Britton Sauerbrei
@brittonsauerbrei.bsky.social
Neurophysiologist working on motor control and neural population dynamics. Assistant Prof. at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
https://sauerbreilab.org/
https://sauerbreilab.org/
A remarkable monograph.
November 6, 2025 at 6:56 PM
A remarkable monograph.
A delightful academic farce.
November 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM
A delightful academic farce.
“Like the reading of tea leaves, this approach can be used to create an impression, by projecting conceptual schemes onto suggestive patterns. … Thus, the search for explicit coding may actually be misleading …”
October 31, 2025 at 7:51 PM
“Like the reading of tea leaves, this approach can be used to create an impression, by projecting conceptual schemes onto suggestive patterns. … Thus, the search for explicit coding may actually be misleading …”
Agreed! I find Nelson Goodman’s analysis persuasive:
October 15, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Agreed! I find Nelson Goodman’s analysis persuasive:
My department at Case Western Reserve is recruiting an Assistant / Associate Professor of Neurosciences - come be our colleague!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
October 1, 2025 at 4:45 PM
My department at Case Western Reserve is recruiting an Assistant / Associate Professor of Neurosciences - come be our colleague!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Maps are indispensable in neuroscience. Even when constructed with relatively crude methods, they can reveal clear specialization of brain areas. Here’s a nice example from 1902 (Grunbaum & Sherrington).
September 4, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Maps are indispensable in neuroscience. Even when constructed with relatively crude methods, they can reveal clear specialization of brain areas. Here’s a nice example from 1902 (Grunbaum & Sherrington).
Sensation ≠ perception: a fascinating case study. A patient with damage to visual cortex points at a light he cannot perceive.
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
August 29, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Sensation ≠ perception: a fascinating case study. A patient with damage to visual cortex points at a light he cannot perceive.
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
“Apaesthete.” Mott & Sherrington, coining recklessly in 1895.
August 13, 2025 at 7:48 PM
“Apaesthete.” Mott & Sherrington, coining recklessly in 1895.
On a W. G. Sebald kick. What a weird and wonderful book!
August 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
On a W. G. Sebald kick. What a weird and wonderful book!
Time to measure some receptive fields …
August 7, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Time to measure some receptive fields …
Beautiful music - a creation of the mind of mouse.
August 5, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Beautiful music - a creation of the mind of mouse.
Compare the unit response with this remarkable lesion effect:
August 5, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Compare the unit response with this remarkable lesion effect:
Is there a clearer example of persistent activity in working memory?
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....
August 5, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Is there a clearer example of persistent activity in working memory?
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....
journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....
I think my home library needs borrowing cards, too.
August 4, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I think my home library needs borrowing cards, too.
Came across this passage from Vernon Brooks. We make a similar argument in our recent paper. This issue has been lurking in the background for many years …
July 25, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Came across this passage from Vernon Brooks. We make a similar argument in our recent paper. This issue has been lurking in the background for many years …
A remarkable essay by Thomas Browne, published in 1658. “Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or, a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk.”
penelope.uchicago.edu/hydrionofram...
penelope.uchicago.edu/hydrionofram...
July 19, 2025 at 5:17 PM
A remarkable essay by Thomas Browne, published in 1658. “Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or, a Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk.”
penelope.uchicago.edu/hydrionofram...
penelope.uchicago.edu/hydrionofram...
An excellent introduction. Written 40 years ago, but feels fresh and relevant to today’s big questions and debates.
July 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
An excellent introduction. Written 40 years ago, but feels fresh and relevant to today’s big questions and debates.
This is the book an astute Martian would write about the human condition. Frequently flawed, occasionally obscure, but profoundly penetrating.
July 1, 2025 at 4:01 AM
This is the book an astute Martian would write about the human condition. Frequently flawed, occasionally obscure, but profoundly penetrating.
15/15
Thanks again to Eric Kirk for leading the charge on this project, Kangjia Cai for contributions to analysis and infrastructure, our funders, and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for supporting our work!
Thanks again to Eric Kirk for leading the charge on this project, Kangjia Cai for contributions to analysis and infrastructure, our funders, and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for supporting our work!
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
15/15
Thanks again to Eric Kirk for leading the charge on this project, Kangjia Cai for contributions to analysis and infrastructure, our funders, and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for supporting our work!
Thanks again to Eric Kirk for leading the charge on this project, Kangjia Cai for contributions to analysis and infrastructure, our funders, and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for supporting our work!
14/N
Overall, we think these results highlight the need to generalize models of cortical control to encompass interactions between voluntary cortical commands and motor programs orchestrated by largely independent subcortical centers.
Overall, we think these results highlight the need to generalize models of cortical control to encompass interactions between voluntary cortical commands and motor programs orchestrated by largely independent subcortical centers.
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
14/N
Overall, we think these results highlight the need to generalize models of cortical control to encompass interactions between voluntary cortical commands and motor programs orchestrated by largely independent subcortical centers.
Overall, we think these results highlight the need to generalize models of cortical control to encompass interactions between voluntary cortical commands and motor programs orchestrated by largely independent subcortical centers.
13/N
How does motor cortex transform representations of motor preparation and the locomotor rhythm into appropriate descending commands? We propose a phase-dependent gating mechanism involving a nonlinear interaction between the prep and rhythmic factors.
How does motor cortex transform representations of motor preparation and the locomotor rhythm into appropriate descending commands? We propose a phase-dependent gating mechanism involving a nonlinear interaction between the prep and rhythmic factors.
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
13/N
How does motor cortex transform representations of motor preparation and the locomotor rhythm into appropriate descending commands? We propose a phase-dependent gating mechanism involving a nonlinear interaction between the prep and rhythmic factors.
How does motor cortex transform representations of motor preparation and the locomotor rhythm into appropriate descending commands? We propose a phase-dependent gating mechanism involving a nonlinear interaction between the prep and rhythmic factors.
12/N
Are rhythmic dynamics driven by sensory feedback, or an efference copy from the CPG? The latter appears to be the case: cortical dynamics were organized into distinct subspaces for active and passive movements.
Are rhythmic dynamics driven by sensory feedback, or an efference copy from the CPG? The latter appears to be the case: cortical dynamics were organized into distinct subspaces for active and passive movements.
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
12/N
Are rhythmic dynamics driven by sensory feedback, or an efference copy from the CPG? The latter appears to be the case: cortical dynamics were organized into distinct subspaces for active and passive movements.
Are rhythmic dynamics driven by sensory feedback, or an efference copy from the CPG? The latter appears to be the case: cortical dynamics were organized into distinct subspaces for active and passive movements.
11/N
The signal was robust to optogenetic silencing of barrel cortex, bilateral whisker trimming, and removal of visual input. We conclude it is a motor preparatory signal abstracted from sensory information.
The signal was robust to optogenetic silencing of barrel cortex, bilateral whisker trimming, and removal of visual input. We conclude it is a motor preparatory signal abstracted from sensory information.
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
11/N
The signal was robust to optogenetic silencing of barrel cortex, bilateral whisker trimming, and removal of visual input. We conclude it is a motor preparatory signal abstracted from sensory information.
The signal was robust to optogenetic silencing of barrel cortex, bilateral whisker trimming, and removal of visual input. We conclude it is a motor preparatory signal abstracted from sensory information.
10/N
The limb-independent factor was synchronized more tightly with obstacle proximity than movement onset in the leading limb. Does it reflect the propagation of a sensory (e.g., vibrissal) impulse across the cortical network, or is it an abstract preparatory signal?
The limb-independent factor was synchronized more tightly with obstacle proximity than movement onset in the leading limb. Does it reflect the propagation of a sensory (e.g., vibrissal) impulse across the cortical network, or is it an abstract preparatory signal?
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 PM
10/N
The limb-independent factor was synchronized more tightly with obstacle proximity than movement onset in the leading limb. Does it reflect the propagation of a sensory (e.g., vibrissal) impulse across the cortical network, or is it an abstract preparatory signal?
The limb-independent factor was synchronized more tightly with obstacle proximity than movement onset in the leading limb. Does it reflect the propagation of a sensory (e.g., vibrissal) impulse across the cortical network, or is it an abstract preparatory signal?