Ben Saunders
@bensaunders.bsky.social
Neuroscientist and gardener
Lab site- saunderslab.com
Lab site- saunderslab.com
Pinned
Superior colliculus projections drive dopamine neuron activity and movement but not value
To navigate dynamic environments, animals must rapidly integrate sensory information and respond appropriately to gather rewards and avoid threats. It is well established that dopamine (DA) neurons in...
www.jneurosci.org
Check out our latest, online now at @sfnjournals.bsky.social www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
This coming week at #SfN25 come visit us at the Minnesota Graduate Program in Neuroscience booth at the grad fair! For applicants this cycle, note that the deadline is soon - Nov 20th. Also everyone check out the presentations at the meeting by UMN folks - shorturl.at/jNRxQ
November 13, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This coming week at #SfN25 come visit us at the Minnesota Graduate Program in Neuroscience booth at the grad fair! For applicants this cycle, note that the deadline is soon - Nov 20th. Also everyone check out the presentations at the meeting by UMN folks - shorturl.at/jNRxQ
Northern lights the past two nights
November 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Northern lights the past two nights
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Awesome work by lead author Lauren Burgeno et al: Dopamine evoked by non-contingent cues increases over cocaine use, producing greater cue reactivity; whereas dopamine evoked by contingent cues decreases over cocaine use, producing escalation of drug consumption. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cocaine seeking and consumption are oppositely regulated by mesolimbic dopamine in male rats - Nature Communications
Here authors demonstrate how opposing trajectories of dopamine transmission underlie changes in drug seeking and taking over chronic drug use. Increased dopamine to drug cues elevates craving, whereas...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Awesome work by lead author Lauren Burgeno et al: Dopamine evoked by non-contingent cues increases over cocaine use, producing greater cue reactivity; whereas dopamine evoked by contingent cues decreases over cocaine use, producing escalation of drug consumption. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Wow, a Long Island jury awarded $112 Million to 674 immigrants who were unlawfully held by county police so they could be handed over to ICE
Federal jury awards $112M to immigrants detained by Suffolk for ICE
A federal jury found the county and the Sheriff's Office violated the Constitutional rights of 674 people.
longisland.news12.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Wow, a Long Island jury awarded $112 Million to 674 immigrants who were unlawfully held by county police so they could be handed over to ICE
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Folks at SfN come see the first Fraser Lab poster ever at FF6 on Tuesday Nov 18, 8am. Serena Miller has oodles of data to share on a new direction for us. Also, that day happens to be my birthday so you have to come say hi or else
November 11, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Folks at SfN come see the first Fraser Lab poster ever at FF6 on Tuesday Nov 18, 8am. Serena Miller has oodles of data to share on a new direction for us. Also, that day happens to be my birthday so you have to come say hi or else
Reposted by Ben Saunders
SfN 2025 Art of Neuroscience
Full list of Exhibitors
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:26 PM
#SfN25 attendees - make sure to head to the posters when you get to the meeting on Saturday afternoon (V7-V11: Gretchen, Megan, Margaret, Louisa, Bella) and Sunday morning (KK17: Micaela) to hear about our work. We're printing the posters now and they look rad.
November 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
#SfN25 attendees - make sure to head to the posters when you get to the meeting on Saturday afternoon (V7-V11: Gretchen, Megan, Margaret, Louisa, Bella) and Sunday morning (KK17: Micaela) to hear about our work. We're printing the posters now and they look rad.
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Thrilled to share our new paper, out now in @natneuro.nature.com, uncovering how estradiol, the most potent estrogen, modulates reinforcement learning and reward prediction errors across biological levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#blueprint 1/7
#blueprint 1/7
Estrogen modulates reward prediction errors and reinforcement learning - Nature Neuroscience
Dopamine encoding of reward prediction errors naturally fluctuates over females’ reproductive cycles with estrogenic signaling due to reduced expression of dopamine reuptake proteins.
www.nature.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Thrilled to share our new paper, out now in @natneuro.nature.com, uncovering how estradiol, the most potent estrogen, modulates reinforcement learning and reward prediction errors across biological levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#blueprint 1/7
#blueprint 1/7
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Want a party that actually fights back? Run for office. We’ll help you. runforwhat.net
Run for Something
Find offices you can run for
runforwhat.net
November 10, 2025 at 12:38 AM
Want a party that actually fights back? Run for office. We’ll help you. runforwhat.net
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Spent 8 months organizing a massive Brain Day outreach event 🧠✨
We had ~240 faculty & trainee volunteers develop cool neuroscience activities about their research 🔬🧬 Over 300 community members joined us to play games, win prizes, learn, and see themselves as scientists 👩🏾🔬🧫
We had ~240 faculty & trainee volunteers develop cool neuroscience activities about their research 🔬🧬 Over 300 community members joined us to play games, win prizes, learn, and see themselves as scientists 👩🏾🔬🧫
November 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Spent 8 months organizing a massive Brain Day outreach event 🧠✨
We had ~240 faculty & trainee volunteers develop cool neuroscience activities about their research 🔬🧬 Over 300 community members joined us to play games, win prizes, learn, and see themselves as scientists 👩🏾🔬🧫
We had ~240 faculty & trainee volunteers develop cool neuroscience activities about their research 🔬🧬 Over 300 community members joined us to play games, win prizes, learn, and see themselves as scientists 👩🏾🔬🧫
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Have been obsessed with Mamdani’s graphic design and now you can have it for yourself!!
The Mamdani political sign generator is kinda fun https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/ccshan/for/for.html
November 8, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Have been obsessed with Mamdani’s graphic design and now you can have it for yourself!!
Reposted by Ben Saunders
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 )
Reposted by Ben Saunders
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 10:53 PM
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.
Reposted by Ben Saunders
8 high level positions at NIH posted including 6 institute director positions (NIMH, NIGMS, NICHD, NIDCR, NHGRI, NLM).
Only open for 2 weeks (applications due November 21).
Application materials include a) CV b) vision statement c) a photocopy of doctoral degree.
hr.nih.gov/careers/open...
Only open for 2 weeks (applications due November 21).
Application materials include a) CV b) vision statement c) a photocopy of doctoral degree.
hr.nih.gov/careers/open...
hr.nih.gov
November 7, 2025 at 10:20 PM
8 high level positions at NIH posted including 6 institute director positions (NIMH, NIGMS, NICHD, NIDCR, NHGRI, NLM).
Only open for 2 weeks (applications due November 21).
Application materials include a) CV b) vision statement c) a photocopy of doctoral degree.
hr.nih.gov/careers/open...
Only open for 2 weeks (applications due November 21).
Application materials include a) CV b) vision statement c) a photocopy of doctoral degree.
hr.nih.gov/careers/open...
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Apparently the postings are up for several NIH director positions. Deadlines between 11/14 and 11/21. hr.nih.gov/careers/care...
hr.nih.gov
November 7, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Apparently the postings are up for several NIH director positions. Deadlines between 11/14 and 11/21. hr.nih.gov/careers/care...
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Trump goes to court to starve kids should be a headline everywhere today
Trump administration seeks emergency stay of court's order to fund SNAP
Trump administration seeks emergency stay of court's order to fund SNAP
U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to pay full SNAP benefits by Friday.
dlvr.it
November 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Trump goes to court to starve kids should be a headline everywhere today
Reposted by Ben Saunders
disappointed that @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social is implicitly endorsing the use of LLMs to replace scientific thought
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
IT'S HAPPENING! 💥 I'm psyched to launch the collaboration between @qedscience.bsky.social & @openrxiv.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! Preprint + q.e.d = your science is out there, and anyone can appreciate it. Let's care about making discoveries, and not on “getting published” (1/3) 👇
November 7, 2025 at 9:06 AM
disappointed that @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social is implicitly endorsing the use of LLMs to replace scientific thought
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
@richardsever.bsky.social this is a short-sighted move and a net negative for science
Reposted by Ben Saunders
As a neuroscientist, I’d suggest there is a profound disconnect between what *some* computer scientists think is representative of “intelligence”, cognitive ability, or descriptions of consciousness from some in AI work.
LLMs are not how neural systems process information, nor how brains function.
LLMs are not how neural systems process information, nor how brains function.
November 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM
As a neuroscientist, I’d suggest there is a profound disconnect between what *some* computer scientists think is representative of “intelligence”, cognitive ability, or descriptions of consciousness from some in AI work.
LLMs are not how neural systems process information, nor how brains function.
LLMs are not how neural systems process information, nor how brains function.
Reposted by Ben Saunders
lol
November 6, 2025 at 4:47 AM
lol
Reposted by Ben Saunders
the senate appropriations bill explicitly limits MYF while the congressional budget doesn't. Making sure the language in the senate appropriations bill ends up in the final budget seems like an clear goal tp push our representatives on
November 5, 2025 at 9:29 PM
the senate appropriations bill explicitly limits MYF while the congressional budget doesn't. Making sure the language in the senate appropriations bill ends up in the final budget seems like an clear goal tp push our representatives on
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Warning. ⚠️ If you are writing an NSF GRFP, new this year, you need official transcripts to apply. Beware. They will not review applications without official transcripts. ‼️
November 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Warning. ⚠️ If you are writing an NSF GRFP, new this year, you need official transcripts to apply. Beware. They will not review applications without official transcripts. ‼️
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Reminder, do not only work on #NIHGrant study section reviews with the online forms. Keep a document with your critiques. Cancelled meetings are removed from IAR view and potentially are unrecoverably scrubbed.
Is anyone a fan of the new online reviews for NIH study section?
I just spent 1hr writing a review online & then the website crashed. It did not autosave anything, I lost all of that work!!!
I just spent 1hr writing a review online & then the website crashed. It did not autosave anything, I lost all of that work!!!
a monkey is sitting at a table typing on a laptop computer .
ALT: a monkey is sitting at a table typing on a laptop computer .
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Reminder, do not only work on #NIHGrant study section reviews with the online forms. Keep a document with your critiques. Cancelled meetings are removed from IAR view and potentially are unrecoverably scrubbed.
Reposted by Ben Saunders
Aid cuts are devastating health services in Africa
The sudden dismantling of USAID has led to more death and disease
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
The sudden dismantling of USAID has led to more death and disease
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Aid cuts are devastating health services in Africa
The sudden dismantling of USAID has led to more death and disease
www.economist.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Aid cuts are devastating health services in Africa
The sudden dismantling of USAID has led to more death and disease
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
The sudden dismantling of USAID has led to more death and disease
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Reposted by Ben Saunders
🚨BREAKING: The Department of Homeland Security quietly formalized sweeping changes to a federal immigration database, turning it into a national “voter verification” tool that appears to sidestep federal privacy protections and will make it easier to remove large numbers of voters from the rolls.
In Late, Obscure Notice, DHS Turbocharges Trump’s Voter Purge Database, Evading Privacy Protections
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:32 PM
🚨BREAKING: The Department of Homeland Security quietly formalized sweeping changes to a federal immigration database, turning it into a national “voter verification” tool that appears to sidestep federal privacy protections and will make it easier to remove large numbers of voters from the rolls.