Ness, Christof Koch, and I realized that when we know how to compute electric brain signals generated by a neuron, we also know how to electrically stimulate the same neuron.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
But this year Torbjørn Ness, Christof Koch, and I realized that when we know how to compute electric brain signals generated by a neuron, we also know how to electrically stimulate the same neuron.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Predicting neural responses to intra- and extra-cranial electric brain stimulation by means of the reciprocity theorem
Author summary Electric brain stimulation is widely used in neuroscience and medicine, from mapping brain function during surgery to treating disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and depression. Yet ...
journals.plos.org
December 27, 2025 at 9:07 AM
It is not often I get an epiphany from our own research.
But this year Torbjørn Ness, Christof Koch, and I realized that when we know how to compute electric brain signals generated by a neuron, we also know how to electrically stimulate the same neuron.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
But this year Torbjørn Ness, Christof Koch, and I realized that when we know how to compute electric brain signals generated by a neuron, we also know how to electrically stimulate the same neuron.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Amid the rise of billion-parameter models, I argue that toy models, with just a few neurons, remain essential—and may be all neuroscience needs, writes @marcusghosh.bsky.social.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
Not playing around: Why neuroscience needs toy models
Amid the rise of billion-parameter models, I argue that toy models, with just a few neurons, remain essential—and may be all neuroscience needs.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 22, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Amid the rise of billion-parameter models, I argue that toy models, with just a few neurons, remain essential—and may be all neuroscience needs, writes @marcusghosh.bsky.social.
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/theoretical-...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
🚨new work with the dream team @danakarca.bsky.social @loopyluppi.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @stuartoldham.bsky.social @duncanastle.bsky.social
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 15, 2025 at 8:01 AM
🚨new work with the dream team @danakarca.bsky.social @loopyluppi.bsky.social @fatemehhadaeghi.bsky.social @stuartoldham.bsky.social @duncanastle.bsky.social
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We use game theory and show the brain is not optimally wired for communication and there’s more to its story:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Our new paper, now published in @natcomms.nature.com , asks a simple question: when two tasks share a common structure, does the brain learn them more efficiently? Surprisingly, this was not the case. Thread below (1/7)
rdcu.be/eSwvU
rdcu.be/eSwvU
The effects of task similarity during representation learning in brains and neural networks
Nature Communications - Here, the authors show learning tasks with similar structures can initially cause interference and slow down learning, but both the brain and artificial networks gradually...
rdcu.be
December 2, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Our new paper, now published in @natcomms.nature.com , asks a simple question: when two tasks share a common structure, does the brain learn them more efficiently? Surprisingly, this was not the case. Thread below (1/7)
rdcu.be/eSwvU
rdcu.be/eSwvU
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
New preprint! Have you ever wondered, what are these fuzzy simplicial sets, the theoretical framework behind e.g. UMAP? Here we show that you may simply see them as marginal distributions over simplicial sets. This provides a generative model for UMAP. (1/2)
arxiv.org/abs/2512.03899
arxiv.org/abs/2512.03899
Probabilistic Foundations of Fuzzy Simplicial Sets for Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction
Fuzzy simplicial sets have become an object of interest in dimensionality reduction and manifold learning, most prominently through their role in UMAP. However, their definition through tools from alg...
arxiv.org
December 4, 2025 at 12:31 PM
New preprint! Have you ever wondered, what are these fuzzy simplicial sets, the theoretical framework behind e.g. UMAP? Here we show that you may simply see them as marginal distributions over simplicial sets. This provides a generative model for UMAP. (1/2)
arxiv.org/abs/2512.03899
arxiv.org/abs/2512.03899
Reposted by Shrey Dixit
Please repost! I am looking for a PhD candidate in the area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience to start in early 2026.
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
November 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Please repost! I am looking for a PhD candidate in the area of Computational Cognitive Neuroscience to start in early 2026.
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...
The position is funded as part of the Excellence Cluster "The Adaptive Mind" at @jlugiessen.bsky.social.
Please apply here until Nov 25:
www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...