Jens-Bastian Eppler
@j-b-eppler.bsky.social
Postdoc in Computational Neuroscience | CRM Barcelona
Mostly interested in the mechanisms underlying learning, forgetting, memory formation, and most recently also creativity. And "representational drift".
Mostly interested in the mechanisms underlying learning, forgetting, memory formation, and most recently also creativity. And "representational drift".
Loved working with our amazing outreach team on this short video about representational drift! @crmatematica.bsky.social
🧠🧪
In it, I explain the points we make in our recent review in CONEUR:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
🧠🧪
In it, I explain the points we make in our recent review in CONEUR:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Memories feel fixed, but the brain never stands still.
@j-b-eppler.bsky.social talks about representational drift; how memories remain stable even as the neurons behind them constantly change.
youtu.be/z63fmYSBcB0
#Neuroscience #Mathematics #Memory #Brain #CognitiveScience #Neurobiology #Research
@j-b-eppler.bsky.social talks about representational drift; how memories remain stable even as the neurons behind them constantly change.
youtu.be/z63fmYSBcB0
#Neuroscience #Mathematics #Memory #Brain #CognitiveScience #Neurobiology #Research
Why Your Brain Is Never Still: Representational Drift and Statistical Learning
YouTube video by Centre de Recerca Matemàtica
youtu.be
October 14, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Loved working with our amazing outreach team on this short video about representational drift! @crmatematica.bsky.social
🧠🧪
In it, I explain the points we make in our recent review in CONEUR:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
🧠🧪
In it, I explain the points we make in our recent review in CONEUR:
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
My talk at the WWTNS is now online!
In it, I explore how both random processes and Hebbian learning shape representational drift:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH4P...
In the end I raise the question:
How can neuronal activities change while representational similarity is preserved?
🧠🧪
In it, I explore how both random processes and Hebbian learning shape representational drift:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH4P...
In the end I raise the question:
How can neuronal activities change while representational similarity is preserved?
🧠🧪
Representational drift reflects ongoing balancing of stochastic changes by.... | Jens-Bastian Eppler
YouTube video by The Theoretical Neuroscience Channel
www.youtube.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:21 PM
My talk at the WWTNS is now online!
In it, I explore how both random processes and Hebbian learning shape representational drift:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH4P...
In the end I raise the question:
How can neuronal activities change while representational similarity is preserved?
🧠🧪
In it, I explore how both random processes and Hebbian learning shape representational drift:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH4P...
In the end I raise the question:
How can neuronal activities change while representational similarity is preserved?
🧠🧪
Following up on my last post with some more detail:
Our new opinion in CONEUR: Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Neural activity patterns drift over days. Yet, representational similarity remains stable. 🧠🧪
1/5
Our new opinion in CONEUR: Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Neural activity patterns drift over days. Yet, representational similarity remains stable. 🧠🧪
1/5
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
September 9, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Following up on my last post with some more detail:
Our new opinion in CONEUR: Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Neural activity patterns drift over days. Yet, representational similarity remains stable. 🧠🧪
1/5
Our new opinion in CONEUR: Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Neural activity patterns drift over days. Yet, representational similarity remains stable. 🧠🧪
1/5
New opinion paper out in CONEUR:
Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
We propose: Representational drift arises from stochastic changes balanced by statistical learning.
Probably with the craziest figure I’ll ever publish…
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
We propose: Representational drift arises from stochastic changes balanced by statistical learning.
Probably with the craziest figure I’ll ever publish…
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Redirecting
doi.org
September 7, 2025 at 11:52 AM
New opinion paper out in CONEUR:
Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
We propose: Representational drift arises from stochastic changes balanced by statistical learning.
Probably with the craziest figure I’ll ever publish…
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Statistical learning and representational drift: A dynamic substrate for memories
We propose: Representational drift arises from stochastic changes balanced by statistical learning.
Probably with the craziest figure I’ll ever publish…
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Great new review on neural manifolds by @juangallego.bsky.social and @mattperich.bsky.social.
Amazing read. Lots of intuition and examples. Great synthesis of why manifold structure pops up everywhere in neuroscience, from motor control to cognitive tasks.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
1/3
Amazing read. Lots of intuition and examples. Great synthesis of why manifold structure pops up everywhere in neuroscience, from motor control to cognitive tasks.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
1/3
A neural manifold view of the brain - Nature Neuroscience
Recent advances in neuroscience have revealed how neural population activity underlying behavior can be well described by topological objects called neural manifolds. Understanding how nature, nurture...
www.nature.com
August 4, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Great new review on neural manifolds by @juangallego.bsky.social and @mattperich.bsky.social.
Amazing read. Lots of intuition and examples. Great synthesis of why manifold structure pops up everywhere in neuroscience, from motor control to cognitive tasks.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
1/3
Amazing read. Lots of intuition and examples. Great synthesis of why manifold structure pops up everywhere in neuroscience, from motor control to cognitive tasks.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
1/3
New preprint by @carolinehaimerl.bsky.social:
A self-consistent model reproducing key features of representational drift without synaptic changes.
Great piece of theoretical work!
That said, I think it remains an academic exercise. Synapses change, all the time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧠🧪
A self-consistent model reproducing key features of representational drift without synaptic changes.
Great piece of theoretical work!
That said, I think it remains an academic exercise. Synapses change, all the time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧠🧪
www.biorxiv.org
August 2, 2025 at 7:29 AM
New preprint by @carolinehaimerl.bsky.social:
A self-consistent model reproducing key features of representational drift without synaptic changes.
Great piece of theoretical work!
That said, I think it remains an academic exercise. Synapses change, all the time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧠🧪
A self-consistent model reproducing key features of representational drift without synaptic changes.
Great piece of theoretical work!
That said, I think it remains an academic exercise. Synapses change, all the time.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧠🧪
Great new paper by my colleagues Gloria & Alex, and @lichengzou.bsky.social. Hebbian plasticity accounts for much of representational drift: Drift is ongoing memory storage, not noise. Also reconciles contradictory findings on stability after repeated exposure.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
Representational drift as the consequence of ongoing memory storage - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Representational drift as the consequence of ongoing memory storage
www.nature.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Great new paper by my colleagues Gloria & Alex, and @lichengzou.bsky.social. Hebbian plasticity accounts for much of representational drift: Drift is ongoing memory storage, not noise. Also reconciles contradictory findings on stability after repeated exposure.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧠🧪
Reposted by Jens-Bastian Eppler
⏳ Register for the #BernsteinConference by July 30 and secure the early-bird fees!
Register here 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
Register here 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
July 24, 2025 at 7:01 AM
⏳ Register for the #BernsteinConference by July 30 and secure the early-bird fees!
Register here 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
Register here 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
An alle Forscher*innen, die KI verwenden/erforschen und deutsch sprechen: Macht mit!
Ich war jetzt schon paarmal dabei und es hat immer sehr viel Spaß gemacht.
(Dieses Mal habe ich leider keine Zeit...)
🧪
Ich war jetzt schon paarmal dabei und es hat immer sehr viel Spaß gemacht.
(Dieses Mal habe ich leider keine Zeit...)
🧪
Ab sofort könnt ihr euch für die neue Runde von I’m a Scientist rund um #KI bewerben. Tauscht euch mit Schüler*innen zu eurer Forschung und aktuellen Fragen zu KI aus. Die Live-Chats finden vom 22. September bis zum 1. Oktober statt. Bewerbungsschluss: 31. August: imascientist.de/bewerbungsfo...
July 22, 2025 at 3:04 PM
An alle Forscher*innen, die KI verwenden/erforschen und deutsch sprechen: Macht mit!
Ich war jetzt schon paarmal dabei und es hat immer sehr viel Spaß gemacht.
(Dieses Mal habe ich leider keine Zeit...)
🧪
Ich war jetzt schon paarmal dabei und es hat immer sehr viel Spaß gemacht.
(Dieses Mal habe ich leider keine Zeit...)
🧪
Habe beim deutschen #ImAScientist zum Thema KI mitgemacht. Dort können Schüler*innen mit Wissenschaftler*innen chatten.
Ist oft super chaotisch mit einer ganzen Klasse zu chatten, aber macht richtig Spaß. Kann ich wirklich nur empfehlen!
Meine Eindrücke dazu:
imascientist.de/2025/07/09/d...
💬🧪🧠👩🔬👨🔬
Ist oft super chaotisch mit einer ganzen Klasse zu chatten, aber macht richtig Spaß. Kann ich wirklich nur empfehlen!
Meine Eindrücke dazu:
imascientist.de/2025/07/09/d...
💬🧪🧠👩🔬👨🔬
„Der Austausch mit den Schüler*innen hilft dabei, den Spaß und die Freude am Forschen nicht aus den Augen zu verlieren.” – Jens-Bastian Eppler, Gewinner der Themenrunde Künstliche Intelligenz im Inter...
imascientist.de
July 12, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Habe beim deutschen #ImAScientist zum Thema KI mitgemacht. Dort können Schüler*innen mit Wissenschaftler*innen chatten.
Ist oft super chaotisch mit einer ganzen Klasse zu chatten, aber macht richtig Spaß. Kann ich wirklich nur empfehlen!
Meine Eindrücke dazu:
imascientist.de/2025/07/09/d...
💬🧪🧠👩🔬👨🔬
Ist oft super chaotisch mit einer ganzen Klasse zu chatten, aber macht richtig Spaß. Kann ich wirklich nur empfehlen!
Meine Eindrücke dazu:
imascientist.de/2025/07/09/d...
💬🧪🧠👩🔬👨🔬
Don't forget to submit your abstracts! And see you in Frankfurt. :D
⌛ One week left to submit your poster abstracts and travel grant applications for the #BernsteinConference 2025!
🗓️ Deadline: July 15
All info and submission 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
🗓️ Deadline: July 15
All info and submission 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
July 8, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Don't forget to submit your abstracts! And see you in Frankfurt. :D
Just submitted my abstract. :)
You still have the whole weekend to submit yours for a contributed talk at the #BernsteinConference 2025!
Probably my favorite conference, and once again the speaker lineup looks fantastic. Hope to see many of you in Frankfurt.
You still have the whole weekend to submit yours for a contributed talk at the #BernsteinConference 2025!
Probably my favorite conference, and once again the speaker lineup looks fantastic. Hope to see many of you in Frankfurt.
⌛ One week left to submit your contributed talk abstracts for the #BernsteinConference 2025!
🗓️ Deadline: June 17, 15:00 CEST
All info and submission 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
🗓️ Deadline: June 17, 15:00 CEST
All info and submission 👉 bernstein-network.de/bernstein-co...
June 13, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Just submitted my abstract. :)
You still have the whole weekend to submit yours for a contributed talk at the #BernsteinConference 2025!
Probably my favorite conference, and once again the speaker lineup looks fantastic. Hope to see many of you in Frankfurt.
You still have the whole weekend to submit yours for a contributed talk at the #BernsteinConference 2025!
Probably my favorite conference, and once again the speaker lineup looks fantastic. Hope to see many of you in Frankfurt.
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.
Thanks a lot, @bernsteinneuro.bsky.social, for featuring our new @natneuro.nature.com paper in your News Flash!
🧩 How does the brain maintain its function when neurons are lost?
Researchers including Bernstein members Matthias Kaschube & @j-b-eppler.bsky.social show neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex reorganize quickly: other neurons take over the tasks of the lost ones.
More info 👉 bit.ly/4kFcgTM
Researchers including Bernstein members Matthias Kaschube & @j-b-eppler.bsky.social show neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex reorganize quickly: other neurons take over the tasks of the lost ones.
More info 👉 bit.ly/4kFcgTM
June 12, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Thanks a lot, @bernsteinneuro.bsky.social, for featuring our new @natneuro.nature.com paper in your News Flash!
New paper (I played a minor role in)!
Representational similarities in mouse auditory cortex remain stable during drift. When Taka Noda ablated neurons, these similarities destabilized but recovered within days - previously unresponsive neurons stepped up to fill gaps.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
🧪🧠
Representational similarities in mouse auditory cortex remain stable during drift. When Taka Noda ablated neurons, these similarities destabilized but recovered within days - previously unresponsive neurons stepped up to fill gaps.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
🧪🧠
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...
doi.org
June 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM
New paper (I played a minor role in)!
Representational similarities in mouse auditory cortex remain stable during drift. When Taka Noda ablated neurons, these similarities destabilized but recovered within days - previously unresponsive neurons stepped up to fill gaps.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
🧪🧠
Representational similarities in mouse auditory cortex remain stable during drift. When Taka Noda ablated neurons, these similarities destabilized but recovered within days - previously unresponsive neurons stepped up to fill gaps.
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
🧪🧠
Putting the final touches on my talk for this Thursday’s Neurochats. If you're in Barcelona, come by and say hi! Would love to see you there! 🧠✨
📢 Don't miss the upcoming activities! 📢
🗓️ This Thursday: Neurochats Seminar
🔗 More info: www.crm.cat/neurochats-s...
🗓️ This Thursday: Neurochats Seminar
🔗 More info: www.crm.cat/neurochats-s...
June 2, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Putting the final touches on my talk for this Thursday’s Neurochats. If you're in Barcelona, come by and say hi! Would love to see you there! 🧠✨
Reposted by Jens-Bastian Eppler
📢 Don't miss the upcoming activities! 📢
🗓️ This Thursday: Neurochats Seminar
🔗 More info: www.crm.cat/neurochats-s...
🗓️ This Thursday: Neurochats Seminar
🔗 More info: www.crm.cat/neurochats-s...
June 2, 2025 at 7:31 AM
📢 Don't miss the upcoming activities! 📢
🗓️ This Thursday: Neurochats Seminar
🔗 More info: www.crm.cat/neurochats-s...
🗓️ This Thursday: Neurochats Seminar
🔗 More info: www.crm.cat/neurochats-s...
Reposted by Jens-Bastian Eppler
New preprint:
Can we study creativity like any other brain function?
We propose a framework to investigate the creative process at the level of neuronal circuits, inspired by systems neuroscience, aiming to spark cool new experiments in the near future.
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Can we study creativity like any other brain function?
We propose a framework to investigate the creative process at the level of neuronal circuits, inspired by systems neuroscience, aiming to spark cool new experiments in the near future.
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
OSF
doi.org
April 24, 2025 at 12:11 PM
New preprint:
Can we study creativity like any other brain function?
We propose a framework to investigate the creative process at the level of neuronal circuits, inspired by systems neuroscience, aiming to spark cool new experiments in the near future.
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Can we study creativity like any other brain function?
We propose a framework to investigate the creative process at the level of neuronal circuits, inspired by systems neuroscience, aiming to spark cool new experiments in the near future.
🧠🧪
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
Oh boy. Still a long way to go...
March 13, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Oh boy. Still a long way to go...
I will be presenting in the Worldwide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar on Wednesday, February 19, at 11 AM ET / 5 PM CET. My talk is titled "Representational drift reflects ongoing balancing of stochastic changes by Hebbian learning."
More information and register for the link at www.wwtns.online.
More information and register for the link at www.wwtns.online.
Home | Neuroscience | World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar
WWTNS is a weekly digital seminar on Zoom targeting the theoretical neuroscience community. Its aim is to be a platform to exchange ideas among theoreticians.
www.wwtns.online
February 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I will be presenting in the Worldwide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar on Wednesday, February 19, at 11 AM ET / 5 PM CET. My talk is titled "Representational drift reflects ongoing balancing of stochastic changes by Hebbian learning."
More information and register for the link at www.wwtns.online.
More information and register for the link at www.wwtns.online.
Ich habe mal versucht, Teile meiner Doktorarbeit verständlich zusammenzufassen. Das ist dabei herausgekommen. Viel Spaß beim Lesen. :)
Vielen Dank @klaus-tschira-stiftung.de für die Unterstützung und den immer spannenden KlarText-Blog!
Vielen Dank @klaus-tschira-stiftung.de für die Unterstützung und den immer spannenden KlarText-Blog!
Ein Trauma hinterlässt Spuren in unserem Gehirn.💡Im KlarText-Blog beschreibt Jens-Bastian Eppler @j-b-eppler.bsky.social, wie er diese Mechanismen besser erforscht–mit dem Ziel, langfristig neue Therapieansätze zu entwickeln. @goetheuni.bsky.social ni.bsky.social
scilogs.spektrum.de/klartext/wie...
scilogs.spektrum.de/klartext/wie...
Wie verändert ein traumatisches Ereignis das Gehirn?
Für seine Bewerbung um den KlarText-Preis für Wissenschaftskommunikation 2023 in der Kategorie Neurowissenschaften veranschaulichte Jens-Bastian Eppler, was er für seine Promotion erforscht hat.
scilogs.spektrum.de
February 17, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Ich habe mal versucht, Teile meiner Doktorarbeit verständlich zusammenzufassen. Das ist dabei herausgekommen. Viel Spaß beim Lesen. :)
Vielen Dank @klaus-tschira-stiftung.de für die Unterstützung und den immer spannenden KlarText-Blog!
Vielen Dank @klaus-tschira-stiftung.de für die Unterstützung und den immer spannenden KlarText-Blog!
Great new study by @roger-beaty.bsky.social, @yoedkenett.bsky.social and others (not on bluesky, yet...), showing: Creativity seems to need a sweet spot of dynamic switching between default and executive brain networks. Effects are small (as normal with fMRI), but the size of the dataset is amazing.
Five years in the making: our meta-analysis of 10 fMRI datasets across Asia, Europe, and North America (N=2,433). We find creative ability emerges from dynamic switching between default and executive brain networks, with optimal creativity at a "sweet spot."
Dynamic switching between brain networks predicts creative ability - Communications Biology
Robust evidence that creativity is tied to the capacity to dynamically switch between brain networks supporting spontaneous and controlled cognition.
www.nature.com
January 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Great new study by @roger-beaty.bsky.social, @yoedkenett.bsky.social and others (not on bluesky, yet...), showing: Creativity seems to need a sweet spot of dynamic switching between default and executive brain networks. Effects are small (as normal with fMRI), but the size of the dataset is amazing.
Our new preprint: We found that during representational drift co-activation of neuron pairs is predictive of future effective connectivity. Drift is - in parts - just Hebbian plasticity. But we also need a stochastic process to account for our observations.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
January 6, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Our new preprint: We found that during representational drift co-activation of neuron pairs is predictive of future effective connectivity. Drift is - in parts - just Hebbian plasticity. But we also need a stochastic process to account for our observations.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Great preprint on the visuomotor transformation in zebrafish. Different visual stimuli are linked to hunting, freezing and escape behaviours via neuronal activity in the optic tectum.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
The visuomotor transformations underlying target-directed behavior
The visual system can process diverse stimuli and make the decision to execute appropriate behaviors, but it remains unclear where and how this transformation takes place. We imaged the zebrafish visu...
doi.org
December 23, 2024 at 7:45 AM
Great preprint on the visuomotor transformation in zebrafish. Different visual stimuli are linked to hunting, freezing and escape behaviours via neuronal activity in the optic tectum.
doi.org/10.1101/2024...
doi.org/10.1101/2024...