Kristian Herrera
@kherrera.bsky.social
Post doc in the Fishman and Engert laboratories @Harvard SCRB and MCB exploring the interplay between brain and body.
kjherrera.com
kjherrera.com
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social led by Kaarthik A Balakrishnan: We identify medullary circuits that represent the valence of thermal stimuli and control both long-term strategies of cold-avoidance and short term hot avoidance behaviors to enable thermoregulation. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Behavioral and circuit principles of temperature gradient navigation
Behavioral thermoregulation is critical for survival across animals. Balakrishnan
and Haesemeyer discover that thermoregulatory behavior in larval zebrafish is organized
into longer-term swim modes. T...
www.cell.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social led by Kaarthik A Balakrishnan: We identify medullary circuits that represent the valence of thermal stimuli and control both long-term strategies of cold-avoidance and short term hot avoidance behaviors to enable thermoregulation. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
October 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
🧠🌟🐭 Excited to share some of my postdoc work on the evolution of dexterity!
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
We compared deer mice evolved in forest vs prairie habitats. We found that forest mice have:
(1) more corticospinal neurons (CSNs)
(2) better hand dexterity
(3) more dexterous climbing, which is linked to CSN number🧵
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Lab’s 1st preprint!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding
During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...
www.biorxiv.org
October 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Lab’s 1st preprint!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
“Blame your parents if you can’t pay enough attention." At least when you are a zebrafish! Our new study on attentional switching together with Kumaresh Krishnan, @paulapflitsch.bsky.social , @zwitscherarmin.bsky.social and Florian Engert is out in Science Advances:
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
October 3, 2025 at 9:23 PM
“Blame your parents if you can’t pay enough attention." At least when you are a zebrafish! Our new study on attentional switching together with Kumaresh Krishnan, @paulapflitsch.bsky.social , @zwitscherarmin.bsky.social and Florian Engert is out in Science Advances:
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
doi.org/10.1126/scia...
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
🚨Our preprint is online!🚨
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How do #dopamine neurons perform the key calculations in reinforcement #learning?
Read on to find out more! 🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How do #dopamine neurons perform the key calculations in reinforcement #learning?
Read on to find out more! 🧵
September 19, 2025 at 1:05 PM
🚨Our preprint is online!🚨
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How do #dopamine neurons perform the key calculations in reinforcement #learning?
Read on to find out more! 🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How do #dopamine neurons perform the key calculations in reinforcement #learning?
Read on to find out more! 🧵
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Preprint -
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 8, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Preprint -
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
🚨Hiring Alert! Join Gregor Schuhknechts’s
new group Brain Algorithms and Circuits @mpibrain.bsky.social !
🧠 Fully funded PhD & Postdoc
🐟 Larval #zebrafish model
🔬 Imaging, electrophysiology, EM
💻 #SystemsNeuroscience
👉 brain.mpg.de/schuhknecht
new group Brain Algorithms and Circuits @mpibrain.bsky.social !
🧠 Fully funded PhD & Postdoc
🐟 Larval #zebrafish model
🔬 Imaging, electrophysiology, EM
💻 #SystemsNeuroscience
👉 brain.mpg.de/schuhknecht
August 1, 2025 at 1:50 PM
🚨Hiring Alert! Join Gregor Schuhknechts’s
new group Brain Algorithms and Circuits @mpibrain.bsky.social !
🧠 Fully funded PhD & Postdoc
🐟 Larval #zebrafish model
🔬 Imaging, electrophysiology, EM
💻 #SystemsNeuroscience
👉 brain.mpg.de/schuhknecht
new group Brain Algorithms and Circuits @mpibrain.bsky.social !
🧠 Fully funded PhD & Postdoc
🐟 Larval #zebrafish model
🔬 Imaging, electrophysiology, EM
💻 #SystemsNeuroscience
👉 brain.mpg.de/schuhknecht
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
July 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com!
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Solar-Powered Thieves: New Study Uncovers Animal Organelle That Sustains Photosynthesis from Stolen Chloroplasts 🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social
Solar-Powered Thieves: New Study Uncovers Animal Organelle That Sustains Photosynthesis from Stolen Chloroplasts - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
They look like crawling leaves, but these sea slugs are anything but ordinary. MCB Professor Nick Bellono calls them “the weirdest animal we’ve ever studied”—a bold claim from […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
June 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Solar-Powered Thieves: New Study Uncovers Animal Organelle That Sustains Photosynthesis from Stolen Chloroplasts 🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Octopuses Use Microbial Signals to Guide Complex Behaviors
🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social
🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social
Octopuses Use Microbial Signals to Guide Complex Behaviors - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
A new study published in Cell from the lab of MCB faculty member Nick Bellono reveals that octopuses detect microbial cues on surfaces to distinguish prey and eggs […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
June 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Octopuses Use Microbial Signals to Guide Complex Behaviors
🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social
🧠🧪 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
A connectomic resource for neural cataloguing and circuit dissection of the larval zebrafish brain https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.10.658982v1
June 15, 2025 at 10:15 PM
A connectomic resource for neural cataloguing and circuit dissection of the larval zebrafish brain https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.10.658982v1
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Now published in @plos.org Computational Biology our paper led by @yesthatlindsay.bsky.social on the integration of sensory and motor information in zebrafish thermoregulation. Thanks to the peer reviewers for great suggestions.
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
June 10, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Now published in @plos.org Computational Biology our paper led by @yesthatlindsay.bsky.social on the integration of sensory and motor information in zebrafish thermoregulation. Thanks to the peer reviewers for great suggestions.
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Wouldn't it be great if we could not only image large connectomic volumes but also completely reconstruct them? And if a whole mouse brain project didn't cost billions?
With the PATHFINDER preprint (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...), we preview a future where it doesn't have to.
With the PATHFINDER preprint (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...), we preview a future where it doesn't have to.
May 22, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Wouldn't it be great if we could not only image large connectomic volumes but also completely reconstruct them? And if a whole mouse brain project didn't cost billions?
With the PATHFINDER preprint (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...), we preview a future where it doesn't have to.
With the PATHFINDER preprint (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...), we preview a future where it doesn't have to.
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Excited to share that the astrocyte-centered half of my thesis work is now out @science.org ! With @mishaahrens.bsky.social and @marcduque.bsky.social
science.org/doi/10.1126/... 1/8
science.org/doi/10.1126/... 1/8
Norepinephrine changes behavioral state through astroglial purinergic signaling
Both neurons and glia communicate through diffusible neuromodulators; however, how neuron-glial interactions in such neuromodulatory networks influence circuit computation and behavior is unclear. Dur...
science.org
May 16, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Excited to share that the astrocyte-centered half of my thesis work is now out @science.org ! With @mishaahrens.bsky.social and @marcduque.bsky.social
science.org/doi/10.1126/... 1/8
science.org/doi/10.1126/... 1/8
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Maps are everywhere in the brain...and finally we've discovered one in the nose! Led by @davidhbrann.bsky.social, we uncovered the logic that specifies the positions of each of the 1,000 sensory neuron subtypes in the nose and aligns their projections to the brain.👇👃see more details below👃👇
A spatial code governs olfactory receptor choice and aligns sensory maps in the nose and brain
Although topographical maps organize many peripheral sensory systems, it remains unclear whether olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) choose which of the ~1100 odor receptors (ORs) to express based upon t...
www.biorxiv.org
May 9, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Maps are everywhere in the brain...and finally we've discovered one in the nose! Led by @davidhbrann.bsky.social, we uncovered the logic that specifies the positions of each of the 1,000 sensory neuron subtypes in the nose and aligns their projections to the brain.👇👃see more details below👃👇
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
A drop of milkshake takes a wild ride as it passes through the body. Rachel and Kiersten and the team came up with cool strategies for visualizing food passing through the mouse GI tract and mapping the activity of the same 100s of brainstem neurons across weeks during feeding and other behaviors.
April 29, 2025 at 8:06 PM
A drop of milkshake takes a wild ride as it passes through the body. Rachel and Kiersten and the team came up with cool strategies for visualizing food passing through the mouse GI tract and mapping the activity of the same 100s of brainstem neurons across weeks during feeding and other behaviors.
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
3/3
We are looking for a lab technician, a lab manager and researchers to join us in this new chapter. Read the post here: portugueslab.com/the-lab-is-h...
Reach out to us if you are interested.
We are looking for a lab technician, a lab manager and researchers to join us in this new chapter. Read the post here: portugueslab.com/the-lab-is-h...
Reach out to us if you are interested.
portugueslab.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:02 PM
3/3
We are looking for a lab technician, a lab manager and researchers to join us in this new chapter. Read the post here: portugueslab.com/the-lab-is-h...
Reach out to us if you are interested.
We are looking for a lab technician, a lab manager and researchers to join us in this new chapter. Read the post here: portugueslab.com/the-lab-is-h...
Reach out to us if you are interested.
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Whole-brain, all-optical interrogation of neuronal dynamics underlying gut interoception in zebrafish https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.26.645305v1
March 31, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Whole-brain, all-optical interrogation of neuronal dynamics underlying gut interoception in zebrafish https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.26.645305v1
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
I am excited to present our latest preprint, spearheaded by Kaarthik Balakrishnan, in which we use probabilistic models and functional calcium imaging to understand circuit principles of behavioral thermoregulation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
March 18, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I am excited to present our latest preprint, spearheaded by Kaarthik Balakrishnan, in which we use probabilistic models and functional calcium imaging to understand circuit principles of behavioral thermoregulation
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
I’m happy to share our latest work (co-lead by Selina Qian) has today been published in its final form in @:natureneuro.bsky.social: Read here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-01915-4
(1/12)
(1/12)
March 18, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I’m happy to share our latest work (co-lead by Selina Qian) has today been published in its final form in @:natureneuro.bsky.social: Read here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-01915-4
(1/12)
(1/12)
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
We are proud to present our new preprint “Correlative light and electron microscopy reveals the fine circuit structure underlying evidence accumulation in larval zebrafish”, just posted on bioRxiv (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...). (1/10)
Correlative light and electron microscopy reveals the fine circuit structure underlying evidence accumulation in larval zebrafish
Accumulating information is a critical component of most circuit computations in the brain across species, yet its precise implementation at the synaptic level remains poorly understood. Dissecting su...
www.biorxiv.org
March 17, 2025 at 10:12 AM
We are proud to present our new preprint “Correlative light and electron microscopy reveals the fine circuit structure underlying evidence accumulation in larval zebrafish”, just posted on bioRxiv (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...). (1/10)
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Excited to present the latest from the lab out today in Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... See Thread! 1/8
March 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Excited to present the latest from the lab out today in Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex.... See Thread! 1/8
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
⚡️ Excited to introduce ZAPBench, our #ICLR2025 spotlight: The Zebrafish Activity Prediction Benchmark measures progress in predicting neural activity within an entire vertebrate brain (70k+ neurons!)
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
ZAPBench
ZAPBench evaluates how well different models can predict the activity of over 70,000 neurons in a novel larval zebrafish dataset.
google-research.github.io
March 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
⚡️ Excited to introduce ZAPBench, our #ICLR2025 spotlight: The Zebrafish Activity Prediction Benchmark measures progress in predicting neural activity within an entire vertebrate brain (70k+ neurons!)
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
I am very proud to announce that my PhD paper finally came out in Cell! In this *very* collaborative study, we develop and release a deep-learning approach to predict neuron type identity from their electrical signature. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... 1/16 🧵
March 1, 2025 at 1:14 PM
I am very proud to announce that my PhD paper finally came out in Cell! In this *very* collaborative study, we develop and release a deep-learning approach to predict neuron type identity from their electrical signature. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... 1/16 🧵
Reposted by Kristian Herrera
Our latest findings on social behavior circuits is out: how does the brain responds to social isolation? Terrific work by @dingliu.bsky.social et al. uncovering a circuit with similar neural architecture as physiological needs (hunger, thirst, sleep..). Detailed thread soon.
rdcu.be/ebo63
rdcu.be/ebo63
A hypothalamic circuit underlying the dynamic control of social homeostasis
Nature - New data on brain-wide circuits centred around two interconnected hypothalamic neuron populations provide significant mechanistic insights into the emergence of social need during social...
rdcu.be
February 26, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Our latest findings on social behavior circuits is out: how does the brain responds to social isolation? Terrific work by @dingliu.bsky.social et al. uncovering a circuit with similar neural architecture as physiological needs (hunger, thirst, sleep..). Detailed thread soon.
rdcu.be/ebo63
rdcu.be/ebo63