Charan Ranganath
@charan-neuro.bsky.social
Professor, Author of WHY WE REMEMBER out 2-20-24, Doubleday Books
Director, UC Davis Memory and Plasticity Program, Professor, Center for #Neuroscience & Dept. of #Psychology
#Memory #fMRI #EEG #Computational #Punk #indie #Music: http://ch-ra.bandcamp.com
Director, UC Davis Memory and Plasticity Program, Professor, Center for #Neuroscience & Dept. of #Psychology
#Memory #fMRI #EEG #Computational #Punk #indie #Music: http://ch-ra.bandcamp.com
Pinned
Recurrent Inhibitory Dynamics in the Entorhinal Cortex Support Pattern Separation
The entorhinal cortex (EC) provides the major input to the hippocampus (HPC). Numerous computational models on the EC propose that its grid cells serve as a spatial metric, supporting path integration...
www.biorxiv.org
Super-psyched to share this preprint from my student Yicong (Alan) Zheng: "Recurrent Inhibitory Dynamics in the Entorhinal Cortex Support Pattern Separation" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... It's a new biologicaly-based computational model of the entorhinal-hippocampal system. Thread (1/?)
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
Excited to share my first first-author paper in Nature Methods!🤩
A quest to solve fMRI–EEG interference revealed a hidden strength in the usually discarded “dummy” scans. That spark became SASS-fMRI — boosting sensitivity and enabling silent, flexible experiments.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A quest to solve fMRI–EEG interference revealed a hidden strength in the usually discarded “dummy” scans. That spark became SASS-fMRI — boosting sensitivity and enabling silent, flexible experiments.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Stimulus-modulated approach to steady state (SASS): a flexible paradigm for event-related fMRI - Nature Methods
Stimulus-modulated approach to steady state (SASS) is an acquisition scheme for event-related fMRI that generates data with high temporal signal-to-noise ratios interspaced with acquisition-free perio...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Excited to share my first first-author paper in Nature Methods!🤩
A quest to solve fMRI–EEG interference revealed a hidden strength in the usually discarded “dummy” scans. That spark became SASS-fMRI — boosting sensitivity and enabling silent, flexible experiments.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A quest to solve fMRI–EEG interference revealed a hidden strength in the usually discarded “dummy” scans. That spark became SASS-fMRI — boosting sensitivity and enabling silent, flexible experiments.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
This week a study of ours was (briefly) covered on NPR's All Things Considered during their bi-weekly science roundup. It's a short listen, covered third in this section (starting around 5m30s) featuring comments from
@charan-neuro.bsky.social .
www.npr.org/2025/10/30/n...
@charan-neuro.bsky.social .
www.npr.org/2025/10/30/n...
This week's Short Wave news roundup
Regina Barber and Emily Kwong of Short Wave talk about spider web architecture, storytelling and memory, and why more TV pixels may not translate to a better viewing experience.
www.npr.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:23 PM
This week a study of ours was (briefly) covered on NPR's All Things Considered during their bi-weekly science roundup. It's a short listen, covered third in this section (starting around 5m30s) featuring comments from
@charan-neuro.bsky.social .
www.npr.org/2025/10/30/n...
@charan-neuro.bsky.social .
www.npr.org/2025/10/30/n...
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
Our very own Rick Robins received the prestigious @spspnews.bsky.social 2025 Block Award in recognition of the many accomplishments throughout his career. Several other members of our Social-Personality Area also received honors and awards from SPSP.
lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu/news-notewor...
lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu/news-notewor...
Career Award for Richard Robins Among Society for Personality and Social Psychology 2025 Honors
Richard Robins is among the 2025 honorees of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), the world’s largest association of social and personality psychologists.
lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu
October 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Our very own Rick Robins received the prestigious @spspnews.bsky.social 2025 Block Award in recognition of the many accomplishments throughout his career. Several other members of our Social-Personality Area also received honors and awards from SPSP.
lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu/news-notewor...
lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu/news-notewor...
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
You learn better when you test yourself on an answer before you study it? Even more counterintuitive, our findings showcase that there is not one direct mechanism to this effect.
Thank you @charan-neuro.bsky.social , @xiaonanl.bsky.social , and @jameswardantony.bsky.social !
doi.org/10.1037/xlm0...
Thank you @charan-neuro.bsky.social , @xiaonanl.bsky.social , and @jameswardantony.bsky.social !
doi.org/10.1037/xlm0...
APA PsycNet
doi.org
October 7, 2025 at 5:59 PM
You learn better when you test yourself on an answer before you study it? Even more counterintuitive, our findings showcase that there is not one direct mechanism to this effect.
Thank you @charan-neuro.bsky.social , @xiaonanl.bsky.social , and @jameswardantony.bsky.social !
doi.org/10.1037/xlm0...
Thank you @charan-neuro.bsky.social , @xiaonanl.bsky.social , and @jameswardantony.bsky.social !
doi.org/10.1037/xlm0...
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
October 4, 2025 at 5:33 AM
New preprint 🌟 Psychology is core to cognitive science, and so it is vital we preserve it from harmful frames. @irisvanrooij.bsky.social & I use our psych and computer science expertise to analyse and craft:
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Critical Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Psychologists. doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🧵 1/
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
September 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
Last month, I launched my lab at Ohio State. Our lab website is now live, and we're recruiting graduate students this cycle! If you're interested in the cognitive (neuro)science of learning & memory, please reach out!
www.momentslab.org
www.momentslab.org
Moments Lab
www.momentslab.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Last month, I launched my lab at Ohio State. Our lab website is now live, and we're recruiting graduate students this cycle! If you're interested in the cognitive (neuro)science of learning & memory, please reach out!
www.momentslab.org
www.momentslab.org
Word. "General" intelligence will involve inherent compromises. More data or layers is not the answer. Metacognition is what helps humans calibrate confidence.
September 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Word. "General" intelligence will involve inherent compromises. More data or layers is not the answer. Metacognition is what helps humans calibrate confidence.
Very cool new results from @alexbarnett.bsky.social !
New preprint! My stellar undergrad, June Kim, & @charan-neuro.bsky.social find that intersubject pattern similarity at encoding (especially in posteromedial cortex) relates to shared/differing content between Ss at recall (measured using topic modeling) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Natural language processing captures memory content associated with shared neural patterns at encoding
People can experience the same event yet form distinct memories shaped by individual interpretations. Prior research shows that multivariate activity patterns in the Default Mode Network (DMN) are cor...
www.biorxiv.org
September 16, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Very cool new results from @alexbarnett.bsky.social !
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
Happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week! We're thrilled to spotlight 💫Dr. Qianqian Wan💫, a postdoctoral scholar in @charan-neuro.bsky.social's Dynamic Memory Lab and Dr. Joy Geng's Attention Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social. Learn more: dml.ucdavis.edu #PostdocAppreciationWeek2025 #NPAW2025 #LabsToLives
September 16, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week! We're thrilled to spotlight 💫Dr. Qianqian Wan💫, a postdoctoral scholar in @charan-neuro.bsky.social's Dynamic Memory Lab and Dr. Joy Geng's Attention Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social. Learn more: dml.ucdavis.edu #PostdocAppreciationWeek2025 #NPAW2025 #LabsToLives
We are looking for our next colleague. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions!
UC Davis is hiring! A tenure-track assistant professor of psychology, in human cognition or cognitive neuroscience #psychjobs recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07300
Assistant Professor of Psychology - Human Cognition or Cognitive Neuroscience
University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!
recruit.ucdavis.edu
September 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
We are looking for our next colleague. Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions!
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
😏 ...Next? www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Apple Sued by Authors for Copyright Infringement
On Friday, authors Grady Hendrix and Jennifer Roberson filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Apple accusing the company of illegally using their books to train its AI.
www.publishersweekly.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:47 PM
😏 ...Next? www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
I really enjoyed talking to Meryl Horn about memory, & the Science Vs. team put it together w/interviews from Jan Born & Loren Frank and made an episode that's clear, true to the science, and fun!
New episodes of Science Vs start TODAY! First up: Memory. Tons of us feel like our memories are terrible. So we're asking: How worried should we be about this? Plus, we'll give you the science-approved ways to boost your memory ... 🧪
open.spotify.com/episode/0MeY...
open.spotify.com/episode/0MeY...
Memory: How to Boost It
open.spotify.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I really enjoyed talking to Meryl Horn about memory, & the Science Vs. team put it together w/interviews from Jan Born & Loren Frank and made an episode that's clear, true to the science, and fun!
So my book, "Why We Remember" (English and Italian versions) plus a ton of my papers are in this database. Sad but unsurprising given that ChatGPT can tell me all sorts of things about my book. Sharing this for anyone else who might be affected.
There's a lawsuit about AI stealing your work. It's the same lawyers taking on Elsevier et al in a separate case.
Academics:
1. Check if your work is in LibGen at www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
2. If so, let the lawyers know at www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
Academics:
1. Check if your work is in LibGen at www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
2. If so, let the lawyers know at www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.
As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how
Part 1: is your work in Libgen?
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how
Part 1: is your work in Libgen?
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
September 5, 2025 at 7:11 AM
So my book, "Why We Remember" (English and Italian versions) plus a ton of my papers are in this database. Sad but unsurprising given that ChatGPT can tell me all sorts of things about my book. Sharing this for anyone else who might be affected.
New study examining predictive eye movements during naturalistic events. These effects can occur without awareness and show sleep-mediated consolidation effects. Cool stuff! (I only made a small contribution to the study but it was fun to be involved)
No one ever steps in the same movie twice. Anticipatory gaze 👁️ indicate episodic memory seconds before an event occurs. 🧠🐾 Very robust effects across both natural and crafted movies, and of course, after sleep! 😴. Out today in Communication Psychology:
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Check it out!
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Check it out!
Anticipatory eye gaze as a marker of memory - Communications Psychology
Anticipatory eye movements during repeated movie viewing reveal when and what is remembered. Gaze patterns correlate with explicit reports, offering a method to detect memory for events without verbal...
www.nature.com
August 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
New study examining predictive eye movements during naturalistic events. These effects can occur without awareness and show sleep-mediated consolidation effects. Cool stuff! (I only made a small contribution to the study but it was fun to be involved)
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
Breaking: A federal judge ordered the Trump admin. to restore a portion of the 800 federal science research grants that it suspended at UCLA, delivering a major setback to efforts to force the university into a $1 billion settlement buff.ly/cJKbdTY
📝 @mzinshteyn.bsky.social
📸 Jules Hotz
📝 @mzinshteyn.bsky.social
📸 Jules Hotz
August 13, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Breaking: A federal judge ordered the Trump admin. to restore a portion of the 800 federal science research grants that it suspended at UCLA, delivering a major setback to efforts to force the university into a $1 billion settlement buff.ly/cJKbdTY
📝 @mzinshteyn.bsky.social
📸 Jules Hotz
📝 @mzinshteyn.bsky.social
📸 Jules Hotz
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
My first PhD paper - with @lhuntneuro.bsky.social and @summerfieldlab.bsky.social - is now out in @plosbiology.org! We ask: how do humans (and deep neural networks) navigate flexibly even in unfamiliar environments, such as a new city? Link: plos.io/45uSwNm 🧵 (1/6)
August 7, 2025 at 8:37 PM
My first PhD paper - with @lhuntneuro.bsky.social and @summerfieldlab.bsky.social - is now out in @plosbiology.org! We ask: how do humans (and deep neural networks) navigate flexibly even in unfamiliar environments, such as a new city? Link: plos.io/45uSwNm 🧵 (1/6)
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
"Large language models surpass human experts in predicting neuroscience results" w @ken-lxl.bsky.social
and braingpt.org. LLMs integrate a noisy yet interrelated scientific literature to forecast outcomes. nature.com/articles/s41... 1/8
and braingpt.org. LLMs integrate a noisy yet interrelated scientific literature to forecast outcomes. nature.com/articles/s41... 1/8
November 27, 2024 at 2:13 PM
"Large language models surpass human experts in predicting neuroscience results" w @ken-lxl.bsky.social
and braingpt.org. LLMs integrate a noisy yet interrelated scientific literature to forecast outcomes. nature.com/articles/s41... 1/8
and braingpt.org. LLMs integrate a noisy yet interrelated scientific literature to forecast outcomes. nature.com/articles/s41... 1/8
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
I’m elated to share our latest publication - out now in @natmentalhealth.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s44... - tour de force by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @brainandstomach.bsky.social and the rest of the VMP team!
Stomach–brain coupling indexes a dimensional signature of mental health - Nature Mental Health
Using a relatively large and diverse sample of mostly young adults, this study by Banellis, Rebollo and colleagues examines associations between regional stomach–brain coupling and mental health and i...
www.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 10:25 AM
I’m elated to share our latest publication - out now in @natmentalhealth.nature.com! www.nature.com/articles/s44... - tour de force by @leahbanellis.bsky.social @brainandstomach.bsky.social and the rest of the VMP team!
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
New paper led by @codydong.bsky.social now out in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, exploring the relationship between memory-augmented LLMs and human episodic memory – see Cody’s post below for a short thread and a non-paywalled paper link! #NeuroAI doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
July 28, 2025 at 1:43 PM
New paper led by @codydong.bsky.social now out in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social, exploring the relationship between memory-augmented LLMs and human episodic memory – see Cody’s post below for a short thread and a non-paywalled paper link! #NeuroAI doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
I was given the opportunity to write a brief highlight of a paper that is important to the field & personally meaningful, and I chose to write about @drjenryan.bsky.social's elegant work linking the hippocampus to eye movement markers of relational memory. Read more about it here! 👇🏼
rdcu.be/eyaXA
rdcu.be/eyaXA
Eye movements provide insight into amnesia
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - In this Journal Club, Mariam Aly discusses a 2000 study that attempted to settle the debate about whether implicit memories are lost or retained in amnesia.
rdcu.be
July 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I was given the opportunity to write a brief highlight of a paper that is important to the field & personally meaningful, and I chose to write about @drjenryan.bsky.social's elegant work linking the hippocampus to eye movement markers of relational memory. Read more about it here! 👇🏼
rdcu.be/eyaXA
rdcu.be/eyaXA
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
This is a terrible take, starting with the assumption that models based on *text* accurately reflect Language, snd that Language itself is an amodal, arbitrary, symbolic system, which it’s not. Language is inherently multimodal and polysemiotic, and text is not natural language production
July 26, 2025 at 7:22 PM
This is a terrible take, starting with the assumption that models based on *text* accurately reflect Language, snd that Language itself is an amodal, arbitrary, symbolic system, which it’s not. Language is inherently multimodal and polysemiotic, and text is not natural language production
Being a scientist is my day job, but I also write and perform music. I've finally posted some live vids by my band, theNULL: youtu.be/Zdu6Z2XpqeM?...
We also have an Instagram @thenull_davis and it would really help us to get some follows for getting gigs. Speaking of which, merch is coming soon!
We also have an Instagram @thenull_davis and it would really help us to get some follows for getting gigs. Speaking of which, merch is coming soon!
"Automaton" by theNULL
YouTube video by Charan Ranganath
youtu.be
July 7, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Being a scientist is my day job, but I also write and perform music. I've finally posted some live vids by my band, theNULL: youtu.be/Zdu6Z2XpqeM?...
We also have an Instagram @thenull_davis and it would really help us to get some follows for getting gigs. Speaking of which, merch is coming soon!
We also have an Instagram @thenull_davis and it would really help us to get some follows for getting gigs. Speaking of which, merch is coming soon!
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
I've been building a model of how intrusive thoughts can warp cognitive maps (world model) in PTSD & derail goal-directed behavior. It combines successor representation & prioritized replay. I started off with a grid world, then embeddings. Today in a story recall task, reading the text was moving:
July 2, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I've been building a model of how intrusive thoughts can warp cognitive maps (world model) in PTSD & derail goal-directed behavior. It combines successor representation & prioritized replay. I started off with a grid world, then embeddings. Today in a story recall task, reading the text was moving:
Reposted by Charan Ranganath
🧠 Paper out!
We investigated how hippocampal and cortical ripples support memory during movie watching. We found that:
🎬 Hippocampal ripples mark event boundaries
🧩 Cortical ripples predict later recall
Ripples may help transform real-life experiences into lasting memories!
rdcu.be/eui9l
We investigated how hippocampal and cortical ripples support memory during movie watching. We found that:
🎬 Hippocampal ripples mark event boundaries
🧩 Cortical ripples predict later recall
Ripples may help transform real-life experiences into lasting memories!
rdcu.be/eui9l
Movie-watching evokes ripple-like activity within events and at event boundaries
Nature Communications - The neural processes involved in memory formation for realistic experiences remain poorly understood. Here, the authors found that ripple-like activity in the human...
rdcu.be
July 1, 2025 at 1:26 PM
🧠 Paper out!
We investigated how hippocampal and cortical ripples support memory during movie watching. We found that:
🎬 Hippocampal ripples mark event boundaries
🧩 Cortical ripples predict later recall
Ripples may help transform real-life experiences into lasting memories!
rdcu.be/eui9l
We investigated how hippocampal and cortical ripples support memory during movie watching. We found that:
🎬 Hippocampal ripples mark event boundaries
🧩 Cortical ripples predict later recall
Ripples may help transform real-life experiences into lasting memories!
rdcu.be/eui9l