Alexander Harris
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dralexharris.bsky.social
Alexander Harris
@dralexharris.bsky.social
3.7K followers 2K following 720 posts
Neuroscientist/Psychiatrist at Columbia Psychiatry. Circuits. Stress susceptibility & resilience. Reward seeking. Oscillations
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dralexharris.bsky.social
Alexander Harris @dralexharris.bsky.social · Jan 2
תפשׂת מרובה לא תפשׂת, תפשׂת מועט תפשׂת
-Talmudic reasoning principle & good life advice.
dralexharris.bsky.social
מי יתן ה׳
מלך מלכי המלכים
דורש הליכה בדרכיו
נעשה עולם בלי רעב ומלחמה
ימצא שפע טובה ומעדנים כעפר
November 5, 2025 at 1:46 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Isn’t it interesting that at least once a week we say ומפני חטאינו גלינו מארצינו?

Not מפני שאבותינו חטאו , not מפני שאויבינו חטאו

The tefilla seems to encourage an internal locus of control
September 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Sh’niyihe l’roast v’lo l’zanav
Silver tip roast marinated in wine, shallots & juniper berries
September 21, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
bendeskylab.com
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Computational Ecology and/or Evolution @columbiauniversity.bsky.social.
Deadline to apply September 30.
Reach out if you have questions.

apply.interfolio.com/172496
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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September 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Make sure double check that patient’s name before giving a vaccine so it’s not a זריקה שלא לשמה
September 21, 2025 at 1:18 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
דרך ישראל סבא

אלה בנצחנימו, ואלה ברצחנימו הבטחות

ואנחנו בשם נצח ישראל כפינו
שטוחות

🕊️ 🤲
September 19, 2025 at 1:04 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
מוסיפין מחול על הקודש ומקודש על החול
Picture of racks of round challos for Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah
September 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
R. Meilich Biderman tells an awesome story about the Ruzhiner Rebbe that subverts the expectation of a miraculous happy ending
The Ruzhiner zt'l told his chasidim a story of a businessman who lost out on a lucrative business deal because he didn't want to do business before Shacharis. He had many animal skins, and he had a hard time selling them. A customer came to his home and wanted to buy all of them, but it was before Shacharis, and the businessman didn't want to wait. So he left and bought the skins elsewhere. The chasidim were silent, waiting for the end of the story. The Ruzhiner told them, "I see that you want to hear the end of the story, but that is the end. He kept the halachah, he didn't sell before Shacharis, and he lost a lot of money."
September 11, 2025 at 1:15 AM
dralexharris.bsky.social
I find this video fascinating youtube.com/watch?v=hrVQ...
The Vurka Rebbe tells his chossid that he can’t perform a miracle to cure his child but he can he cry with him. That would be a lesson about the interpersonal power of empathy, BUT the chossid walks away dejected.
1/n
Vurka - Avrum Mordche Schwartz | ווארקא - אברהם מרדכי שווארץ
YouTube video by Avrum Mordche אברהם מרדכי
youtube.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
kathaschmack.bsky.social
Thrilled to join this amazing panel to talk consciousness, psychosis and the biology of experience 🧠 🧬

Get your tickets and submit your questions 👇
crick.ac.uk The Francis Crick Institute @crick.ac.uk · Aug 28
What is consciousness?

Meet the panellists for an upcoming live episode recording of our new podcast, A Question of Science:

@anilseth.bsky.social, @smfleming.bsky.social, @kathaschmack.bsky.social and Alex O'Connor

📅 9 September 14:45
🎟️ Book your free tickets now ⬇️
🔗 lostintv.com/tv-show?id=1...
Brian Cox sitting on a chair on a well-lit stage, with two guests on either side. Each person has a microphone in front of them.
August 29, 2025 at 2:29 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Does anyone have any insight into how היפיש גוט came to mean decent? Hübsch means pretty
August 29, 2025 at 12:28 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
ChatGPT is like Zeresh: a cheerleading loved one before the fact, a wise scold after the fact.
August 25, 2025 at 12:53 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
This blew me away!
drdamienfair.bsky.social Damien Fair @drdamienfair.bsky.social · Aug 10
I still get chills

Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts

Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE

see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
August 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
drdamienfair.bsky.social
I still get chills

Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts

Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE

see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
August 10, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
cdelawalla.bsky.social
Here’s my top line overview:
Trump has signed a new EO that puts us firmly into authoritarian overreach territory. Here's the top line: 1. Calls for political appointees--without science background--to approve all new funding opportunities and **every funded grant** to be sure it aligns with "the President's policy priorities". 2. Any grant that doesn't advance "agency priorities" can be cancelled at any time. 3. Funding cannot be given for research that: promotes "anti-American values", suggests sex isn't binary, and uses any selection for race. (Say good-bye to all c. elegans work!) 4. Funding will be prioritized to institutions that implement the "Gold Standard Science" and have the lowest indirect cost caps.  5. Grant peer-review is fine for now, but seems to be under threat for the future.
August 8, 2025 at 1:10 AM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Today’s daf!
Herma of Demosthenes from the Athenian Agora, work by Polyeuktos, c. 280 BC, Glyptothek ^ Origin In the earliest times Greek divinities were worshipped in the form of a heap of stones or a shapeless column of stone or wood. In many parts of Greece there were piles of stones by the sides of roads, especially at their crossings, and on the boundaries of lands. The religious respect paid to such heaps of stones, especially at the meeting of roads, is shown by the custom of each passer-by throwing a stone on to the heap or anointing it with oil. Later there was the addition of a head and phallus to the column, which became quadrangular (the number four was sacred to Hermes). Name and origin The earliest form of the name Hermes is the Mycenaean Greek *hermahãs, written e-ma-a2 (e-ma-ha) in the Linear B syllabic script. Other forms of the name of Hermes are Hermeias, Hermaön, Hermãn, Hermaios, and Hermayos. Most scholars derive Hermes from Greek (herma), 'stone heap’, Hermax, ('heap of stones'), hermaion, ('gift of Hermes'), hermaios hill were holy to Hermes.
August 7, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
merridee.bsky.social
Yeah dopamine encodes reward but what about when contingencies shift and behavior needs to be flexible? Turns out VTA GABA neuron activity plays a role, check it out in my first postdoctoral research article here!👇
bita137.bsky.social Bita Moghaddam @bita137.bsky.social · Jul 31
New lab paper by @merridee.bsky.social identifying a novel role for VTA GABA neurons in behavioral flexibility

GABA, but not dopamine, neuron activation correlates with behavior when cues unexpectedly shift from predicting punishment to predicting reward www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons
In dynamic environments where stimuli predicting reward or punishment unexpectedly change, it is critical to flexibly update behavior while preserving…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social
'Untangling the multifaceted VTA responses to stress'

by Urszula Skupio, Alexander Harris & Abigail Polter
@ampolter.bsky.social @dralexharris.bsky.social

www.cell.com/trends/neuro...
July 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
jeremymberg.bsky.social
So this happened... Useful if you want to make economic (and health) arguments about the importance of NIH.
July 25, 2025 at 12:09 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
A sesame chicken & a balsamic-ginger-peach chicken.
Wishing for peace. Gut Shabbos
July 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Have you ever wondered why it’s called “The Three Weeks” but sefira isn’t called “The 7 weeks”? Sefira is literally about the 7 weeks, bain hamitzorim just happens to be 3 weeks long!
July 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
mikefeigin.bsky.social
“With these considerations, we expect to fund through the 4th percentile.”

There it is, in black and white, the destruction of cancer research in the US.
July 23, 2025 at 10:21 PM
dralexharris.bsky.social
Well then. Glad we sorted that out.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Jul 24
Linda McMahon on Columbia settlement: "This is a monumental victory for conservatives who wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far left-leaning professors."
July 25, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
acnporg.bsky.social
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Kate Fitzgerald
@KDFitzgerald_MD, professor at @columbiapsych.bsky.social and expert in child and adolescent psychiatry, as the newest Associate Editor at NPP! "Meet the Editor" with Dr. Kate Fitzgerald youtu.be/zDnOFSm9kxg?... via
@YouTube @npp-journal.bsky.social
npp's "Meet the Editor" with Dr. Kate Fitzgerald
YouTube video by NPP Journal
youtu.be
July 21, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Alexander Harris
ellenbraaten.bsky.social
This FDA hearing is a sham. There is enough stigma and confusion about treatment for medically-based psychiatric issues. These lies will result in deaths of people who have treatable illnesses.
drjengunter.bsky.social Dr. Jen Gunter @drjengunter.bsky.social · Jul 21
She claims that SSRIS don't decrease suicide and depression can have "some effect on bringing up children" and seems to disagree they can help women at all
July 21, 2025 at 6:31 PM