Laura Case PhD
@touchybrains.bsky.social
Associate Professor @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social | Peer Mentoring Program Chair @UCSanDiegoWiHS | Neuroscientist, nature lover, mom | Opinions are my own
Wellesley/ NCCIH/ UCSD
caselaboratory.org
Wellesley/ NCCIH/ UCSD
caselaboratory.org
Congrats to my team (all first time at SFN) on their successful poster presentations! Sorry to all the folks who traveled from afar for the rain!
November 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Congrats to my team (all first time at SFN) on their successful poster presentations! Sorry to all the folks who traveled from afar for the rain!
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Wowow 😮
This is indeed one of the greatest paper endings of the century. Scientists: if you outsource writing to LLMs, you will end up filing off and blunting the good parts of writing — and thus science.
This is indeed one of the greatest paper endings of the century. Scientists: if you outsource writing to LLMs, you will end up filing off and blunting the good parts of writing — and thus science.
Nature suggests you use their "Manuscript Adviser" bot to get advice before submitting
I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
I uploaded the classic Watson & Crick paper about DNA structure, and the Adviser had this to say about one of the greatest paper endings of the century:
November 3, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Wowow 😮
This is indeed one of the greatest paper endings of the century. Scientists: if you outsource writing to LLMs, you will end up filing off and blunting the good parts of writing — and thus science.
This is indeed one of the greatest paper endings of the century. Scientists: if you outsource writing to LLMs, you will end up filing off and blunting the good parts of writing — and thus science.
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
The authors review evidence that the primary function of the brain, supported by distributed
neural systems, is the predictive regulation of physiology (i.e., allostasis). An
example from Alzheimer’s ...
www.cell.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:54 PM
It’s not the thought that counts: Allostasis at the core of brain function
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
#neuroscience
soft money folks, how are we surviving?? things i am required to do but not paid for:
-write grants
-serve on committees
-guest lecture
-review papers
-editor for journals
-dissertation committees
-annual trainings
-faculty meetings
-mentor undergrads
-raise money for supplies
what am I missing?
-write grants
-serve on committees
-guest lecture
-review papers
-editor for journals
-dissertation committees
-annual trainings
-faculty meetings
-mentor undergrads
-raise money for supplies
what am I missing?
October 17, 2025 at 11:41 PM
soft money folks, how are we surviving?? things i am required to do but not paid for:
-write grants
-serve on committees
-guest lecture
-review papers
-editor for journals
-dissertation committees
-annual trainings
-faculty meetings
-mentor undergrads
-raise money for supplies
what am I missing?
-write grants
-serve on committees
-guest lecture
-review papers
-editor for journals
-dissertation committees
-annual trainings
-faculty meetings
-mentor undergrads
-raise money for supplies
what am I missing?
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
This week’s #PAIN Featured Image is an overview of microneurography recording technique. Namer et al. highlight new data on the potential for high threshold mechanosensitive Aβ fibers to code for physiological mechanical pain and allodynia bit.ly/4gEVMJW
October 17, 2025 at 1:00 PM
This week’s #PAIN Featured Image is an overview of microneurography recording technique. Namer et al. highlight new data on the potential for high threshold mechanosensitive Aβ fibers to code for physiological mechanical pain and allodynia bit.ly/4gEVMJW
Dr. Tristen Inagaki and I found that warmth and pressure interact to boost feelings of social connection with close others. Everyone enjoyed this study, including the participants! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Effect of warm pressure on feelings of social connection with close others
Social touch, such as hugging and hand-holding, may aid in the maintenance of feelings of social connection. Research on gentle stroking has demonstra…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Dr. Tristen Inagaki and I found that warmth and pressure interact to boost feelings of social connection with close others. Everyone enjoyed this study, including the participants! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
This morning, NASA released the #VoyagerDeclaration. This afternoon, NIH #BethesdaDeclaration signers met w/ Jay Bhattacharya. Earlier, EPA staff were terminated for their act of resistance.
I made this in solidarity. @altnih4science.bsky.social @altnasa.bsky.social @alt-epa-workers.bsky.social
I made this in solidarity. @altnih4science.bsky.social @altnasa.bsky.social @alt-epa-workers.bsky.social
July 22, 2025 at 1:52 AM
This morning, NASA released the #VoyagerDeclaration. This afternoon, NIH #BethesdaDeclaration signers met w/ Jay Bhattacharya. Earlier, EPA staff were terminated for their act of resistance.
I made this in solidarity. @altnih4science.bsky.social @altnasa.bsky.social @alt-epa-workers.bsky.social
I made this in solidarity. @altnih4science.bsky.social @altnasa.bsky.social @alt-epa-workers.bsky.social
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
You get about 100 million breaths. So does every other animal big or small. Don't waste them. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com
July 22, 2025 at 2:29 AM
You get about 100 million breaths. So does every other animal big or small. Don't waste them. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Friends, rates of severe malnutrition and dehydration—particularly among children—have reached catastrophic levels in that politically complex place I will not name for the algorithm. Please urgently sign and share this petition for humanitarian aid from my colleague: chng.it/Mbqh4gXFpC
Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?
Healthcare Professionals Demand Unimpeded Humanitarian Aid and Medical Access in Gaza
chng.it
July 21, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Friends, rates of severe malnutrition and dehydration—particularly among children—have reached catastrophic levels in that politically complex place I will not name for the algorithm. Please urgently sign and share this petition for humanitarian aid from my colleague: chng.it/Mbqh4gXFpC
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
(5/5)
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
www.standupforscience.net
June 9, 2025 at 12:06 PM
(5/5)
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
🚨 It’s time to flood the zone.
NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn.
📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration
✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support
👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social
Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Our new paper is out. We point out that large brained (and often smart) mammals and birds have evolved very different distribution of neurons numbers in the brain.
This means that similar cognitive abilities have evolved in very different brains.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This means that similar cognitive abilities have evolved in very different brains.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
April 17, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Our new paper is out. We point out that large brained (and often smart) mammals and birds have evolved very different distribution of neurons numbers in the brain.
This means that similar cognitive abilities have evolved in very different brains.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This means that similar cognitive abilities have evolved in very different brains.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Not to show bias, but this symposium from
@sirileknes.bsky.social featuring one of my all-time favourite people, India Morrison, is going to be epic!!!
@sirileknes.bsky.social featuring one of my all-time favourite people, India Morrison, is going to be epic!!!
April 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Not to show bias, but this symposium from
@sirileknes.bsky.social featuring one of my all-time favourite people, India Morrison, is going to be epic!!!
@sirileknes.bsky.social featuring one of my all-time favourite people, India Morrison, is going to be epic!!!
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.”
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN
Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...
www.cnn.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.”
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Some good news from NIH - they have restarted the intramural training programs for postbacs and postdocs. www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
April 8, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Some good news from NIH - they have restarted the intramural training programs for postbacs and postdocs. www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
what a massive effort. an incredible resource for anyone studying the claustrum.
Now online! Single-cell spatial transcriptome atlas and whole-brain connectivity of the macaque claustrum
Single-cell spatial transcriptome atlas and whole-brain connectivity of the macaque claustrum
A single-cell spatial transcriptome atlas and a whole-brain connectivity map of macaque claustrum are generated, revealing four claustral zones that house distinct compositions of glutamatergic cell types and preferentially connect to functionally related cortical areas and subcortical structures.
dlvr.it
April 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
what a massive effort. an incredible resource for anyone studying the claustrum.
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
We have slots for 2-3 postbacs! Get in touch if you’re interested in joining the Affective Neuroscience and Pain lab & contributing to our studies of pain, emotion, and social processing in the 🧠
Recruitment of postbacs & postdocs in the NIH IRP has resumed. I have no additional info beyond what is publicly stated on the website. www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
April 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
We have slots for 2-3 postbacs! Get in touch if you’re interested in joining the Affective Neuroscience and Pain lab & contributing to our studies of pain, emotion, and social processing in the 🧠
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
This is a good explainer! But I want to be even more blunt:
You can't cure cancer in the dark.
Federal (F&A) funding is what pays to keep the lights on so that doctors and scientists can do this work.
You can't cure cancer in the dark.
Federal (F&A) funding is what pays to keep the lights on so that doctors and scientists can do this work.
UC San Diego scientists are tackling cancer, Alzheimer’s and more.💡Without funding, progress stalls.
Speak up now ➡️ bit.ly/3DDGKoP
#BehindEveryBreakthrough #ResearchSavesLives #SaveResearch
Speak up now ➡️ bit.ly/3DDGKoP
#BehindEveryBreakthrough #ResearchSavesLives #SaveResearch
March 18, 2025 at 11:07 PM
This is a good explainer! But I want to be even more blunt:
You can't cure cancer in the dark.
Federal (F&A) funding is what pays to keep the lights on so that doctors and scientists can do this work.
You can't cure cancer in the dark.
Federal (F&A) funding is what pays to keep the lights on so that doctors and scientists can do this work.
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
As a Jewish faculty member at one of these institutions, I am saying right now, in the clearest tones possible: not in my name. This violent exploitation of Jews as an alibi for achieving Fascist ends is itself textbook antisemitism.
The Ed. Department's Office for Civil Rights sent letters to 60 additional institutions "warning them of potential enforcement actions" for "violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination" including Harvard, Brown, Stanford, Princeton, UNC, and several UC's
March 10, 2025 at 8:58 PM
As a Jewish faculty member at one of these institutions, I am saying right now, in the clearest tones possible: not in my name. This violent exploitation of Jews as an alibi for achieving Fascist ends is itself textbook antisemitism.
Rallying for Science @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social !
March 8, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Rallying for Science @ucsdhealthsci.bsky.social !
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
Groundbreaking work by Dr. Soohyun Lee from the National Institute of Mental Health at NIH
The brilliant young scientist faces termination.
Science like this leads to discoveries that can revolutionize how we understand the brain.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#neuroscience #neuroskyence
The brilliant young scientist faces termination.
Science like this leads to discoveries that can revolutionize how we understand the brain.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#neuroscience #neuroskyence
Brain-wide presynaptic networks of functionally distinct cortical neurons - Nature
Behavioural-state-dependent pyramidal neurons have a distinct pattern of long-range glutamatergic inputs, with a larger proportion of thalamic versus motor cortex inputs compared with non-behavio...
doi.org
March 6, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Groundbreaking work by Dr. Soohyun Lee from the National Institute of Mental Health at NIH
The brilliant young scientist faces termination.
Science like this leads to discoveries that can revolutionize how we understand the brain.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#neuroscience #neuroskyence
The brilliant young scientist faces termination.
Science like this leads to discoveries that can revolutionize how we understand the brain.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#neuroscience #neuroskyence
Reposted by Laura Case PhD
March 26, free to register
Webinar: Experimental pain versus clinical pain in mechanistic research
music4pain.org/event/webina...
Webinar: Experimental pain versus clinical pain in mechanistic research
music4pain.org/event/webina...
Webinar: Experimental pain versus clinical pain in mechanistic research
To date, most mechanistic research studies on the hypoalgesic effects of music have used experimentally induced pain. Even though the use of experimentally induced pain presents important methodologic...
music4pain.org
March 3, 2025 at 8:38 PM
March 26, free to register
Webinar: Experimental pain versus clinical pain in mechanistic research
music4pain.org/event/webina...
Webinar: Experimental pain versus clinical pain in mechanistic research
music4pain.org/event/webina...
so cool and highly relevant for social touch research!
In our new paper @dulaclab.bsky.social, we investigated a fundamental question in social neuroscience: the origin of "sociality" (the need of being together) at the levels of behavior, neuron type, neural circuit and sensory modulation. (Detailed digest below) (1/7)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 27, 2025 at 7:41 PM
so cool and highly relevant for social touch research!