Isaac Ostlund
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isaacostlund.bsky.social
Isaac Ostlund
@isaacostlund.bsky.social
3.2K followers 750 following 24 posts
Scientist, writer, human.

PhD Neurophysiologist, NIH specialist, researcher, game designer, and artist.

Views are my own. DFTBA

#NIH #NINDS #NIMH #BRAIN #neuro #neuroscience #science #research #neurons #SciFi #cognition
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isaacostlund.bsky.social
Cold Horizons

This is a #SciFi #digitalart #landscape I did. I've noticed a lot of my more recent work is aimed at a hopeful future, but also feels sort of lonely.

#art #oc
A white and gray landscape of cold ice, snow, and stone stretches into a horizon under a sea of stars on a clear night. A lone explorer sets up camp near his ship while a red planet orbits the alien world in the dark sky.
January 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
isaacostlund.bsky.social
Some of my prior #research shows how certain adult neurons tied to reward resist change!

It is free access!

doi.org/10.3389/fnin...

On a macro level, this could provide a new hypothesis for why adults exhibit resistance to #learning, #anxiety, and #addiction.

#neuroscience #science 🧠🧪
Neurons in adults are more "rigid" and require more stimulus to change. This is represented by a cartoon of neurons within an adult silhouette having straight and firm connections, opposed to the neurons within a child that have more flexible and adaptable connections.
December 2, 2024 at 6:19 PM
isaacostlund.bsky.social
We recently discovered that #marijuana (THC specifically) reduces GABA #neuron activity. This explains some of the rewarding effects of THC because the depression of GABA #neurons can lead to increased dopamine release, which can make us feel pretty good.

#science #EduSky

doi.org/10.3389/fnin...
A five progren green leaf. Very pretty! Waaait... Is that marijuana??
November 25, 2024 at 8:37 PM
isaacostlund.bsky.social
Untapped Potential

This is a #scifi #digitalart piece I did a few years ago.

We have the potential to reach into the stars, find new technologies, save the planet, and so much more. But right now, it's unrealized. Will we make it? I want to feel hope, space exploration gives me that.

#art #future
Two futuristic spacecraft soar over a blue ocean in a canyon lined with majestic green cliffs. A sweeping misty and verdant landscape is touched with the clean and careful advancement of humankind as they explore new horizons.
November 23, 2024 at 4:17 AM
isaacostlund.bsky.social
"On a macro level, our research could provide a new hypothesis for why adults exhibit greater resistance to learning, anxiety, and addiction compared to children and adolescents."

I made this image for a summary presentation I did a while back. #neuroscience #plasticity #science #digitalart #age
Two silhouettes stare at each other, an adult and a child. The brains of the two show inside as blue/white diagrams. The adult neurons have straight and rigid connections, while the child's brain has arcing and bending connections to illustrate flexibility and adaptability.
November 22, 2024 at 4:09 AM