Divyansh Gupta
@divyanshg.bsky.social
neural circuits, dynamics and computation
PhD student in Munich (TUM & MPI-BI)
previously: UW, IISER-P
PhD student in Munich (TUM & MPI-BI)
previously: UW, IISER-P
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
I wrote a thing on episodic memory and systems consolidation. I hope you all enjoy it and/or find it interesting.
A neural state space for episodic memories
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition 🧪
A neural state space for episodic memories
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition 🧪
A neural state space for episodic memories
Episodic memories are highly dynamic and change in nonlinear ways over time. This dynamism is not captured by existing systems consolidation theories …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:56 PM
I wrote a thing on episodic memory and systems consolidation. I hope you all enjoy it and/or find it interesting.
A neural state space for episodic memories
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition 🧪
A neural state space for episodic memories
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition 🧪
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
When I was an undergrad, I saw a talk by Oliver Sacks about music. During the Q&A, someone asked Sacks if he thought science would reveal the deepest mysteries of art. Sacks (a rare humanist among scientists) said that he doubted it, at which Eric Kandel (the host) leaped up and grabbed the mic.
October 15, 2025 at 9:27 AM
When I was an undergrad, I saw a talk by Oliver Sacks about music. During the Q&A, someone asked Sacks if he thought science would reveal the deepest mysteries of art. Sacks (a rare humanist among scientists) said that he doubted it, at which Eric Kandel (the host) leaped up and grabbed the mic.
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
I’m pleased to share our new paper, “Hippocampal ripple diversity organizes neuronal reactivation dynamics in the offline brain”, out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social !
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
October 2, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I’m pleased to share our new paper, “Hippocampal ripple diversity organizes neuronal reactivation dynamics in the offline brain”, out in @cp-neuron.bsky.social !
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
With @vitorlds.bsky.social and David Dupret, we show that diversity in ripple current profiles shapes reactivation dynamics
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
1/8
How can the brain create countless unique memories using a single, universal metric of space? We’ve been waiting for the answer to this for two decades!
Read it here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How can the brain create countless unique memories using a single, universal metric of space? We’ve been waiting for the answer to this for two decades!
Read it here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 25, 2025 at 4:15 AM
1/8
How can the brain create countless unique memories using a single, universal metric of space? We’ve been waiting for the answer to this for two decades!
Read it here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How can the brain create countless unique memories using a single, universal metric of space? We’ve been waiting for the answer to this for two decades!
Read it here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
I once saw a (very interesting) talk about sleep in which the speaker started by saying that we don't really know how to define sleep, and then proceeded to operationalize sleep in flies as basically periods when they are still for a long time. This got me thinking...
September 21, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I once saw a (very interesting) talk about sleep in which the speaker started by saying that we don't really know how to define sleep, and then proceeded to operationalize sleep in flies as basically periods when they are still for a long time. This got me thinking...
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
New book— just got my copy! I know people often don’t read book chapters but I think that’s a mistake. They are usually much more reflective and wide ranging than journal articles.
September 16, 2025 at 10:20 PM
New book— just got my copy! I know people often don’t read book chapters but I think that’s a mistake. They are usually much more reflective and wide ranging than journal articles.
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
September 6, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
1/n
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Great interview with @stevenstrogatz.com with a lot of discussion of research advising. Parts reminded me of @eegilbert.org and @informor.bsky.social's (excellent) guides to PhD mentorship, with a big focus on ideation.
Eric's: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Mor's: s.tech.cornell.edu/phd-syllabus/
Eric's: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Mor's: s.tech.cornell.edu/phd-syllabus/
August 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Great interview with @stevenstrogatz.com with a lot of discussion of research advising. Parts reminded me of @eegilbert.org and @informor.bsky.social's (excellent) guides to PhD mentorship, with a big focus on ideation.
Eric's: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Mor's: s.tech.cornell.edu/phd-syllabus/
Eric's: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Mor's: s.tech.cornell.edu/phd-syllabus/
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Our study is out in Nature!
Using wireless Neuropixels we recorded hippocampal activity in freely flying bats and uncovered replay and theta(less) sweeps, revealing striking differences from classic rodent models.
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Using wireless Neuropixels we recorded hippocampal activity in freely flying bats and uncovered replay and theta(less) sweeps, revealing striking differences from classic rodent models.
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Replay and representation dynamics in the hippocampus of freely flying bats - Nature
Nature - Replay and representation dynamics in the hippocampus of freely flying bats
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Our study is out in Nature!
Using wireless Neuropixels we recorded hippocampal activity in freely flying bats and uncovered replay and theta(less) sweeps, revealing striking differences from classic rodent models.
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Using wireless Neuropixels we recorded hippocampal activity in freely flying bats and uncovered replay and theta(less) sweeps, revealing striking differences from classic rodent models.
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Humans and animals can rapidly learn in new environments. What computations support this? We study the mechanisms of in-context reinforcement learning in transformers, and propose how episodic memory can support rapid learning. Work w/ @kanakarajanphd.bsky.social : arxiv.org/abs/2506.19686
From memories to maps: Mechanisms of in context reinforcement learning in transformers
Humans and animals show remarkable learning efficiency, adapting to new environments with minimal experience. This capability is not well captured by standard reinforcement learning algorithms that re...
arxiv.org
June 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Humans and animals can rapidly learn in new environments. What computations support this? We study the mechanisms of in-context reinforcement learning in transformers, and propose how episodic memory can support rapid learning. Work w/ @kanakarajanphd.bsky.social : arxiv.org/abs/2506.19686
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Our new story. Now also posted by the official side. :)
Activity patterns drift. Representational maps are preserved.
Even after single neuron ablations, representational maps are recovered within days.
Activity patterns drift. Representational maps are preserved.
Even after single neuron ablations, representational maps are recovered within days.
How homeostatic mechanisms protect the representational map of sounds after neuron loss in mouse auditory cortex
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Homeostasis of a representational map in the neocortex - Nature Neuroscience
This study investigates how homeostatic mechanisms endow sensory representations in the auditory cortex with resilience against neuron loss. The map of sounds has the ability to recover after microabl...
www.nature.com
June 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Our new story. Now also posted by the official side. :)
Activity patterns drift. Representational maps are preserved.
Even after single neuron ablations, representational maps are recovered within days.
Activity patterns drift. Representational maps are preserved.
Even after single neuron ablations, representational maps are recovered within days.
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
My latest Aronov lab paper is now published @Nature!
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
June 11, 2025 at 10:24 PM
My latest Aronov lab paper is now published @Nature!
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Multiday imaging of CA1 neurons during learning reveals that the representation stabilizes as the number of readily retrievable, information-rich and stable place cells increases, and suggests novel mechanisms of hippocampal memory formation
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Formation of an expanding memory representation in the hippocampus - Nature Neuroscience
Multiday imaging of CA1 neurons during learning reveals that the representation stabilizes as the number of readily retrievable, information-rich and stable place cells increases and suggests novel me...
www.nature.com
June 10, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Multiday imaging of CA1 neurons during learning reveals that the representation stabilizes as the number of readily retrievable, information-rich and stable place cells increases, and suggests novel mechanisms of hippocampal memory formation
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Pleased to say "Space, Time, and Memory", an academic book by Oxford University Press edited by the inimitable Lynn Nadel & Sara Aronowitz is now out.
I contributed a chapter, "Memory and Planning in Brains and Machines".
You can download the entire book for free:
library.oapen.org/bitstream/ha...
I contributed a chapter, "Memory and Planning in Brains and Machines".
You can download the entire book for free:
library.oapen.org/bitstream/ha...
June 9, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Pleased to say "Space, Time, and Memory", an academic book by Oxford University Press edited by the inimitable Lynn Nadel & Sara Aronowitz is now out.
I contributed a chapter, "Memory and Planning in Brains and Machines".
You can download the entire book for free:
library.oapen.org/bitstream/ha...
I contributed a chapter, "Memory and Planning in Brains and Machines".
You can download the entire book for free:
library.oapen.org/bitstream/ha...
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
New paper from Laura Lewis and Jan Engelmann et al. (including me) with a clever new method. Chimps and kids will forgo reward to get a chance to look at social interactions
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....
Chimpanzees and children are curious about social interactions | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Curiosity is adaptive, enhances learning, and reduces uncertainty. Social curiosity is defined as the motivation to gain information about the actions, relationships, and psychology of others. Little is known about the developmental and evolutionary roots ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
June 4, 2025 at 5:19 PM
New paper from Laura Lewis and Jan Engelmann et al. (including me) with a clever new method. Chimps and kids will forgo reward to get a chance to look at social interactions
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Sharing a new paper from the lab. This paper, led by Sangyoon Ko, represents a merging of two longstanding research themes in the lab-- adult neurogenesis and systems consolidation.
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
Systems consolidation reorganizes hippocampal engram circuitry
Nature - A study shows that loss of memory precision associated with systems consolidation can be explained by neurogenesis-dependent reorganization of engram circuitry within the hippocampus over...
rdcu.be
May 14, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Sharing a new paper from the lab. This paper, led by Sangyoon Ko, represents a merging of two longstanding research themes in the lab-- adult neurogenesis and systems consolidation.
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
rdcu.be/el18q
A short thread follows for those interested.
1/n
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
In a recent study, @antoinemadar.bsky.social & Mark Sheffield looked at place cells of the mouse hippocampus in vivo to understand what plasticity rules support learning—spoiler alert, it wasn’t Hebbian plasticity! Go check out my story for @thetransmitter.bsky.social
#neuroskyence 🧪
#neuroskyence 🧪
Learning in living mice defies classic synaptic plasticity rule
Donald Hebb’s theory—memorably summarized as “cells that fire together, wire together”—does not explain the shifting hippocampal connections in mice learning to navigate a virtual environment…
www.thetransmitter.org
June 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM
In a recent study, @antoinemadar.bsky.social & Mark Sheffield looked at place cells of the mouse hippocampus in vivo to understand what plasticity rules support learning—spoiler alert, it wasn’t Hebbian plasticity! Go check out my story for @thetransmitter.bsky.social
#neuroskyence 🧪
#neuroskyence 🧪
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Want to know what synaptic plasticity rules operate in-vivo to support learning? Read our new paper, combining computational modeling and analysis of place field trajectories during familiarization to novel environments.
#BTSP #STDP #hippocampus #CA1 #CA3
#FirstBlueskyTweet
#BTSP #STDP #hippocampus #CA1 #CA3
#FirstBlueskyTweet
Behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP), not Hebbian spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), explains heterogenous place field shifting in the mouse hippocampus 🧠🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Synaptic plasticity rules driving representational shifting in the hippocampus - Nature Neuroscience
Madar et al. report that behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP), not spike-timing-dependent plasticity, explains heterogeneous place fields shifting in the hippocampus. The probability of BTS...
www.nature.com
March 25, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Want to know what synaptic plasticity rules operate in-vivo to support learning? Read our new paper, combining computational modeling and analysis of place field trajectories during familiarization to novel environments.
#BTSP #STDP #hippocampus #CA1 #CA3
#FirstBlueskyTweet
#BTSP #STDP #hippocampus #CA1 #CA3
#FirstBlueskyTweet
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
New paper out with @hafting.bsky.social and @markandermann.bsky.social lab on reactivations and memory consolidation : www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Local inhibitory circuits mediate cortical reactivations and memory consolidation
Reducing inhibitory activity after training prevents cortical reactivations and memory consolidation.
www.science.org
June 2, 2025 at 3:54 PM
New paper out with @hafting.bsky.social and @markandermann.bsky.social lab on reactivations and memory consolidation : www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
1/ Super-excited to share our new work “Episodic and associative memory from spatial scaffolds in the hippocampus”, that just appeared in Nature! www.nature.com/articles/s41... Key insights and ideas 👇#tweeprint
Episodic and associative memory from spatial scaffolds in the hippocampus - Nature
A neocortical–entorhinal–hippocampal network model based on grid cell states recapitulates experimental results and reconciles the spatial, associative and episodic memory roles of the hippocampus.
www.nature.com
January 17, 2025 at 12:08 AM
1/ Super-excited to share our new work “Episodic and associative memory from spatial scaffolds in the hippocampus”, that just appeared in Nature! www.nature.com/articles/s41... Key insights and ideas 👇#tweeprint
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Sharing our most recent paper, in which we find that electrical synapses in C. elegans drive action selection by "filtering" sensory information. C. elegans can learn temp, move across the temp. gradient and then track that temp. How? Configuration electrical synapses www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... 1/
Configuration of electrical synapses filters sensory information to drive behavioral choices
Sensory information can be differentially processed, enabling similar sensory stimuli
to elicit different, context-specific behavioral strategies. This study uncovers a
conserved configuration of elec...
www.cell.com
January 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Sharing our most recent paper, in which we find that electrical synapses in C. elegans drive action selection by "filtering" sensory information. C. elegans can learn temp, move across the temp. gradient and then track that temp. How? Configuration electrical synapses www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... 1/
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
What are your favorite papers on the evolution of learning and memory?
December 7, 2024 at 6:18 PM
What are your favorite papers on the evolution of learning and memory?
Reposted by Divyansh Gupta
Everyone is worried about not being taken seriously, about being regarded as a crackpot, loose cannon, intellectual lightweight, dilettante, gadfly. I'm more worried about what happens when the spirit of subversion ebbs away. Everyone plows forward dutifully in their furrows.
November 27, 2024 at 3:14 PM
Everyone is worried about not being taken seriously, about being regarded as a crackpot, loose cannon, intellectual lightweight, dilettante, gadfly. I'm more worried about what happens when the spirit of subversion ebbs away. Everyone plows forward dutifully in their furrows.