Overall, visually-evoked ACh release in V1 reconfigures local GABAergic circuits to boost sensory responses and support conditioned behavior. Rather than being a simple gate for learning, cholinergic plasticity is actually the mechanism for expression of conditioned behavior! 5/5

Widefield imaging of cholinergic signaling revealed selective, visually evoked ACh release after visual fear conditioning. Local blockade of ACh muscarinic receptors in V1 disrupted both enhanced visual responses and conditioned behavior. ACh is required for neural and behavior plasticity! 3/5

In head-fixed mice, associating a visual cue with mild foot-shock resulted in conditioned cessation of licking (~freezing). Behavior required V1 activity, and wide field+2p calcium imaging showed learning-dependent increases in visual responses for V1 pyramidal neurons.

See our latest - collab with @jess-cardin.bsky.social, led by @andrewmoberly.bsky.social. We combined mesoscopic and 2p imaging to show that learning-dependent plasticity of ACh release in visual cortex drives enhanced visual representations and conditioned behavior. 1/5 tinyurl.com/3cfea6df

A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.

A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪

Thrilled to see this out! It was such a rewarding collaboration with Alex Wang, @jess-cardin.bsky.social, and an amazing team. We show that V1 SST interneurons integrate on a delayed developmental timeline, shaping how visual cortex processes and normalizes sensory input.

A wild ride through the postnatal maturation of SST interneurons! Alex Wang and @katie-ferguson.bsky.social found that V1 SST cells exhibit a unique developmental trajectory, coming online over a few days after eyes open. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @yaleneuro.bsky.social @wutsaiyale.bsky.social

For those interested in methods for analyzing a specific frequency of neural activity as a series of discrete events, the CBASS code is posted here with an excellent wiki by @q-perrenoud.bsky.social: github.com/cardin-higle...

New @nature.com article from the @jess-cardin.bsky.social lab: the team, led by @q-perrenoud.bsky.social, identified where gamma activity emerges and how it relates to behavior. "This could lead to an early biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease that is easily accessible in humans."

I thought we would never work on gamma oscillations again, but I was wrong 🤷‍♀️ So happy to see this work out in @nature.com! This was a truly epic project spearheaded by @q-perrenoud.bsky.social. Gamma isn't always an oscillation, but it's critical for sensory encoding and perceptual performance 🧠

📢 Calling all senior neuro postdocs: SYNAPSES brings postdocs from around the world to Yale to share their work during an in-person symposium on October 23, 2025. Apply today to present your research, talk with faculty members in 1:1s, & interact with Yale postdocs! 🧠🧪 Deadline Sept 7. #neuroskyence

Traditional end-of-cycle lunch today with @mhigley.bsky.social and our fabulous @nsb-mbl.bsky.social students Peniel and Romana, along with heoric TAs Olivier and Hao. Some amazing 🧠 science happened over the past two weeks! Going home happy with more data than we can analyze 😎

Back in Woods Hole for cycle 3 🐭 @nsb-mbl.bsky.social. This year, we brought new tech developed by @mhigley.bsky.social for freely moving cortical imaging!

We're excited to welcome the Levenstein lab to Yale's Neuroscience Department!